03/06/2026
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 — 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟
When I graduated more than twenty years ago, I had a very clear goal.
I wanted to see the world.
Not simply as a tourist.
I wanted to build a life across it.
At that time, I never imagined that journey would eventually lead me into executive presence coaching, leadership communication consulting, personal branding, entrepreneurship — or living and working across Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and London.
Yet looking back now, I realise something.
The cities changed me as much as I moved through them.
And perhaps more importantly:
They completely changed how I understand influence, communication and leadership!
𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.
Singapore was one of the first places that taught me something many ambitious professionals initially underestimate:
People buy from people.
Yes, it is efficient.
Yes, it is sophisticated.
Yes, the standards are incredibly high.
But behind the polished infrastructure and speed sits something deeply relationship-driven.
Conversations often extend beyond transactions. People want to know who you are.
Connections matter. Trust matters. Relationships matter.
Professionally, Singapore also taught me how fascinating multicultural communication can be.
English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil.
Global companies sitting beside family businesses.
A communication style influenced simultaneously by Asia, Britain, China, the West and local culture.
You learn quickly that effective communication is rarely about speaking more.
It is about adapting better.
𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝.
If Singapore taught me relationships, Hong Kong taught me momentum.
Hong Kong moves. Ideas move. People move. Decisions move.
The pace can feel relentless.
But there is something energising about this.
People appreciate clarity.
Directness. Commercial awareness. Ex*****on.
You can test ideas quickly.
You can pivot quickly.
You can build quickly.
Hong Kong also shaped much of how I think about executive communication.
You learn that being direct does not necessarily mean being rude.
You learn that commercial conversations and relationship-building often happen simultaneously.
And increasingly, you learn that multicultural leadership is unavoidable.
Large organisations now operate across generations, languages and geographies simultaneously.
Communication is no longer simply communication. It becomes translation!
𝐃𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐢 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬.
Dubai fascinated me from day one.
It feels like movement.
New projects. New buildings. New opportunities.
Thousands of events. Thousands of conversations. Thousands of introductions.
What surprised me most, however, was this:
Business often moved slower than life itself.
Because access matters. Relationships matter. Trust matters.
Networking is not simply helpful.
It is infrastructure.
Dubai also forced me to think more deeply about cultural intelligence.
Religion. Tradition. Hierarchy.
Local versus expatriate communities.
Communication here requires respect, patience and calibration.
You learn quickly that influence is rarely built through information alone.
It is built through understanding context.
𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲.
London feels different.
If Hong Kong feels like speed and Singapore feels like precision, London feels institutional.
Layered. Complex.
Sometimes slower.
Sometimes frustratingly slower.
But there is also depth.
History matters. Reputation matters. Credibility matters. Relationships matter enormously.
You cannot simply arrive and expect immediate traction.
You build.
You invest.
You network.
Then network again.
London also reinforced something important:
People often do not buy based on price first.
They buy confidence. Trust. Credibility.
And increasingly, thoughtful expertise.
Executive communication here often feels more reflective.
More structured. More story-driven.
People want evidence. Context. Rationale.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞?
For many years, I thought executive presence meant confidence.
Today, I see it differently.
Executive presence is adaptation.
It is understanding that:
What signals authority in one culture may create distance in another.
What sounds confident in one market may sound aggressive elsewhere.
What feels respectful in one environment may feel passive somewhere else.
Presence is not fixed.
Presence moves.
Strong leaders learn how to move with it.
𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧.
Starting a business was never the dream. Seeing the world was.
But somewhere along the way, helping people communicate better, influence more effectively and navigate multicultural environments became deeply meaningful to me.
I found my life purpose, through coaching, consulting and training people on their personal branding, executive presence and leadership communication in a multicultural world.
Nonetheless, this does not mean entrepreneurship is glamorous.
It is stressful. It is uncertain.
There are moments of:
- self-doubt.
- imposter syndrome.
- financial anxiety.
- decision fatigue.
- wondering whether I am doing enough.
- wondering whether I made the right choice.
Yet despite all of this:
I genuinely cannot imagine going back.
Because I increasingly realise this is not simply work.
This is my purpose.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐰?
We are entering an era where visibility is no longer optional.
AI systems summarise us. Search engines interpret us.
Digital footprints shape perception before conversations even begin.
Technical expertise alone is increasingly insufficient.
Leaders now need:
- presence.
- visibility.
- clarity.
- influence.
And perhaps most importantly:
The ability to communicate authentically across increasingly multicultural environments.
Looking back, I am deeply thankful.
For the cities.
For the experiences.
For the mistakes.
For the discomfort.
For the opportunity to discover that sometimes the career path you never planned becomes the one you were meant to build.
And perhaps that is the biggest lesson of all.
𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘂𝘀.
𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁!
