RSOG Leadership in Action
Women of the Future
with
YBhg. Dato’ Hamidah Naziadin
When : 26 July 2018
Where : Razak School of Government
Guest Speaker : YBhg. Dato’ Hamidah Naziadin
The framework of the Session
We must have heard of life-changing anecdotes where women figureheads appear in these narratives to overcome adverse situations triumphantly. Examples such as matriarch of a family keeping the household together after succumbing to a tragedy, or a landlady being instrumental in supporting another family thrown into debt by funding the latter’s children’s education. The common characteristics of these individuals are courage, resilience, and managing uncertainty. Remarkably enough, these are some of the characteristics considered to be short in supply in leaders yet are deemed to be prominent in women based on a recent research. Despite these distinctive advantages, more effort needs to be undertaken for women to better understand situational disadvantages that they may be in. What is the outlook for women in the future? How do women feel about their future? What does it take to be women of the future? These are some of the potential focus areas that the Guest Speaker will discuss in this programme.
Key Takeaways from the Session
The VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world are changing challenges brought about by politics, economics, society and the environment. Dato’ Hamidah Naziadin, guest speaker at RSOG’s Leadership in Action entitled “Women of the Future” resonates the shift from an approach based around problem solving, to a world where progress is made by active engagement requiring higher levels of leadership ability.
The guest speaker made references to the Hay Group’s six (6) fundamental shifts that will be shaping the future; Globalisation 2.0, Environmental Crisis, Individualism, Digitalisation, Demographic Change and Technical Convergence. These ‘megatrends’ are transforming societies and the global business environment, and the first step to overcoming it is anticipating what the changes are. In addition, familiarising oneself with good leadership skills and traits (e.g. ability to learn, agile, innovative, curious, courageous & honest, collaborative, problem solver and digitally savvy) will help identify and overcome potential weaknesses, maximise strengths and develop a stronger management style.
Apart from hard skills, the guest speaker also emphasised the flexibility of utilising soft skills. As organisations increasingly need to become more dynamic, interconnected and flexible, soft skills are critical. The guest speaker highlighted a research conducted by Hay Group that states 81% of corporate leaders believe that soft skills are more important than hard skills for their business. Soft skills are the natural strengths of women, significantly empathy, emotional strength and emotional intelligence. Several examples of the guest speaker using soft skills in the workplace were shared such as the CIMB-AliBaba partnership (e-wallet payment) and China Galaxy Joint Venture (stockbroking). In short, women leaders of the future would need to be culturally sensitive to get things done.
Good leaders generally develop different kinds of intelligence. There is the evident Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and the Emotional Quotient (EQ), which has been widely accepted in management circles within the last few years. Leaders tend to leverage more on the EQ because of the ability to understand, empathise, and connect with people around them. Hence, the EQ would be a better indicator of success in the workplace. Apart from EQ and IQ, there are new quotients which has seen significant attention. Echoing Alibaba Founder Mr. Jack Ma, the Guest Speaker believes that Love Quotient (LQ) is what gives humans the edge over machines. No matter how smart machines may become, the solutions to the world’s biggest problems (e.g. poverty, global warming etc.) will come from humans. Humans have the motivation to outthink machines and drive progress. Lastly is Digital Quotient (DQ), which encompasses the knowledge, skills, attitude and values to meet the demands of the digital era. These values are interlinked with integrity, respect and empathy.
In conclusion, there has been a global gradual increase of women representation in senior executive positions. In Malaysia, the government echoes this trend by advocating for at least 30% women representation on public listed boards by 2020. This is not only to ensure transparent decision-making, but also the diversity of thoughts and perspectives. By providing a conducive workforce to support women, we are a step closer in ensuring that women indeed have a role to play towards our country’s success.
Key issues raised
- The guest speaker instilled that ‘enthusiasm’ is one of the key determinants in talent recruitment.
- The future for women emphasises on being resourceful and building a good support system in order to be successful in both career and personal life.
- In addition, building your own brand is how people will remember you by.
- Women representation in boards and senior executive roles will provide a diversity of thoughts and perspective.
- Work, results and outcomes speaks for itself. Hence, know what you want, work hard towards it and believe in yourself.
About the Speaker
Dato’ Hamidah Naziadin has 30 years’ experience in HR in the financial industry, of which 27 were with CIMB. She provides overall strategic leadership for HR across ASEAN to develop an agile, high-performing regional workforce. She has led HR’s transformation from an administrative function into a key business enabler, contributing to CIMB’s rapid growth into the leading ASEAN financial institution that it is today. She strategised the resource integration in successful mergers and acquisitions over the years, within Malaysia and across ASEAN and APAC regions. She has also implemented strategic HR programmes that have earned peer and industry recognition through numerous awards. She continuously strengthens workplace culture and compliance through employee engagement and has developed workplace wellness policies and programmes towards sustaining a productive and inspiring work environment.
On top of that, she also spearheads CSR in community development, sports and education initiatives with diversity and inclusion as the guiding principles, to deliver sustainable benefits for the communities in the region. She is passionate about championing thought leadership through industry talks and publications on issues around women empowerment, and education/development for youths and graduates.
She is a member of the Board of Directors at Maxis Berhad and holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Wolverhampton, UK.