Current role: Executive Coach
Current organisation: SKL Global www.careerhackwithkoon.com
Last role at PwC: Transformation Program Director
Time at PwC: 2003 - 2022
What’s the one career achievement you’re most proud of?
It would have to be receiving the Edwin Flack Award - People Category, which is like the Oscars of PwC, in recognition of my leadership content on LinkedIn which has since been followed by over 28,000 people. It was something that I never imagined when I first set foot in the firm almost 20 years ago from Malaysia with just two suitcases in tow.
What’s been your biggest career challenge and how have you overcome it?
For a big part of my career with PwC I was leading various transformation programs, e.g. Finance Transformation, Alternate Delivery Model Transformation and the Service Delivery Center in Kolkata and Manila (SDC).
It was a period where I probably gained the most dealing with a very broad bunch of stakeholders. Here is what I learned which is equally applicable to life:
- We will make mistakes. It is inevitable when we are trying something new. But we will pick ourselves up and take another step wiser.
- It is impossible to make everyone happy and it takes only one negative to cancel out the nine positives - so make sure to amplify the positives.
- There will be many days where it’s hard and bringing everyone along the journey is exhausting. But when we do what we care about deeply to help others, we will be the best that we can be. So be kind to yourself.
There is a silver lining even in our darkest days. We can’t see it yet but with hindsight we will see that those days prepared us for bigger things to come in our life.
What’s the most valuable lesson you learnt during your career at PwC and how has that helped you get to where you are today?
Two areas that in hindsight I wish I had become aware of much earlier in my career are sponsorship and executive coaching.
A sponsor is someone of influence who will spend their personal capital advocating for you behind closed doors. They’re different to a mentor who shares their advice and experiences. I would recommend watching Carla Harris’, ‘How to find the person who can help you get ahead at work’.
The other one was executive coaching. Having an external coach provided me with a safe and trusted space to share what I could not with others and a sounding board to gain clarity and expose my blindspots.
In short, surround yourself with mentors, sponsors and external coaches. They each play a different but important role in our career.
What was your dream job ‘growing up’ and why?
As a child, I wanted to be a psychologist. I could sit for hours listening to other people’s problems and was curious to understand why people feel what they feel, what drives their behaviour and how they perceived the world. In a way being an executive coach now, I feel that I’m living my childhood dream.
If you could have an hour lunch with anyone - dead or alive - who would it be and why?
I would love to hear the story from the first Chinese settlers in Australia. The earliest known is Mak Sai Ying who was born in Guangzhou (Canton) in 1798 and he arrived in 1818. What drove him to take the risk to travel so far south? What was it like as the first settlers in Australia? History sheds a lot of light on the way we are now and also foretells our future. After all, history does repeat itself.
How are you and your business making a difference for your customers, employees and society?
There is a lack of diversity at senior leadership level in the private and government sector. Only 5% of senior leaders are non-European and Indigenous. That is not representative of the current demographic of Australia.
Diversity of leadership is the vision of my business and coaching leaders to draw on what makes them different is my mission. When our diverse leaders belong at the table because of the differences they bring, we give a voice that is representative of the society we are part of and we harness the benefits of diversity for all.
With over 28,000 LinkedIn followers, you’ve built a huge online following on the topic of leadership. What do you believe are the characteristics that set apart good leaders and great leaders?
Nelson Mandela once said, “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
That quote resonates strongly with me. The great leaders I’ve come across have an abundance of generosity of spirit and they do it with such clarity of purpose to lift everyone without any expectation. They think beyond themselves. That is the hallmark of a great leader.
You often reflect on your experience as a migrant navigating Australian corporate life. What advice would you give to others experiencing a similar journey?
51% of Australians either have parents born overseas or are from overseas themselves. Our diversity is our strength. No shame. Take pride in the richness of each of our cultural values. Draw on them in shaping your authentic leadership.
