Envision's a future where a talent is not just asked to conform, wait their turn, or shrink to fit predefined boxes, but instead is seen, trusted, and equipped to build careers and lives that are truly their own.At the heart of her work is a powerful belief. Bold ideas die when people are told to blend in. Now also as the founder of the Embolder, Si Ting works with organizations and communities to redefine how we lead, learn, and work in an era of constant change. She's also the author of Gen z secrets, where she explores how individuals can identify their natural strengths and turn them into meaningful sustainable careers. Her perspective sets the tone for the entire conversation today and reminds us that preparing for the future of work isn't just about skills or strategy, but it's all about empowering people to show up fully, lead boldly, and grow sustainability. So, Siteng, welcome. I wanted to start by asking you, you often talk about a future where people don't have to blend in or wait their term.

Could you tell me briefly about a moment in your own journey when you realized the traditional path wasn't going to work for you?

Yes. Absolutely. First of all, thank you so much, Claire, for the very kind introduction, and hi, everyone. And, well, I'm darling currently, darling in from Singapore, and it's great my great pleasure to be able to speak to everyone today. So, to come back to your question on that, I think, for me, in my personal experience, I actually felt that since I was 12. So, so a little bit of background story. So I came from, Malaysia. I was born in Malaysia. I grew up in Singapore. So the moment I step into Singapore, it was at 12 years old living in a new country. I have no friends. I have no family. And I came here on a scholarship.

And so back then, there was when I felt like I my kind of, like, KPI, the one what I have to fulfill is the societal expectation of what a scholar should be, which is to perform academically. And I think at the age of 12 years old, that is when I started to realize that I don't fit the mold of what the society have expected of me. So at 12 years old, that is when I started to ask myself a lot of question, which was, you know, is this really what I value? I know to a lot of audience, you might be thinking, like, it's really too young for a 12 year old to an answer, you know, is that of my value? But I think a very for me, I realized that a very quick check to check if I'm aligned with a certain things is to ask if I'm excited, you know, doing a particular task. And so for me, I I kind of like, all of the path that I've taken has not has been nonlinear, and I would say that it's a little bit unconventional.

And the traditional path may not fit everyone. I'm not saying that, you know, it doesn't fit for everybody, but what I'm saying is that I think in today's context, we have to normalize the unconventional path, and we have to we have to normalize, you know, the nontraditional path itself because it's at the end of the day, it's, you know, what you value that would brings you to your next destination.

Wow. That is a great take, and thank you so much for sharing that. Just from there, you mentioned that as a scholar, you realized that you didn't fit the quote, unquote mold of what a scholar means. This is a great transition into my next question for you because many women, especially in the APAC region, aren't taught to fit expectations before expressing bold ideas. Mhmm. How do you think this shapes the way that women lead, and in what ways do you think, needs to change from this?

Mhmm. That's a great question. And I think that, this is, again, this is from my personal perspective and my from my personal experience is that I think, especially for women in APAC, I think we we have been receiving this silent pressure from the society that we have to be this, we have to be that, and, you know, we have to take on multiple roles.

You know? We have to be good in our career. We have to take care of our family, and we have to play multiple roles at one time. And I'll be honest, I have been in that position, and it is pretty much it takes a toll on your body, on our body, like, mentally, physically, and emotionally. But I think the key thing is to understand, you know, what is your role in that season. I think that is really what helped me to navigate the different roles, like, multidisciplinary roles that I have to play in that particular season. There is a cease there is a purpose for us, you know, to be in a particular season where we have to lead as in the family. You know, there is a particular season that it requires us to lead in the workplace, for example.

But I believe that, you know, if as long as we don't kind of attach ourselves to a particular timeline, because I think that is where a lot of time that's where pressure comes from. Because we attach ourselves to a timeline that we have to be this by that, by a particular time of time, that is where we exert a lot of pressure on ourself. So to me, I feel that, you know, as long as we we recognize the purpose that we have for that season in that season, you know, that is where it help us to navigate, how do we lead and where do we lead with clarity.

Thank you so much. No. That is so so certain for sure. Even as, a woman myself getting involved in my career, there are times where uncertainty feels very stressful, but your pointers will definitely make way for a a clearer mind and a confident soul. Yeah.

