Chua Leng Leng, director of marketing, Bosch Singapore

SHE CHANGED UP HER OFFICE’S CORPORATE CULTURE

When Chua Leng Leng was appointed to Bosch’s new South Korean subsidiary in 2011, she noticed a troubling trend. Staff were staying late in the office, way past their knock-off time. She later found out that subordinates leave the office only after their superiors do.

This seemed both unnecessary and unproductive to Leng Leng. She knew what incessant overtime could do to you – long hours at work had resulted in her suffering from gastric problems, and not having time for friends and family.

So she allowed her team to leave the office as soon as they had nished for the day. But when other department heads found out, they began questioning her team.

Leng Leng knew she had to do something to effect change across the board. The work culture in Korea is highly patriarchal, she points out, so she couldn’t just approach the other directors and assert her point of view. The only way to do this would be from the top down, she decided. So she approached the managing director of the firm and stated her case. After he spoke with the department heads, change soon followed.

That episode sealed her reputation as someone who dared push for change. But for Leng Leng, who is now back in Singapore, being a manager has always been about putting others rst. “I see myself as a coach. I want to effect change by empowering my staff, so they can gain confidence to stand on their own feet,” she says.