I’m currently in Kuala Lumpur, staying at the La Quadri Hotel, which is owned by UCSI. Today is Wednesday, November 13, 2024, and I’ve been here since Monday night. Yesterday, I visited a college in Malaysia to attend an event organized by the Ministry of Education. International school operators from across Malaysia gathered to hear the latest updates from the Ministry. While the updates were insightful, the value lay more in the networking opportunities than in the briefing itself, which could have been delivered via Zoom or uploaded to YouTube.
A Step Towards Public-Private Collaboration in Education
One significant outcome of this event was the potential for public-private collaboration, where the government has begun involving private and international schools like ours in efforts to uplift English education standards across Malaysia. This initiative is something I’m genuinely excited about, as it aligns with our long-standing goal to impact the nation beyond our own Stellar community. To achieve our vision of nationwide impact, we need to engage in efforts that extend beyond our organization.
Finding Purpose and Focus Amid New Projects
Recently, my mind has been occupied with a project I plan to focus on in 2025: writing a book. This idea has grown from a casual thought to a concrete goal. Over the past few days, I’ve been reflecting a lot, particularly as I work on our submission for the Star Outstanding Business Award (SOBA). For this award, I need to succinctly express our vision, leadership approach, innovation strategy, financial plans, human capital management, and sustainability efforts—all in 100-200 words per category. It’s a challenging but rewarding exercise in clarity and focus.
The experience of condensing our vision and values for the SOBA submission brought me back to the early days of leadership training in the INSET program when we were just starting Stellar International School. Back then, I would spend hours sharing stories to convey our core ideas, and while my team listened respectfully, a few would later joke about how lengthy those sessions felt. At the time, I struggled to understand why the message wasn’t landing as intended—it was simply too much information without enough clarity or focus.
As Mark Twain famously said, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” This exercise with SOBA has reinforced that same principle—developing the clarity and discipline to distill our vision into its essence. This process, or what I think of as the “honing of leadership,” has trained me to be razor-sharp in my thought process, preparing me to articulate leadership concepts with clarity and precision.
Maximizing Time: Transforming 24 Hours into 36
The process of concise writing has also led me to think about time. Like many, I’ve wished for 36 hours in a day to get everything done. But I’ve come to realize that, instead of wishing for more time, what we truly need is wisdom—the wisdom to use the 24 hours we have as if they were 36 or even 100. It’s not about the quantity of hours but about the quality of each moment. Excellence doesn’t come from having unlimited resources; it’s achieved by maximizing the ones we have.
Similarly, while contemplating my book project, I realized that my goals align with our vision for the future of Stellar Education Group. Over the next 3-5 years, we aim to move to a purpose-built campus. This transition involves complex decisions—from construction budgets and design to managing the logistical shift. For instance, we need to evaluate current processes and determine what adjustments are necessary to accommodate an expanded campus and larger student body.
Leading Change and Building a Lasting Impact
This journey has shown me that leadership requires growth not only in our systems but also in our perspectives. Expanding to serve 1,200 students, doubling our current capacity, necessitates an upgrade in our organizational and leadership approach. My role is to guide this transformation, ensuring we build a sustainable and resilient structure that supports our future goals.
Through this, I’ve also come to value the importance of defining and cultivating leadership within our organization. Training our team to lead at a higher level will enable us to meet the demands of a larger community. Writing a book on leadership is an extension of this mission; it’s a way to share our journey, lessons, and values with a broader audience.
This commitment to purposeful leadership reflects a life worth living. By embracing both the known and the unknown, we can create a meaningful impact. And as we take on these challenges, it’s essential to remember that failure isn’t the opposite of success; giving up is. As long as we persevere, we’re on the path to success. This journey will involve shared risks, transparent communication, and mutual support.
The process of articulating a shared vision and leading our team through growth has been both exhilarating and humbling. Each step is an opportunity to strengthen our unity, rise as leaders, and contribute to the larger goal of lasting impact.
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