In 2024, PETRONAS launched the new "PETRONAS Open Class" . In the previous session, three dream mentors—Lisy Lee, Chief Representative of PETRONAS Beijing Representative Office; Julian Zhu, Commercial Head of PCM (China) Co., Ltd.; and Chuah Cai, Head of Corporate Service, PCM (China) Co., Ltd.—shared their unique insights on "Leveraging Personal Strengths" and "Finding the Right Team Role" in team collaboration.

In this session, we will continue to explore the core topic of team collaboration, specifically focusing on "Team Collaboration Challenges and Solutions." Through rich workplace cases and practical experiences, the three mentors will provide valuable guidance and inspiration on how to collaborate effectively.

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Regarding balancing team roles, Lisy stated that when building a team, she prefers choosing people with "shared values but diverse personalities." She explained that shared values are essential because they are non-negotiable; everyone has a fundamental point that cannot be compromised or reconciled. Therefore, team members must share the same core values. Once values are aligned, diverse personalities can bring out different sparks and creative ideas. Thus, Lisy believes an efficient team must have "shared values and diverse personalities."

Lisy Lee

Chief Representative of PETRONAS Beijing Representative Office

Besides selecting team members based on "shared values and diverse personalities," Lisy believes leaders should encourage team members to communicate independently rather than being the central point. Leaders should create an environment that fosters mutual communication.

In daily work, leaders should inspire team members to communicate and solve problems proactively, just like Julian and Chuah did for clients. When leaders create an environment where team members can communicate and resolve issues on their own, it leads to the best outcomes. Lisy said that leaders should provide support and backing for their team members.

If leaders cannot choose their team members, they should genuinely understand their personalities and challenges.

Lisy recalled working in Kuala Lumpur, where a team member struggled with childcare and work hours. As a leader, she created a flexible schedule for the member, allowing early office hours for desk work and regular hours for team meetings. This shows how to adjust work mechanisms to suit team members' needs, maximizing their efficiency.

Lisy emphasized that during this time, communication between the leader and team members is crucial. Whether dealing with chosen or existing members, the leader needs to convey the team's standards. Initially, the team may not fully align in values, but through multiple rounds of communication and adjustment, a common goal and shared values can gradually form. For a team leader, this is the most important task.

Lisy acknowledged that the content discussed in today's class holds great value for the children's growth, especially the point on "embracing change." For children, expressing individuality is not just about insisting on and emphasizing their own opinions, but about cultivating true "inner confidence." This inner confidence naturally flows and does not require validation from others. When one truly has confidence, they are more likely to step back and give others space during disagreements or conflicts.

To illustrate this point, Lisy shared a story from her MBA studies. She recalled that the first week was an "ordeal," with late nights almost every day. This stemmed from a pre-admission personality test that grouped students with incompatible personalities. As a result, nearly every group experienced constant conflicts.

Lisy's group included two high-level executives with strong personalities. She admitted that she was also quite strong-willed at the time. After two days of endless conflicts, she realized that if everyone insisted on their own opinions without compromise, their project would never be completed.

Lisy began to think about what she could do if the group's goal was to complete the project and get a high score. Fortunately, her group already had the "smartest brains" who had thoroughly analyzed the case. Realizing she was best suited as the "mediator," Lisy decided to prioritize the big picture and the team's common goal. She quickly adjusted her role to help ensure the project's success.

Therefore, Lisy advises children to avoid being too self-centered in their future studies and work, and not to focus too much on their current roles. Instead, they should think about who they need to become (which role they need to take on) to achieve their goals. Lisy emphasizes that this is very important for their future careers and lives, and it's the same advice she gives to her own children.

Chuah Cai

Head of Corporate Service

PCM (China) Co., Ltd.

After Lisy shared her personal experience, Chuah thought of PETRONAS's corporate values, particularly the importance of "team empowerment." He believes that within PETRONAS, everyone is accustomed to cooperating and working together. Each team member adjusts their roles within the team or project in a timely manner to achieve common goals and ensure smooth and excellent work completion.

Julian Zhu

Commercial Head of PCM (China) Co., Ltd.

