Talent & Tech Asia Summit 2024
human resources online

Malaysians want leaders who connect and communicate

Leaders in Malaysia should develop emotional and sincere connections with their staff if they want to genuinely improve the impact they have on their employees and the organisation.

According to the Asian leadership Index 2014 by The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre, employees in Malaysia feel their leaders do not value the instincts, contributions and judgments of other members of their workforce, and do not help them improve in their regular duties.

Out of the 18 countries polled in the survey, 24% of Malaysian employees stated their leaders need to do a much better job of including them in real conversations about the work they are doing, higher than the regional average of 20%.

In addition, 23% of staff stated their bosses are 'emotionally unaware' and cited it as a crucial leadership development gap. The figure was also higher than the regional average of 17%.

Other sought-after attributes included the ability to foster development, employee empowerment through delegation, and technical competence.

When it came to regional results, the report highlighted the primary characteristic most Asian professionals want in any leader is a vision they can believe in.

Close to four out of 10 Malaysian (36%) employees also stated they would want their ideal leaders to be visionary.

"Most Asians value vision but not all do. Asian leaders moving across borders need to consider that they may have a fundamentally different orientation based on ideals," the report stated.

Image: Shutterstock

Follow us on Telegram and on Instagram @humanresourcesonline for all the latest HR and manpower news from around the region!

Related topics

Related articles

Free newsletter

Get the daily lowdown on Asia's top Human Resources stories.

We break down the big and messy topics of the day so you're updated on the most important developments in Asia's Human Resources development – for free.

subscribe now open in new window