Being at the helm of any organisation is no easy task. With an ever-changing business environment mixed in with evolving employee demands, management becomes more complex by the day. While there is no correct answer to what makes a good manager, there are guiding principles that managers can heed to help the job along, says Jeffrey T.K. Tang, managing director for advisory, broking and solution company Willis Towers Watson in Hong Kong and Macau.
“I don’t believe in the notion of best practice, because it denotes a singular practice. There is such a thing as good practice, but what you should be looking for is: the most appropriate practice,” Tang explains.
Blazing a successful career at a young age, Tang spent almost a decade working in banking in his native Malaysia but chanced upon the opportunity to join what was at the time consulting firm Towers Perrin. With the job, he became a member of the leadership team at the Kuala Lumpur office, then made a move to Singapore and finally to Hong Kong. Soon after, in 2010, Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt merged, and Tang was then charged with leading its talent and rewards business, working his way up to managing director.
Tang maintains that his successes in banking and later in consulting boils down to the fact that he is always able to bring fresh perspectives to any business, and one of the ways of doing this is by hiring a diverse team with different ideas.
“I think this is important in today’s world as we progress in our careers,” he says. “The ability to fuse and bring multiple disciplines to a particular topic is important.”
Tang says he cleaved religiously to the philosophy of hiring people from different backgrounds, whether that be from an education perspective, a career perspective or even a cultural or family perspective.
“I want somebody from an HR background, but I also want somebody with a finance background. I want people with a creative mindset, because the success of any team is the combination of all the capabilities. If we all look and feel the same, then where does all the innovation come from? You need to create that healthy tension just a little bit.”
But aside from focusing on hiring the right kind of talent, Tang says that an exceptional leader must also have certain personal qualities. He believes that a leader who is able to challenge the norms, have intellectual curiosity, able to build trust, and respect others is a leader that is probably better set to take on the challenges of the new business environment.
“I get excited by new ideas, new solutions and a different way of doing things,” he said. “The notion of innovation stems from whether you are passionate about what you’re doing. We underestimate passion – if you’re passionate, creativity comes through, it will bring in new solutions and new ideas and it will be excellent.”
Tang is of the opinion that new hires should always be encouraged to challenge the norms and the status quo to come up with new solutions to benefit their clients. “I want our employees to be proud of their work. If an employee is not proud of a solution for a client and lacks the conviction in his or her work, they are advised not to give it to their clients.”
This is particularly important in terms of what the future of the business looks like. Tang says the future is a combination of technology and artificial intelligence, so while technology is becoming a bigger part of the conversation and many basic queries can be handled through self-service software, ultimately the value of the business lies in the analytical mind.
“The challenge for our business is how do we stay ahead of our client? That requires more investments and more know-how because the world is changing, so how do we stay ahead of the curve?”
Tang notes that’s where the analytical mind itself is key, it’s about being able to provide a solution across a whole spectrum, whether that is people and risk solutions, or addressing other issues.
“So when I talk to an HR leader, it could be from strategy, liability, capabilities, assessment, and technology platforms, so if you’re looking at our business, it’s about providing a whole spectrum from end to end for the HR leader, it’s not just about pay and hiring people. So how do we build HR solutions that cater to the future demographics of an organisation?”
But aside from being able to inspire new solutions, Tang says it is equally important for leaders to go back to basics to build trust and develop mutual respect in the workplace. Traversing the office, it is not hard to see that Tang practises what he preaches in this area. His presence is greeted with warm familiar smiles in an office of around 400 employees.
“It’s people who make an organisation, it’s people who make the difference in an organisation, people can say they join the organisation because it’s brilliant, who do you think makes that happen? Its people. Care is more than just a word, but do you really actually demonstrate that care?”
CORE PRINCIPLES
Jeffrey Tang’s pointers for success
Care We are in a commercial world and in a corporate setting, but we must realise that being compassionate is not a sign of weakness. We all have our ends to achieve, but how you achieve that end is what counts.
Be reasonable If you ask someone to do something, you must prove that you can do it and it can be done. Explain the rationale to people and don’t just subscribe to the notion that, I am the boss, so just do it. You must have that dialogue.
Switch places A key aspect of leadership is seeing things from other people’s perspective, how it looks from their point of view.
Follow your heart Too often, we underestimate passion. If you’re passionate, creativity can come through. Some people are more creative and there’s a spectrum, but if you’re passionate, it will bring in new ideas.
Find time for all We talk about work-life balance, but I think it’s about work-life integration. There are moments you recognise that clients are a bigger priority, but another week, your family will be the priority. I am still learning to figure it out.
This article appeared in the Classified Post print edition as Bringing it all together.
