Insights Sharing from Young World Leaders in Global Leadership Forum Asia Pacific 2020
The Global Leadership Forum Asia-Pacific Event has enlightened me on the insights every young adult must be aware of on their journey to leadership. The one that stood out initially is the ability to adapt to changes in your environment. With every business, company, or person there is an environment that is always changing. Change is inevitable and the ability to be flexible and dynamic towards these changes makes a true leader shine. The reason this trait stands out especially in 2020 is that COVID-19 has forced the world to change its education system,travel system, and dining system in a matter of weeks. This means to be a great leader you must be prepared for everything and anything. The better-equipped someone is to face changes then the more stable and reliable they will be.
The second insight I developed from the event is that every leader must have a strong sense of purpose in their lives. Malaysia’s youngest cabinet member, Syed Sadiq, really emphasized that from a young age one should co
nnect with their purpose and make sure it serves the community in some way. This leads to inspiring others in the process of one’s purpose and in return helps the world elevate to higher levels. Every leader must focus on his or her purpose every day. With this mentality, it will lead to productivity and progression in our lives.
Another lesson I learned from Syed Sadiq is that it is never too early or never too late to go after your dreams. At the age of 25, Syed became the youngest cabinet member and he went on to make the changes he wanted to see in his country. As someone who is approaching their mid-twenties, I realize I am capable of amazing things like Syed. I will not doubt myself because of the number of my age. However the same can be said for the other side of the spectrum. It’s never too late to achieve big things after your youthhood. The world’s oldest MasterChef Australia Winner, Sashi Cheliah, showed his ambition at such an unexpecting age. With nothing to lose, he went for it all and came out a winner. This means that age is just a number in the face of challenges and shouldn’t be a reason for doubting yourself. True leaders know it’s never too early or never too late.
Lastly, the final insight displayed at the event was that competition is healthy for innovation and development. The famous “iron sharpens iron” quote says in order to improve you must have something there challenging you just as sharp as you. Sometimes the enemies or challenges we hate the most can be our best friends. The speaker Ed Kitchen described how Uber Eats is always finding ways to innovate its business model to outperform its competitors. Ed said how Uber Eats and Uber will soon provide membership-based pricing to test if that beats the traditional form of payment. This goes to show that competition leads to new ways of improvement that originally would never be thought of without improvement.
Fabio is one of the selected full degree international students to represent BINUS University in the prestigious Global Leadership Forum Asia Pacific 2020 by Common Purpose.