My life has always been filled with a lot of uncertainties, and I think this was something that I kind of took, I took a a it took me a while to learn that. And I think it's in in this uncertainty that you learned the most. I used to avoid uncertainty as well, but, yeah, it it was through that then I realized that that is where it actually gives you the clarity.

Yes. I love that. I do feel that, it's through challenges where you can grow as a person. I could just imagine how you got to where you are today. Speaking of how you got to where you are today, you've built a career across education and entrepreneurship, consulting, and community work. I feel like the list goes on. What's the biggest misconception people have about multidisciplinary careers as in touching different careers on different basis, or do you think they all come together as one and serve its own purpose?

That's a great question. And I and I really love this question because I think for me, as you have mentioned earlier, that my career path has always been nonlinear. And in fact, if I may simplify, it has always been in different industry, and it seems like I'm starting all over again in every single role that I take. So it it started from my corporate role. It started, in the investment industry, and then I was in the finance industry. I was in real estate industry. I transitioned to an entrepreneurship, so I started up my own startup. And six months later, I have to quickly transition to be a full time caregiver. And that is where my startup was actually put on hold because my full time was to take care of my dad who was ill at a point in time. And so I was in a caregiving role for about, you know, two and a half years before I come back to build the business again.

So by a lot of people have this misconception that multidisciplinary role, it's, you know, you're not being loyal. You're not being committed. But I think in today's context well, in the old context, you know, your value comes with how long you stay in a company, how long you know, the longer you stay, the more stable you are, the more credible you are. But I think in today's context, multi business multidisciplinary role is actually a form of competitive advantage because in today's context, your value doesn't comes in how long or, you know, what is the role that you hold in the company, but it comes with when your experience, your skills, and your knowledge combined.

And the value is in how can you contribute across sectors in whatever context is it it is with the skill sets that you bring, with the experience that you bring. So I think to me, multidisciplinary role, it's actually a form of competitive advantage.

I love that. It is so true. I feel that, our our perspective and, attitude towards the business environment is changing where where you could be more well rounded and where you have experience from different facets. Different industries will definitely serve you. Can you get back on track to our questions? I couldn't help out over here the previous answer, which was great way to get back into it. For you. I know you work very closely with Gen Z and Emerging Talent. What do younger generations understand about leadership that older systems are still catching up to? I know we kind of talked about this with disciplinary perspective, but is there any other takes I have on this topic?

So I would say that so I think this is a this if I were to phrase this question a little bit differently, I think it's, you know, what is what is in terms of the views? Like, you know, in terms of leadership, how is it different from other generations? Yeah. So I think this would probably be, you know, a a question that a lot of, probably a lot of people in the audience are are thinking about this question as well. And my quick answer to this was because they grew up in an environment where it is they're not short of information. They have seen what burnout is from the earlier generations, and they are also looking and witnessing on the global crisis. So to them, for Gen z's, a lot of people have this misconception that, you know, they are entitled. You know? They take things for granted.

But if we understand from their point of view, the way that they view this role and the system that we are in is very different because to them, there are three questions that actually matters to them whenever it comes to the future or the jobs that they're looking at. It's why does this matter? Right? That's the first question. Number two is, does this work or task actually align with their values? And the third part is, you know, is there a better way to do this? So coming back to and why do I bring out this is because these then shapes, the leadership, right, in terms of how do we lead. Right? How as a in an organization, as a leader, how do you lead the next generation? Because to them, in terms of leadership, it comes from being heard. They want a leaders the leader who actually hear them, who hear their voice. But in other generations, leadership comes from, you know, by compliance. Right?

You have to comply to what I said. So there is a mismatch in terms of expectation. So that is number one. And number two is that, you know, they want us they want leaders to lead by lead with boundaries and always control. Because coming back to what I said, earlier, what I have seen in a lot of organization is because we are so used to how in a system, how we lead is basically we follows. We follow the rules and we follow the systems. And to them, how they will appreciate leadership is they want to know first of all, they want to know what excellence looks like. They want to know what are the outcomes that matter.

And then at the same time, they want to be given the autonomy to actually make decision, to make change, to experiment. So I think this is the missing piece that, you know, in in leadership, sometimes we might overlook on this part because in a traditional leadership, we are taught to follow with authority and with control. So that is the that that is my quick answer to to that to your questions.

