I had always thought it’d be very challenging to have a remote 1:1 with my team members, let alone build rapport with them remotely. I used to be that manager who would reschedule their 1:1’s when they were working from home on that particular day. I’ve always thought it’d be hard to connect with someone…
Category: Leadership Development
Leader vs manager – we tend to use these two words interchangeably. However, in my opinion, leaders don’t have to be managers, and managers are not always leaders.
Strive to be a leader first, and manager second. Also as importantly, lead yourself first, before you try to lead others. I hope you find the leadership articles I’ve written here useful.
For more resources on leading remotely, check out my book, The Accidental Remote Manager.
Sketchnotes And Summaries Of Five Timeless Books For Leaders
1. Dare to Lead — Brene Brown In her book Dare to Lead, Brene Brown talked about courageous leadership and being kind to your people by providing clear feedback and advice. My main takeaway from this book was that courageous leadership doesn’t mean being directive, appearing to have it all together or having all the…
Leadership Lessons From A Third-world Country
I was born in a country in Southeast Asia called Myanmar (was previously known as Burma) and I lived there until I was a teenager. Contrary to what many people tend to think, I lived a pretty comfortable and sheltered life. But by growing up in a third-world country, I had seen and witnessed a…
How To Be a Good Manager
The answer is just a four-letter word. I was talking to a colleague of mine about a previous manager that she had and she said “he is one of best managers that I’ve worked under”. Because I want to be the best manager that I could possibly be, I asked her about what made him…
5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Transitioned Into A Managerial Role
I first had the taste of being in a managerial role in 2007-2008 when I took on the role of IT manager/team leader for a medium sized online agency. I lasted at that role for exactly a year and it required a lot of discipline from my end to stick around that long because I didn’t…
Five Feminine-coded Traits That Every Leader Should Have
Leadership is often associated with words like dominance, assertiveness and strength. They are also words that are associated with masculine behaviour. There are even researches and papers done on this topic however what we don’t hear often enough is how essential feminine traits are in leadership roles. This is not to determine whether being a…
Debunking Most Common Myths About People Managers
I am a technical and people manager. Whether I like it or not, it’s the truth. Do I like being a people manager, I hear you ask? I do like my job, the challenges, the perks and all, but I don’t like the label. Why? Because of all the myths about managers. People managers get…
10 Things Managers Need To Know About Millennials In The Workplace
Millennials are those born between the early 1980s and early 2000s. As a Millennials myself and a people manager to a few Millennials, I know a thing or two about my fellow Millennials. Therefore, in this article, I’d like to represent us and share with you what Millennials think are important in the workplace. We…
Four Tips To Becoming A Thought Leader
How would you like to become so great in your chosen field, a well-known person or an expert? When you are well-known for being amazingly great in a field, you will gain influence and credibility in your area of expertise and become the go-to person. What’s more, it will benefit your career and your life…
Dos And Don’ts For Managers On Treating Female Employees
Throughout my career in a male dominant industry, I have learnt a thing or two about what we, as female employees, like and dislike and how we like to be treated. To be honest, I have been quite fortunate in my career and have met some great managers who have treated me with respect, but…