Raise Your Game: Second Chair Leadership

When Kimberly Clark's HR team approached us about bringing 47 foreign specialists to Malaysia for a critical manufacturing expansion, they expected the usual challenges: visa paperwork, regulatory compliance, and processing timelines. What they didn't expect was the leadership crisis that nearly derailed their entire project three months later. The work permits arrived on schedule. The expatriates settled into Kuala Lumpur. But by month three, productivity had dropped 35%, two senior engineers had resigned, and the local Malaysian team was requesting transfers. The problem wasn't immigration. It was integration. And it revealed a blind spot that costs Malaysian companies millions annually: the failure to lead across cultures.

As we move into an age where freedom and flexibility become a necessity at work, the idea of micromanaging has slowly become synonymous with rigidity and a distinct lack of creativity. For some, it is even regarded as a dirty word. Joseph Tan from Leaderonomics Good Monday explores this area and shares his thoughts on micromanaging.