Strengths Team Building Workshop Program - Seng Kang General Hospital

Had an opportunity to do some strengths-based team development work for a team of healthcare professionals from Seng Kang General Hospital.

Due to some unique needs, I decided intentionally not to use CliftonStrengths Assessment (which is my go-to).

Instead, I tried a new strengths based approach to meet the needs of the team. It definitely wasn’t comfortable. Thankful that I had the support of another colleague to pull off this team building workshop program. We worked on the same principles - focused everyone towards their strengths, help people connect deeper and build trust through the strengths language and help participants apply their strengths in team collaboration.

The results were immensely satisfying. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive from each participant. 

The experience has definitely inspired confidence to offer alternative solutions while not compromising on the strengths based approach to team development. 

Adapting and expanding of oneself is necessary to survive. I strongly believe in learning to anticipate the curve before it bends. The goal is to turn disruptions into opportunities. 

It is mostly uncomfortable and I honestly dislike the process. 

But the choice is clear to me:  innovate or evaporate.

Leadership Conversations - Strengths, Trust Building & Cross Cultural Cooperation

🫸 Pushing the Limits ⚠️

What I learnt from my Lebanon 🇱🇧 trip.

Some context:

▶ It was a 5 days leadership retreat for an NGO and I was invited to facilitate 3/5 days, focusing on cross cultural cooperation and trust building.

▶ I had only 2 weeks to prepare amidst many other ongoing commitments. So I knew this work was going to really stretch me. 

▶ I had participants from many different countries - Syria, Lebanon, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, USA, Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea and Germany.

▶ It was my first time listening, conversing and learning from those from the Middle East, Russia and South America. 

What I did:

▶ I needed an anchor to bridge the cultural differences. So I started with strengths as a language and a lens to build the container of safety.

▶ We explored how trust might look like in cross cultural work - what it looks like when it is strong and when it is broken.

▶ I taught a couple of leadership conversational skills and facilitated the practice - how leaders can generate context of trust and safety. 

▶ I had 1 on 1 coaching with each person to process the emotions and learnings. 

What I took away👇🏼

📍Listening for our bias and assumptions is crucial. It starts by being aware that we bring our bias into the conversations. On day 1, I felt I had so much to learn as I hear different stories in a very diverse context. I felt I was the odd one out as a Singaporean, living in my “safe” bubble. 

📍Listening in a cross cultural context brings out more of the emotional and body context because of language challenges. For many, English is not the first language. The other aspects are heightened as a result. As I listened to the stories shared in English, I often experienced the intensity of the stories through the emotions and the body of the storyteller. 

📍The Strengths Language truly deepens appreciation and respect for diversity. Once I facilitated the strengths conversations, the cross cultural differences was reduced and the strengths language facilitated conversations of trust building. 

It was truly an eye-opening week of being, doing and learning. My strengths felt satisfied. I’m now more confident in navigating high tension and conflict work. #Command #SelfAssurance #Communication #Connectedness

#teamcoaching #ontologicalcoaching #deeplistening

Relationship Coaching and Marriage Mentoring - Prepare and Enrich Certified

𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭

A few years ago, my wife, Michelle and I made a decision that changed everything—we went for marriage counseling. 

📌 Not because we were on the brink of collapse (though we definitely had challenges), but because we believe that thriving marriages need intentional care. 

We have seen how easy it is to be careless in marriage relationships and how neglect happens transparently. 

We walked away with a deeper understanding of each other, a renewed connection. 

Our marriage ❤️ was rejuvenated. I say that proudly. 

That experience also reshaped how I see marriage relationships. It has a multiplier effect to our lives and it cuts both ways. 

I’ve experienced how I struggled at work when my marriage is in disarray. It affects everything—my energy, my focus, even my success at work felt empty. But when the marriage thrives, I show up as a better coach, colleague, and human being.

⭕️ I have since had a conviction that the greatest gift we can give to our children is a thriving marriage. 

