The Manager
Looking at Mr. Henry Leong, one cannot help but wonder what knowledge he had kept within him throughout all these years working in the IT line.
Sipping from a cup of English breakfast tea, the mood was relaxed, perfect for an interview. The jovial 47 year-old who was sitting across me wore a pair of silver glasses, had thinning hair and donned a light blue long sleeve business shirt. Looking alert and ready for another day’s work, Mr. Leong smiled and with no doubt, looked friendly and approachable.
Having been in the company, Computer Associates (CA) for 18 years, Mr. Leong rose from a mere engineer, to a director within the company.
CA is a MNC company dealing with computer software and it is one of the largest company in the world in its field. Offering business solutions mainly in managing infrastructure and monitoring of the operating system, their clients range from banks, retail and government institutions. It is like a computer data centre where they head and control the client companies’ computer systems.
The interesting thing about Mr. Leong’s job is that he does not only work in Singapore. He is an avid traveler who flies to the Thailand headquarters in Bangkok almost every week to manage a team there. He returns home to his family only on the weekends and he reveals that at times it could be really taxing on him with the constant travelling.
However, Mr. Leong said that he would not show any signs of fatigue in the office as he knows he is a role model for the whole team and he should carry himself well at all times. “As a manager, your staff looks up to you. You can’t expect your staff to give their best when you are not yourself.”
One of the difficulties he faced when based overseas was the language barrier. As not all of their local employees have a good grasp of English, sometimes instructions get misinterpreted. Thus, Mr. Leong would send detailed emails, in which the instructions typed there would be clearer to follow.
Another difficulty he faced as a manager was to get the right person to do the right job. Many a-times, different people have different strengths and weaknesses and it was not easy to allocate suitable tasks to suitable individuals. So, it is important to know each subordinate’s plus points so that when they work together, it enables them to produce the best quality work.
Keeping good staff may seem like a challenge to managers too. When an outstanding staff becomes a valued worker in a company, other companies may also want to ‘hook’ him or her away. It would definitely not be a good idea to lose a good staff.
“I have team of consultants under me to meet the client, understand their needs and present the company solutions to them. And I trust that they do their best.” Mr. Leong added.
He encourages his consultants to share ideas among themselves so that they can keep improving and get better, fresher perceptions. He also emphasized that it is important to constantly praise his staff when they did well so as to motivate their sometimes tired mind, body and soul. Mr. Leong said that he would send emails to the respective staff to compliment them in recognizing their good effort. He would also recommend the staff that excelled for bonuses and incentives.
Mr. Leong would always buy his staff drinks and desserts as he said it creates better team bonding when everyone gathers together to take a break. There, they would chat and de-stress from work for awhile and talk about other topics besides office work.
However, he stressed that as a manager, he has to be firm with the guidelines. Ultimately, to deliver satisfying results is the most important objective in every company. ‘There is always a time to be serious and get down to work’ he explained.
Mr. Leong is thus unforgiving when it comes to staff that has repeatedly made the same mistake. “When chances are given, it would be disappointing to not learn from the past and fail again.” Mr. Leong recalls the time when an ex-staff refuses to take his work seriously after making several mistakes.
Like what Mr. Leong puts it, to always be levelheaded, understanding and having the willingness to share are the main attributes that builds a good manager.
Mr. Henry Leong