Julian fully agrees with this. He believes that while encouraging team members to cooperate and empower each other, the team leader must fully trust their members, give them opportunities, and allow each person to contribute to the team voluntarily. This helps create a positive atmosphere of mutual trust.

As we all know, PETRONAS is a large international company that brings together diverse cultures, nationalities, and ethnicities. If asked how to manage and coordinate the challenges arising from the diverse cultures within a team, Chuah, who also comes from the multicultural hub of Malaysia, would be the most insightful and direct person to answer.

Chuah firmly believes that no matter the countries, cultures, and customs of team members, if the team's goals and values are aligned, their actions will head in the right direction, achieving the best results.

To help the children understand, Chuah used "integrity" as an example. He explained that at PETRONAS, integrity is a red line that no one can cross. Regardless of the issues at work, integrity is the first standard. If all team members uphold this value, solutions will focus on maintaining integrity, preventing major disagreements within the team.

Building on Chuah's point, Lisy emphasized the importance of shared values in a large international company. For example, PETRONAS operates in over 30 countries with employees from diverse cultures and backgrounds. What unites them is shared values. This demonstrates that both companies and teams need common goals and values to work successfully towards the same direction.

For Julian, life's journey has no highs or lows; all experiences are simply different scenery. When one grows old, they can only look back on their life. At that moment, every color of life becomes an experience, leading to acceptance.

Similarly, Chuah believes that when facing life's challenges, one should keep looking forward, not be trapped by the past, but strive to improve and view the future with a developmental perspective.

Lisy has deeper insights on this matter. She believes that in pursuing dreams and the desired life and career, everyone will inevitably face many disappointments and challenges.

But Lisy believes that if we re-examine these difficulties in five, ten, or twenty years, they will look different. As we age, things that once seemed monumental become trivial after life's storms. With time, we gain not just years but also wisdom, grace, and magnanimity.

Lisy emphasized that even if external negative energy affects us, as our destiny grows, this negativity will turn into dust and drift away. What remains will be a steadfast, brave, and fearless heart.

Lisy hopes that the mentors' life experiences and insights can provide some inspiration and guidance to the children in this class. She wishes that the students can draw nourishment from the mentors' advice, enabling them to approach their future careers and lives with ease and a positive outlook.

It is evident that the future will bring increasing uncertainty. Lisy pointed out that people once believed that with higher technology and more advanced tools, they would better understand the unknown world. However, the opposite is true: as people gain more technology and tools, their control over the future diminishes, and the uncertainty of the unknown world increases.

In this context, self-motivation and self-learning become crucial. Only with strong self-motivation and learning ability, combined with interpersonal communication and collaboration skills, can one maintain self-worth and competitiveness.

Lisy believes that in an era dominated by AI, human soft skills become even more important. Technology can replace hardware functions, but emotional communication, creativity, imagination, and passion for work are unique human traits that machines cannot replicate. These are human emotions and abilities that AI can never replace or surpass.

Therefore, the rapid development of AI does not pose a great threat to children. Instead, it requires them to adopt a new way of living in their work and studies, allowing them to realize their full potential.

Julian also shared his views on this issue. He believes that AI development cannot be stopped and is just a tool. People should focus on how to use this tool effectively, rather than fearing replacement. He emphasized that human communication must be led by people, not machines. Julian has never worried about AI replacing his job because marketing and promotion require emotional interaction. However, embracing change and continuously learning is essential.

Julian further explained that jobs like plumbers and electricians, once undervalued, might be the least likely to be replaced by AI. Various examples show that when facing career development, one should not set limits or avoid learning new skills. Embracing change and using AI tools to enhance human communication skills is crucial for navigating the ever-changing world.

I hope that in the best years of their lives, children can find their career direction, establish their dreams, and plan their lives early. Besides planning for their "small family," they should consider what contributions they can make to their community and society. When they grow up and look back, they will find that the greatest joy and accomplishment come from the value they created for society, not personal gains. This is a challenging proposition, worth a lifetime of thought and practice. But starting now, I hope they begin to think and plan, as it will benefit them for life.

I hope the children learn to quickly grow and gain experience from their mistakes. The more successful a person is, the better they are at learning from their mistakes and adjusting their strategies.