Embracing Change Inner strengths beget CEO powers by Ella Lee Turning personalities into strengths can effect change Seven years ago, Annie Leung, general manager of the world's number one toy manufacturer Mattel East Asia Ltd set out to create a cartoon character in the hope to bring happiness to the world. The product was far from a success and meant a major setback in Ms Leung's career. That experience, nevertheless led the way to a journey towards something even greater. "I found it difficult to handle the other jobs I'd had since then," Ms Leung says. "I simply found them stressful and unsatisfactory. And when I quitted my last job as Warner Brothers Consumer Products' Greater China & South East Asia vice president, I literally lost all sense of direction." That's when Enneagram came into play. In particular, she has learned two important lessons: "Success should include fulfilment and happiness," she says. "And different people have different personalities," she notes. According to Enneagram, there are nine personality types, each with its own instinct. Ms Leung, now founder and CEO of CEO mindPower ltd, has identified the positive side of these nine types of personalities. These are what she calls CEO mindPowers. People who are able to maximise their mindPowers and utilise their individual strengths can become leaders, or CEOs. "Learning about the Enneagram has enabled me to be in touch with myself. On the one hand I am business-driven and result-oriented, on the other I am an individualist who is creative and artistic," she says. "Now I have all the answers I needed to become a happy person. In a business sense, I find it easier to manager people. This is a powerful tool." She continues, "In the past, I simply thought there were two types of people - me or not me. But in fact, there are many different types of people throughout the world who have different personality traits, strengths and fears. It is important to understand yourself and others so that people can work together to achieve synergy and gain success." Hong Kong in general, is basically a type three (achiever) society, where people are efficient, target-oriented and driven by success. Leaders in Hong Kong, Ms Leung believes, are more likely to belong to type three, type one (reformer), type eight (challenger) and type seven (enthusiast). However, she emphasises that all nine mindPowers are equally important and people of each personality type could also become leaders. "I want to help people find their inner strengths. Some people are happy with what they already are. But, the world requires you to move upwards and that can create stress." Switch on your mindPower To help individuals and companies switch on their mindPowers and become CEOs of their lives and their businesses, Ms Leung has developed and trademarked the CEOMP model. It comprises five unique steps: construction, evaluation, options, mind transformation and progress. At an individual level, this empowerment model starts by defining personal goals and mission, followed by a review of the reality to identify what gap might exist. Then, people will identify different options and find ways to achieve their goals in order to attain their life missions. "I want to help individuals find their uniqueness and turn it into strengths so that they can climb their career ladders and become happy persons. That's my mission," she remarks. At a corporate level, the CEOMP model starts with vision alignment and strategic planning. Then, in the evaluation process, executives have to review and analyse their business. Knowing about their companies' current problems, they must figure out the different ways to improve performance, and equally important, how to execute them. This usually involves changing fixed beliefs to reach new heights. Initiative assessment is necessary before you can determine the next steps. Ms Leung finds it common that most people focus solely on current situations, and related problem solving. Instead, leaders should be forward-looking, identifying opportunities and even anticipating difficult situations. "If you believe in something, you have to make it work. That's the only way to find out if it works. The beauty of change is that there are unknown factors. These will make the whole journey more exciting," she stresses. "Life is boring without change." Changes are inevitable and therefore, anticipating and accepting changes with a positive attitude should be a part of our lives. "While leaders can set the trend and make history, other people can still follow and adapt to changes," says Ms Leung. "Learning from each other is important. I'm glad that I can learn something new each day." Now working on what she's always wanted to do is a "happily painful" experience, Ms Leung jokes. "At the moment I have no time to take a break because this is a new business and I get to be in touch with many people to promote my concepts," she says. "People admire my passion but at the same time they have many questions. People in general are nervous about change. I have to do a great deal of education work." To conclude, Ms Leung quotes from advertising guru Leo Burnett: "When you reach for the stars, you might not get them, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either." Coming attraction: Gear Up column For nine consecutive weeks starting 19 January 2007, Annie Leung discusses cases related to the Enneagram and the CEOMP model in coming issues of Gear Up column. Online forum — CEO Career Ladder Learn from Annie Leung and her CEO guests the tips on climbing the career ladder, starting 20 January 2007 at careertimes.com.hk. Taken from Career Times 12 January 2007 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]