Influential Women: "My word was my bond": Q&A with Ming Long

All of my siblings are doctors - I'm the black sheep of my family. I originally had medicine as my first choice, but upon attending the medical faculty at a Sydney University open day and seeing real bodies displayed, I went home that night to change my preferences to Economics/Law. It was the course, after Medicine, that required the next highest TER.

There were multiple challenges steering a company that was so heavily geared that our banks didn't think we would survive. It was a long and hard road and took many years. Just when we had cleared a hurdle, I could see a hundred ahead of me with many twists and turns and many near death experiences. There was no road map or history to help me make decisions, we had to have multiple plans for each problem.

There was a lot of judgement involved, based on imperfect, little or no information; and managing multiple and complex stakeholders was not easy. Through all of the chaos in the markets and reading the dire news, I still had to give people (all our stakeholders) hope - they were central to my motivation and thinking. Fundamentally, I learnt that my values had to shine through all the challenges, that I would act ethically and with integrity so that our stakeholders would trust me to do what I said I was going to do - my word was my bond.

When dealing with the intersection of gender and culture, some people may not accept your leadership because they've never been led by a woman, let alone a woman from an ethnic background. Unfortunately, as a minority in a leadership position, there is little you can expect from those in the majority to change their style or behaviour. Some have never had to do it. Leaders need to be adaptable, agile and multidimensional to ensure they are effective. That is what I had to do and it is a skill that future leaders need especially as we navigate through disruption.

Take the leadership role with both hands. You earned it and there is no need to be apologetic, but don't forget you are still human.

The first thing I look at is the CEO and the leadership team (their leadership shadow), their values (integrity and ethics - I look for when they've been tested), behaviour (how they act around people who are not as powerful and the most different person in the office), their finances (if they are in a lot of debt, money is critical to them so their decision making may be compromised), what motivates them (this could be tied to money which means they could compromise theirs or the company's values for a personal financial outcome).

I look at how different the teams are - this tells me whether the leader is an insecure individual. I've found that the most secure people make the best leaders as they're open to hearing ideas, being challenged, and are transparent. This fosters innovation and creativity and allows an organisation to evolve to meet the needs of their stakeholders. They listen to the different perspectives and thrive on it and often, they are not the loudest person in the room. I describe an effective culture like a jigsaw - every piece is different, but they all fit together to achieve their mission.

Currently in Australia we expect leaders to be extroverts. It's historical and I needed to adapt to that expectation. However, we cannot run businesses of tomorrow using last years leadership model. We need to hire leaders with different leadership styles. This must happen as the velocity of business change is increasing through disrupters, the digital age and AI. Our clients are changing and we are more deeply connected as a planet than any other time. The alpha male leadership style will drive a company out of business and make whole lot of miserable people along the way.

I chill out with my family. I can go on a two hour walk with our dog just listening to my husband talk and not say a thing.

Our boards need to reflect our society as our clients and stakeholders are changing. Boards need to lead that change by holding a mirror to itself and understanding that this change is critical to a company's success. To understand how your changing customers are thinking, use bias to your advantage by ensuring you have gender and cultural diversity on your board to think like your clients and stakeholders. Gaining that insight will help your business grow and beat your competitors. Boards, executive teams and companies that get this the fastest will outperform their competitors.

My grandfather was a pastor working in the prison ministry in Malaysia. This was no cushy job and he had to traverse politics and differences in religion. He was patient, kind, forgiving, and so funny. He personally sacrificed a lot, and didn't look down on people. He was a man of integrity and humility. He wasn't perfect, but that's what made him human, and that's why he'll always be one of the most amazing role models for me.

Just do it.

Take on challenges. In those times you learn about yourself and others. You need challenges so you build resilience, understand your values and what drives you. It is in the most difficult times you learn the most, grow the most and build skills that are more likely to be needed in leadership.