Voices Of Asia

🎉 We’re thrilled to announce that iLEAD Batch 8 will be having its first group session tomorrow, and we can’t wait to see our mentees and mentors in action! 🙌 The session will focus on "Building Professional Relationships," an essential skill for growth in any career. Expect engaging discussions, interactive activities, and valuable insights from everyone involved. To wrap it all up, we'll have a special fireside chat with our incredible in-house mentors, who will be sharing their personal experiences and tips for success! 🔥💼 #iLEADBatch8 #MentorshipMatters #ProfessionalGrowth #LeadershipInAction #BuildingConnections #NetworkingSkills #CareerSuccess

“How do I start networking and maintain connections? How can I be genuine and authentic in professional engagements? How do I make these connections last? Will I come across as being fake?” These were the questions I grappled with when I began my business development career in the asset management industry a decade ago. Over the years, I discovered a balanced approach that worked for me, learning the right mindset, attitude, and behavior for networking and authenticity in the workplace with colleagues and clients. Looking forward to this upcoming panel discussion with Ruoyu Bao and Ee Wern HOE, CFA. Together, we will share our insights and practical tips on this topic with the youths from the Voices Of Asia iASPIRE mentorship programme. Special thanks to arun sukumar kaimal Jessica Liao and Woong Jia En Kenneth, IHRP-CP, SHRM-CP for this invitation to speak!

I am not a people person. So I really hesitated when I was asked to share my experience on workplace networking with the youths of Voices Of Asia iAspire mentorship program. Then I thought, a lot of the participants may not be people persons either. And my learnings from a non-people person perspective, might be of help to them. That's exactly the purpose of mentorship. So, I will be joining Casherine Goh and Ee Wern HOE, CFA on 15th talk about networking at workplace. Grateful to have the opportunity to learn from other panelists. Thanks again to arun sukumar kaimal, Woong Jia En Kenneth, IHRP-CP, SHRM-CP, and Jessica Liao for inviting.

🎯𝖤𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗐𝗈𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎'𝗋𝖾 𝗆𝗂𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖻𝗒 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗇𝖾𝗍𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖾𝖿𝖿𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗒? 🔓 ❓ 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙗𝙞𝙜 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠? ⁉️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱? If you’ve ever felt like: 1️⃣ 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 😓 2️⃣ 𝑌𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 🚶♂️ 3️⃣ 𝖮𝗋 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖾𝖿𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗍𝗌 𝖺𝗋𝖾𝗇'𝗍 𝗒𝗂𝖾𝗅𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗎𝗅𝗍𝗌 🎯 Then this session is for YOU! Join us as we dive into real-life success stories and practical tools to help you master the art of networking with confidence. 𝐈̲𝐭̲’̲𝐬̲ ̲𝐭̲𝐢̲𝐦̲𝐞̲ ̲𝐭̲𝐨̲ ̲𝐦̲𝐚̲𝐤̲𝐞̲ ̲𝐧̲𝐞̲𝐭̲𝐰̲𝐨̲𝐫̲𝐤̲𝐢̲𝐧̲𝐠̲ ̲𝐧̲𝐨̲𝐭̲ ̲𝐣̲𝐮̲𝐬̲𝐭̲ ̲𝐚̲ ̲𝐛̲𝐮̲𝐳̲𝐳̲𝐰̲𝐨̲𝐫̲𝐝̲,̲ ̲𝐛̲𝐮̲𝐭̲ ̲𝐚̲ ̲𝐠̲𝐚̲𝐦̲𝐞̲-̲𝐜̲𝐡̲𝐚̲𝐧̲𝐠̲𝐢̲𝐧̲𝐠̲ ̲𝐬̲𝐤̲𝐢̲𝐥̲𝐥̲.̲ We had invited Casherine (our former Project Lead), Ee Wern HOE, CFA, and Ruoyu Bao to join us in a panel discussion that is moderated by Kyung Rim (Katherine) Son (our newest addition to the Committee) on 15 October. ✅ What are you waiting for? Join us now! 🔱

Returning to The Red Box at Somerset Road brought back a wave of memories and reaffirmed my passion for youth empowerment. In my 20s, I was actively involved in National Youth Council Singapore programmes like Young ChangeMakers (YCM), and the Youth Achievement Award (NYAA). At YCM, we supported youth projects that deserved funding, and guiding young people to bring their ideas to life. The NYAA, modelled after the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, challenged us to strive for personal excellence through community service, fitness, skills development, and adventurous journeys. Fast forward to today, while I’m still young at heart, and I’ve evolved into the role of a mentor. I’m incredibly grateful to be part of several meaningful career development and mentoring programmes with organisations like Young NTUC, Hatch Academy, Trybe, The Astronauts Collective (TAC), and NTU Career & Attachment Office. 2 weeks ago, I began a new chapter with the iASPIRE programme under Voices Of Asia . Meeting with the future leaders of our workforce and society was inspiring, and it allowed me to reflect on my own journey. Empowering young people remains close to my heart, and I’m excited for what lies ahead in this continued journey of mentorship and growth. (Shout out to Richard Ng - very happy to catch up again; and to Woong Jia En Kenneth, IHRP-CP, SHRM-CP and Jun Yi Lee ↗️ - finally met you in person.) #YouthEmpowerment #Mentorship #CareerDevelopment #personalgrowth #Changemakers #Leadership

