For Daisy Kong, Operations Director at FrieslandCampina Hong Kong, becoming a better leader starts with understanding herself. After more than five years with the company, she continues to explore how she can make better decisions, create greater business impact and help others realise their potential. Through leadership development programmes and learning alongside colleagues from across the global business, Daisy has gained new perspectives on leadership - and a fresh reminder that growth never stops, whatever stage of your career you are at.
Leadership Starts with Self-Awareness
As an experienced leader, Daisy knows that delivering results is only part of the job. Equally important is understanding how she leads and how her approach affects others. Through the Expand Your Impact programme, she explored her leadership style using the Leadership Circle framework. She recognised her natural tendency to be supportive, considerate and attentive to different stakeholders, strengths that also need to be balanced with greater decisiveness and a stronger focus on outcomes. For Daisy, the experience reinforced that effective leadership is not about changing who you are, but about becoming more aware of your habits and knowing when to approach things differently.
Learning Beyond Your Own Business
A highlight of the programme was learning alongside colleagues from different functions, business groups and markets. Hearing their experiences challenged Daisy’s assumptions and reminded her that there is rarely just one way to approach a challenge. These exchanges also helped her see how different parts of the business connect, encouraging her to look beyond her own area of responsibility. Back at work, she brings this perspective into how she develops her team, listening with greater curiosity, asking thoughtful questions and creating space for others to share ideas. She believes that helping people grow starts with understanding their strengths, motivations and potential, not simply telling them what to do.
After more than five years at FrieslandCampina, Daisy values the company’s commitment to developing people at every career stage. Being selected for a global senior-level development programme made her feel trusted and reminded her that the organisation sees potential beyond someone’s current role. Her experience reflects a learning culture where development goes beyond technical skills to include self-awareness, leadership and collaboration. For professionals looking to grow their impact, Daisy’s journey shows that there is always room to learn, evolve and help others thrive.