✅ So I’m pleased to share that I’m officially certified as a Prepare/Enrich Facilitator! 🤩🎉

My wife and I received 4 months of marriage mentoring by a lovely and experienced couple followed by 3 weekends of classroom learning. The sessions have equipped us to carry out marriage mentoring work with the younger couples we have been journeying with.

The biggest joy?

Learning together with my wife! 😁

The sessions have also given me stronger distinctions as an #ontologicalcoach. I can see how the learning will benefit my coaching work with individuals, teams as well as couples. 

#marriagementoring #prepareenrich #couplescoaching #relationshipcoaching

CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) Team Building - Technology Company

Stronger Together: Celebrating 15 years

What happens when you bring together 30 brilliant minds from Singapore and ASEAN region to celebrate 15 years of innovation, collaboration, and resilience? A team ready to level up—with strengths as their superpower! 

Had the honor of facilitating a CliftonStrengths Team Building Workshop for eVantage, this dynamic tech company.

I had a deeper realization: 

Strengths are launchpads.

They help us understand why we thrive in certain roles, how we contribute best, and who we need beside us to go further, faster, stronger.

As this team steps into their next chapter, they do so not just as colleagues, but as a cohesive force ready to shape the future.

Here’s to celebrating strengths, unlocking potential, and moving forward—together!

#CliftonStrengths #TeamBuilding #StrengthsAtWork #StrongerTogether

CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) Team Coaching - Collaboration & Communication

“𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦’𝐬 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬?

Imagine the difference when we ask: “Who’s handling this work?”versus “Who’s built for this?”

Many meetings drain energy because they overfocus on tasks. Adding strengths conversations into such meetings shift the energy positively because they shift the focus towards people. 

Instead of saying, “Good work on the deck. Let’s now quickly prepare for the presentation”, we ask, “I saw your energy and enthusiasm when you were putting the deck together. What about doing slides make you so happy? How can we partner together?” 

The difference? One feels like a to-do list. The other feels like unlocking superpowers. My work as a #Teamcoach is helping teams redefine their habits.

In this most recent #CliftonStrengths session, we didn’t discuss work—we discovered flow. When members of the team explore what they see in each other and in themselves, they stop reinforcing the negative stories about each other. 

They start being curious about what each other cares for at work and what makes each other feel like they are thriving.

The energy shifts. The body relaxes. The smiles appear. 

Collaboration and partnership becomes a natural outcome. 

My own reflection after the team coaching:
There was a deeper realization that I aim to integrate emotional work with strengths. Sometimes it’s peace-making work by diffusing existing conflicts. Other times, it’s amplifying hope for teams that feel burdened. My superpower is injecting clarity into a team’s emotional context and generating the required shift. I love seeing teams come alive and this session gave me evidence of what I can generate in terms of the outcome! #Grateful

Coaching Skills Leadership Workshop - Competency Driven Growth

We coach, play and dance 🕺 🤩

It was CNY day 3. I thought the coaching workshop should be spiced up a little. Who says coaching workshops can’t be fun! 😆

Together with Yeang Cherng Poh and Jasmine Khoo, we brought the leaders through a coaching framework with some customized role plays, did some somatics work and learnt some coaching distinctions through games. 

We explored what it takes to lead through coaching—how to partner and build trust, how to inquire and listen with empathy. More than just coaching skills, we also explored how being more coach-like is the game-changer. 

The shift was tangible: leaders walked away not just with new skills they can practice, but with a fresh perspective on leadership itself. 

𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬—𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬.

It was lots of fun facilitating the session. Glad it went better than expected. 

I must confess it wasn’t fun spending CNY thinking about the session and the highly customized design. There were definitely lots of discomfort and some anxiety doing the preparations.😅

#CoachingLeaders #CompetencyDrivenGrowth #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment #CoachingSkills #CoachMindset #StrengthsTransform