(Edited by: MEI Dao)
Facing the increasingly dynamic global business environment and the rapidly evolving social needs in China, Ms. GUO Lan's outstanding leadership style enables her to quickly and profoundly understand and respond to changes. She also brings new momentum to the company's continuous development with her unique perspective and leadership style. Under her leadership, the company not only stands out in the highly competitive market environment, but also provides employees with a good platform for career development and realizes the mutual growth of the company and employees. Today, we are honored to invite this extraordinary leader, who embodies the power of modern women and is dedicated to promoting the development of human resource management, to share her experience.
Q1. With your deep background in international accounting and your passion for the field of human resources, you have made a brilliant career change and achieved remarkable success in this industry. Can you tell us how you transitioned from international accounting to human resources and what challenges and opportunities you encountered along the way?
GUO Lan: There is no doubt that my accounting background provided a unique foundation for my entry into the human resources field. My education in finance has made me proficient in data analysis, understanding its underlying meaning and able to make smart decisions based on that data. This skill is equally important in human resources. However, the transition was not smooth. My biggest challenge was overcoming the inertia of thinking and accepting and learning knowledge and concepts that were completely different from my previous experiences. As far as opportunities go, I think the biggest one lies in the time and environment in which I find myself. Today, human resources is increasingly valued in companies and seen as the key to shaping their competitiveness. This allows me to participate more in the company's decision-making process, apply my knowledge and skills, propose innovative solutions and create a positive impact on the company and employees.
Q2. After your transition, you worked as Asia HR Operation Director in a well-known foreign company. Could you share with us your gains from this experience?
GUO Lan: This was a very important and fulfilling time in my career. Given the challenges and changes in the business environment, I learned about leadership. I also began to intensively try out some new leadership strategies, such as placing more emphasis on encouraging innovation and pragmatism. At the same time, I devoted a lot of time to studying and reflecting on the definitions and applications of leadership. Based on my observations and learnings, I believe that leadership is not fixed but needs to be adapted and developed depending on specific situations and environments. My research on mindset and behavior change based on the Inform-Do-Transform model is a comprehensive, structured theory of dynamic leadership. “Inform” means that leaders must clearly articulate expectations and goals; “Doing” requires that managers use appropriate means and strategies to promote work progress; “Transform” means that leaders should advocate and lead continuous learning and change. I found this study to be very applicable to rapidly changing and diversified work environments, and it is also the secret to my successful handling of difficulties and challenges.
Q3. As HR Operation Director for Asia, how do you lead your team to operate efficiently and innovate continuously? And what do you think are the most important qualities a great leader should possess?
GUO Lan: In my view, the key to efficient operations is understanding and respecting the diversity of the team, creating an environment for barrier-free communication, and ensuring that each team member understands their own goals and responsibilities. I have always encouraged team members to make full use of their expertise, knowledge, and experience. Therefore, I have tried to create an environment that encourages diversity of thought, supports a fearless approach to learning, and provides opportunities for each team member to contribute their views and innovative ideas. And I encourage team members to remain curious and exploratory about workflows, technology, and strategy, to try their best to solve problems, and to look for better ways to do their jobs. In my opinion, a great leader should first have good communication skills. This includes not only the ability to convey information clearly and effectively, but also the ability to listen to others and understand their points of view. Second, leaders must have strategic thinking and be able to move beyond everyday trivialities to see and direct the bigger picture. Third, a leader must be empathetic, able to understand and care for team members, and help them improve themselves and maintain their motivation by understanding their needs and concerns.
Q4. You have received the “Top Employer China” award on behalf of the company several times. How do you assess this award and what impact does it have on your human resources management strategy?
GUO Lan: This is a joint award for our entire company. I have always been convinced that we can only develop the full potential of our employees if we genuinely care for them, respect them and trust them completely. We have always been committed to providing our employees with the best development platform. To this end, we actively optimize the company's human resources policy to ensure that it truly meets the needs of our employees. This award merely serves as confirmation of our efforts and motivates us to continue on this path.
Q5. As one of the course designers for the Asia Leadership Acceleration Program, this program has received wide recognition, winning the Brand Learning Program award at Trainingmag's 2023 Industry Excellence Awards. Could you share with us the original intent and current status of this course design?
GUO Lan: I am happy to share this project with all of you. The original intention behind the design of the Asia Leadership Acceleration Program is to strengthen the leadership skills of leaders in the Asian region and help them better deal with a rapidly changing environment and complex business challenges. When designing the course, we chose a combination of practice and theory to give participants the opportunity to experience and practice leadership through case analysis, discussion and project practice. The course covers all important aspects from strategy formulation to talent management and team collaboration and aims to comprehensively improve the leadership skills of the participants. After the program, the leadership quality of the participants has improved significantly and they have been able to apply the knowledge and skills learned in the course in their work and achieve good results. Every time I receive such feedback, it fills me with great joy. The award of the Brand Learning Program at the Industry Excellence Awards 2023 is also a recognition and encouragement for our work.
Through Ms. GUO Lan's lecture, we realize that in the ever-changing world, we need far-sighted and wise leaders who can recognize future trends and still be rooted in current developments. We look forward to their more active participation in promoting corporate social responsibility and contributing to the sustainable development of the global ecological environment in the future.