Mentorship holds a special place in my heart. In 2020, amidst the uncertainty of the pandemic and while finishing my final year of university, I had the opportunity to join Young Women's Leadership Connection's (YWLC) Pay-It-Forward (PIF) Mentorship Programme through International Women's Forum. With no idea what to expect, I figured I had nothing to lose—little did I know, it would change the trajectory of my career and personal growth. I was incredibly fortunate to be paired with Casherine Goh, who helped me navigate the working world as a fresh graduate. What started as a six-month mentorship blossomed into a lifelong friendship, and to this day, she remains my go-to person whenever I need advice or a sounding board. Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to have had multiple mentors who have shaped my journey— John Augustine Ong through Voices Of Asia 's iASPIRE Mentorship Programme and Stacey Ng in YWLC’s Flagship Mentorship Programme. At ANZ, I’ve participated in the mentorship programme for two cycles, with one currently ongoing, benefiting from invaluable guidance and insights from Chelsea Tee and Eufai Chan, CFA. A heartfelt thank you to each of them for their wisdom, support, and encouragement along the way. The PIF programme, in particular, has been especially meaningful to me. From being a mentee in 2020 to becoming a mentor in 2022, joining the organizing committee in 2023, and now being invited to sit on the panel for the 2024 launch. Thanks to Xiu-Ling Tay and her team for allowing me to be part of the 2024 launch!

“Eh that’s exactly what I would do and say!” - the phrase that came up a lot during my meet up with Miki Kong, mentor from Voices Of Asia as from the iLEAD 8. Found myself resonating greatly from connecting on the diversity of topics we chatted on - from running linkedin lead campaigns, to juggling life responsibilities, and sharing of personal experiences and milestones. Some of my key takeaways that left me reflecting more - - Even if you feel like hitting a dead end, take it a step at a time, but increase your surface area of success by being curious - Most things are hard, choose your “hard” - Dare to take opportunies when doors open, no matter how much you fear the outcomes cause you don’t know when the next one will Reflecting on my own journey, I have turned down too many opportunities in the past because of the (percieved) imposter syndrome in my head. Perhaps, for the next one that comes up, maybe the approach to take is to say yes, and figure stuff along the way. Thank you Miki Kong for being so generous with your time and sharing, looking forward to the next connect! ✨

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰: 𝐢𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 Despite the rain on September 17th, we kicked off iLEAD Batch 8 with great energy at imPAct @ Hong Lim Green! 🎉 During the two-hour session, paired mentors and mentees met face-to-face for the first time and engaged in meaningful conversations about their goals and expectations. They exchanged feedback and ideas on how to make the most of the program, laying a strong foundation for their iLEAD journey over the next few months. To celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, we wrapped up by sharing mooncakes 🥮, symbolising the unity and collaboration we hope to foster as we bring together different perspectives and experiences. Thank you to all the mentees & mentors that took time out of their schedule to come down, we’re excited to see how our mentors and mentees grow, learn, nurture, and inspire each other throughout this program! 🪴 #iLEAD2024 #LeadershipJourney #MentorshipMatters #MidAutumnFestival #BuildingConnections #GrowthAndLearning #FutureLeaders

🎉 Leading to Inspire: iLEAD Batch Eight! 🎉 On September 12th, we wrapped up our iLEAD Batch 8 virtual Mentor-Mentee Matching (MMM) session on Zoom. We kicked off with a fun intro to the iLEAD program, laying out its goals and what to expect, before Mentees hopped into breakout sessions to mingle with Mentors to ask questions, and find their perfect match. The conversations were lively and insightful, with everyone eager to collaborate for success. We’re looking forward to seeing the exciting journeys ahead as they embark on their iLEAD experience! 🚀✨ #MentorshipMatters #iLEAD #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerGrowth #InspireToLead #MentorMatch #FutureLeaders #EmpowermentJourney #SuccessStartsHere #LifelongLearning

✨ 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵. 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. ✨ Last Tuesday, we launched the iASPIRE program with an incredible exchange of energy, insights, and ideas from both mentors and mentees through the short networking session. A huge thank you to everyone who brought their passion and vision! 🙌 As we look forward to the upcoming group sessions with the paired Mentor-Mentee duos, anticipation is building. These sessions will provide valuable opportunities for meaningful conversations and growth. We can’t wait to witness each of you unlocking your full potential and supporting one another along this journey. Together, we’re setting the stage for lifelong learning, empowerment, and the creation of tomorrow’s leaders. Here's to the journey ahead and watching everyone thrive in the iASPIRE program! 🌟 #iASPIRE #mentorship #development