SFIC and the Achieving Leadership Excellence Custom Programme

The Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC) represents 95% of Singapore’s furniture manufacturers and suppliers and subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. One of South East Asia’s foremost trade bodies, the SFIC plays a critical role in building its members’ business capabilities in the context of a changing global business landscape.

The SFIC was looking for a programme to help them develop leaders with a deep understanding of digital disruption and the challenges and opportunities that are reshaping the market globally during the current climate of high volatility and uncertainty. They chose LSE Executive Education as a learning partner with renowned expertise in developing world-class business competencies, in empowering rock-solid collaboration networks, and in building the global vision to withstand uncertainty and navigate the road ahead with confidence and clarity.

The programme was delivered over three immersive days at the LSE’s campus in the heart of London in September 2019, bringing together 15 leaders from Singapore, China and Vietnam. The SFIC and the LSE worked together intensively to customise a learning solution perfectly attuned to the specific needs of SFIC leaders. Based on the LSE Executive Education Achieving Business Excellence Programme, this was a custom learning experience designed to accelerate the acquisition of frameworks, knowledge and leadership skills to enact organisational change and deliver lasting impact.

Guided by senior LSE faculty from the Department of Management and expert guest lecturers, participants examined key topics such as digitalisation and social media, e-business and e-ecosystems and the changing nature of competition against the backdrop of mega-shifts in the global economy. Through group discussion and dynamic interchange of perspectives, the participants were encouraged to explore new ideas in an open and safe environment – forging new connections and networks that will drive collaboration going forward.

Analysis of each participant’s unique leadership style and challenges was informed by feedback from staff via a 360 degree questionnaire with input from the participants’ superiors, peers and direct reports, providing unique insights and opportunities for individualised assessment and a well-rounded perspective on their own leadership skills. Empowered with a clear grasp of their own leadership strengths and deep understanding of the current paradigm for leadership, each participant emerged from the programme with a personal development and growth plan, and the insights, tools and self-knowledge to unlock innovation and navigate the challenges, and the opportunities, lying ahead.

The SFIC edition of the Achieving Business Excellence programme marks the first collaboration between the Council and LSE Executive Education; a partnership that has fully leveraged the LSE Executive Education’s expertise in articulating and addressing challenges to traditional business models, equipping SFIC with the knowledge and skills to lead in a climate of exponential and constant change.

SFIC Vice President and SFIC Institute Vice Chairman, Jake Tan, welcomes the prospect of future collaboration with the LSE.

“The Achieving Leadership Excellence Programme at the LSE was enormously impactful. In Asian culture, there is often a sense that the ‘teacher knows all’ which can create passive classroom atmosphere. LSE professors adopt a highly interactive, dynamic approach, opening up two-way learning that really embeds new ideas, concepts and approaches. The LSE faculty is also absolutely expert in bringing real-world applicability to the theoretical elements so you achieve a sharpening of the sword both in intellectual and practical terms. We were hugely impressed by the calibre of the programme, the professors and the school’s capacity to tailor content both to the Asian context and our specific needs. We look forward to greater collaboration with the LSE in the near future.”