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"By creating a vibrant leadership culture, we can unlock the unlimited potential of everyone, cultivate a strong leadership pipeline and ultimately drive sustainable success," Jacinta Low, Head of Talent and Performance Management & Sustainability, Group Human Resources, OCBC, reflects.
Leadership for all is not just a catchphrase in OCBC. To us, it is about enabling people throughout the organisation to discover their strengths, empower each other through collaboration and communication, and hold themselves to the highest integrity and accountability.
We work to nurture leadership capabilities in all our people so that leadership can emerge from any corner of the organisation. By creating a vibrant leadership culture, we can unlock the unlimited potential of everyone, cultivate a strong leadership pipeline and ultimately drive sustainable success.
This is why the learning opportunities we provide are extended to all colleagues, at any stage of their careers, and why we continually invest in our numerous leadership development programmes. Over the last five years, we have grown the number of leadership programmes by more than five times.
These programmes are part of the S$30mn we have dedicated over three years from 2023 towards employee development and mobility, building on our previous investment of S$50mn from 2018 to 2023.
Nurturing leadership at all levels
We have designed a comprehensive suite of programmes open to all, from entry-level colleagues across the Bank to executives and the C-suite.
Our programmes do not put a focus solely on 'classroom' experiences. In line with the industry’s goal to build more finance specialists and leaders in the workforce and develop new talent pools for the finance sector, we work to offer experiential learning opportunities at home and abroad.
As a regional financial service provider, international exposure helps our colleagues uncover new skills, gain insights and expand their thinking while having them deeply understand the dynamics of working with different cultures and within different markets.
One programme with an overseas immersion module is OCBC SOAR, a collaboration with the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) that has leaders participate in a one-week immersive learning in Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
We observe that participants bring back new viewpoints, are better able to see new cross-regional growth opportunities and contribute new knowledge to their colleagues. At the same time, they get to expand their networks. All this helps them to succeed and lead.
The wealth of other experiential components of our leadership programmes include coaching opportunities, role rotations in different departments or divisions, and thought leadership talks.
As they move through our various programmes, we at HR observe that our people tend to grow their passion for problem-solving, and display energy and enthusiasm for complex challenges, while maintaining a strong desire to learn, grow and push themselves. Some of our flagship offerings include:
- OCBC SHINE – A six-week self-leadership programme that aims to empower individual contributors by building their confidence and resilience. The skills
acquired will help them build positive relationships and create sustainable impact through their work. - OCBC STRIVE – Executive Development Programme with Nanyang Technological University, a two-week programme to build key competencies from adaptability and strategic thinking, to leading courageously.
- OCBC SCALE – A programme targeted at higher-level executives that helps them build networks across out organisation. They are exposed to different businesses within our organisation, allowing them to see how different parts of the bank work together. They also make company visits to corporations in different industries, creating exposure for participants.
Leadership and creativity
We know that leadership and creativity go hand in hand, and so we empower colleagues to develop and pursue passion projects guided by OCBC’s Purpose – to enable people and communities to realise their aspirations.
An example of this was a team of colleagues across various divisions coming together under one of our leadership programmes. They identified a gap in society: That in a digital age where much learning happens online, underprivileged individuals with no access to digital devices can be hampered when it comes to their learning opportunities, employment chances and social participation.
The team was spurred on by this thought – that no one should be left behind. They worked with our IT department to take "retired" laptops (machines in less-than-ideal working condition for business purposes) and had them refurbished. In December 2023, the team distributed these good-as-new machines to 120 underprivileged families through Care Corner Singapore. This project not only exemplifies leadership in action but also made a meaningful impact on the lives of those in need and has inspired other colleagues.
It serves as a demonstration of the significant impact of leadership, and how one programme can spark creativity in leadership in employees. It is an example that when everyone embraces their leadership potential, organisations can make positive impact in communities in which they operate.
Offering leadership opportunities such as those I have described is enabling our people across all ranks to take ownership and collaborate effectively.
They form a network of individuals with shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours, and are empowered to embrace a leadership mindset.
Best yet, they inspire others through their actions, and are able to make an impact not only in their place of work, but in their communities as well.
Lead image / Provided by OCBC
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