lim wee chai - KellyOCG

View from the top / Into the minds of leaders who make a difference / Malaysia
tan sri
lim wee chai
A visionary, committed, hands-on
Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai is Chairman and Founder of Top Glove
Corporation, the world’s largest rubber glove manufacturer.
Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai graduated with a Bachelor of Science
Degree with Honours in Physics from University Malaya in 1982, and
obtained his Master of Business Administration from Sul Ross State
University in Texas, United States in 1985. Tan Sri was elected as the
President of the Malaysia Rubber Glove Manufacturers’ Association
(MARGMA) from 1997 to 1999, and was appointed to the Federation
of Malaysian Manufacturers Council for 2010/2011. He has been the
recipient of many awards and accolades, among others, like the
prestigious Master and Country Entrepreneur of Malaysia for the
Year, by Ernst and Young in 2004; and Entrepreneur of the Year at
the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards 2008.
A successful leader is
one who is able to
invoke confidence in
his followers of his vision
Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai, Chairman and Founder,
Top Glove Corporation Bhd

View from the top / Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai, Chairman and Founder, Top Glove Corporation Bhd
i In your view, what are some key characteristics that make leaders different? / A successful
leader is one who is able to invoke confidence in his followers of his vision and his ability to
lead them in achieving the vision. He is also able to command the respect of the others by
walking the talk while demonstrating a high level of honesty and integrity.
i Some people fail miserably in leadership roles, even though they fare extremely well
as individual contributors. What advice would you give about leading? / The difference
between a leader and a contributor is that as a leader one has to be able to juggle and
consider many aspects as compared to a contributor. Many who have just transitioned to
the new role still prefers to spend more time behind the desk doing the work by themselves
than working with their team to get the job done. A new leader has to ensure that the
communication channel is always open, to allow input and feedback. He/she can start
by getting to know each and every one of his/her team members – understanding their
strengths and weaknesses, motivating factors and views. Having that knowledge would
enable them to communicate effectively with the individual team members. Next, provide
direction, guidance and priorities. And on an ongoing basis talk and listen actively to keep
staff motivated and inspired. Also develop people through skill building, coaching and
mentoring.
i What are some specific beliefs or values that you work by? How do you ensure that
your values and vision permeate the organisation? / Honesty, integrity and transparency.
These values form the very foundation of a successful working relationship among the
employees, between the company and its employees, customers, suppliers and business
associates alike. The compromise of any of these values would lead to the disintegration
of the relationship. Therefore, I’ve given it great emphasis in Top Glove’s tagline, the staff
badge and messages around the office. It is regularly reinforced in our communication with
the staff. Most importantly, it is leadership by example.
i How do you inspire your team to learn, stay motivated and continue to make a
difference? / In Top Glove, we have implemented a weekly book reading project on topics
such as management, leadership and health, where six managers and executives will be
assigned to read and summarise one chapter of the chosen book. We will then select the
best comment to be presented in all factory management meetings. We also encourage our
staff to further their studies, by providing flexi-working hours for those who take up parttime
studies. When advising my staff, I place a lot of emphasis on living every moment of
our lives by adding value to ourselves, our family, our workplace and our society. I always tie
back my business philosophies to continuous learning and contributing. All staff members
are given the opportunity to provide feedback and suggestions for improvements either
during weekly meetings or through monthly suggestion forms or anytime by writing to me
directly.
i What do you do to keep yourself physically, mentally and emotionally healthy? / Sport
is incorporated into my working schedule where I play badminton and golf twice per week.
Of course, we must always maintain a positive frame of mind, in order to stay fit physically,
mentally and emotionally all the time.
i As a leader of the organisation, what initiatives have you taken that you thought made
a positive difference to the organisation and the community? / “Must learn, must do, must
teach” – this is my personal brand of leadership. What it means is that one MUST first gain
the knowledge, then he MUST practise what he knows and finally he MUST be willing to
teach and share the knowledge with the others. We should not just keep it to ourselves. If
we teach 10, these 10 will teach the next 100, and these 100 will teach the next 1,000. The
benefits will multiply tremendously.
i How do you deal with life disappointments? / I strongly believe in investing in prevention
first. Should the result turn out otherwise, we should not wallow in regret or disappointment
but trace back to the source of the problem. By doing that we will be able learn from our
past mistakes and prevent similar mistakes from recurring.