Thank you so much. I definitely agree on the part of how generation z wants to learn what excellence looks like while also having our own autonomy. I think that's something that will go forward very well, moving forward in the business, technology, etcetera, world. Injunction to that question, you know, as ambition increases in my generation or any other individual out there, burnout often follows with that aftermath, with that increased mission. So what boundaries or mind strip, mindset shifts have helped you pursue meaningful work without losing yourself?

Yes. That is a great question. And I wanna start off by saying this is that, you know, sustainability is actually a leadership skills. And this is, again, just something that I I didn't know. I I learned it while I was in my caregiving role for my dad, and I didn't know because at a point, it was like, I know I and if you recall earlier when I mentioned about I was building my I was rebuilding my start up while I was being a caregiver. So my priority at a point, I was torn. It's like I just restarted building my business, and yet I have to be a caregiver at the same time. It seems like I have to perform, and yet I have a lot of roles that I have to take on at a point. And I think the key that you have to really answer to yourself is there is a season for the work that you're doing, so prioritize what matters to you.

And it's okay because there is if there is a time for you to take a break to be in to free full capacity as a caregiver, and that's what you are called to do in that season. So focus on that. And so to me, what really kind of, like, pivoted during that moment was the the increase of the increased sense of self awareness, is to be aware what role am I playing at that point in time. And, again, a lot of us thinks that, you know, leadership is all about title. And one thing that I really just want to emphasize is leadership is really being true with who you are, with your identity, with what are the things that you can contribute and you can bring value to the table instead of, you know, oh, I am playing a role as a CEO, you know, I'm playing as a role of, you know, a CTO, for example.

Because roles change, Right? Your roles change by your identity in who you are. That would actually translate across industry, across to many other sectors. Because the fact is we don't know in ten years' time what are the jobs that will be available in the market. Right? So your roles might change, and it will change 100%. But who you are, your identity, that remains true to you, and that doesn't change no matter how the society has evolved.

Wow. I just I am just so amazed by how you touch base on your nonlinear path from expanding your career than having to shift to being a caregiver. I'm I'm just sure that's not something that you expected to come across in your career. And I I love how you really honed down on how weather change, seasons change, weather changes, but your identity at your core will always be your core, and that is something that will persevere through even the most challenging times. So to wrap up, I I would love to ask you if you could speak to your younger self, or to a woman at the start of her career. I'm sure in our audience, there are many people eager to start their careers, including myself. What would you tell yourself to not worry about so much, or what's one piece of advice that you really wish someone told you when you started out?

Okay. I love this question. I always love this question. And I know that in the audience, I do have I do see some of the questions coming in. And if I didn't get a chance to answer that, I'll be I would love to still answer to your questions. Perhaps we can connect offline, after the session. But to quickly answer the question would be I always say this is that, you know, I was asked a lot of times and even I asked myself was that, you know, is this the right path for me? Right? Whenever I'm taking on an an nonlinear path, I always question myself, is this the right path for me? And I think my advice or, you know, one word that I just want to leave with the audience is there is no right path. There is no your path. Right? It's imagine yourself as a crossroad junction, whether the question will be do I turn left, do I turn right, or go straight, or do I go backwards?

And my take is that no matter which direction you take, it is your path. Even if it take you on a detour, it helps you to understand more on who you are as a person. So that is not wasted. And I think, a lot of us are chasing after speed. Right? Oh, I want to make sure that it's the right path. I want to make sure that it is the the correct path so that I don't waste my time. But the thing is, I think it's more important for us to really get clarity in terms of who we are, where we want to go. And even if it takes a little bit time to explore, I think it's not a time wasted.

Thank you. I I'm sure a lot of us here really resonate with those words. I feel like especially in such an ever changing, generation we're in with the increase in AI and shifts in technology. There's so much uncertainty going forward, but I love your motto about, you know, just having yourself at your core and and being confident in that is really gonna propel propel everything forward. So, Si Thang, thank you so much for sharing your time, your wisdom, and your heart today. You know, I'm I'm especially grateful for the way you reminded us that leadership doesn't come from having all the answers, but also having the courage to begin and and to learn and lead with humanity. Your work continues to definitely, build bridges across generations and redefine what sustainable meaningful success can look like.

So thank you so much for setting such a powerful and honest tone for this conversation ahead and and for inspiring so many of us across APAC and beyond to lead with confidence and compassion. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Claire.

Thank you. And I see all