Different management styles work. There is no one style that is effective. There are bosses that are more nurturing and there are those who are more dictatorial depending on where they are, what they are tasked to do, and the kind of people they work with. I have seen some really strong leaders who would literally just tell people what to do. What happens is people who cannot live in that environment leave and those who thrive in that environment stay.

That’s why when hiring people, you need to increase the chances that they will stay because they fit into the organisation.

What does it take to get into a position such as yours?

A lot of hard work and a lot of self confidence. You also need a good set of people to work with. I personally choose the people I work with and make sure we can work as a team and achieve our goals together.

How do you help your senior management team grow professionally?

I would adjust to their particular needs. There are ten people reporting to me and I deal with them differently depending on their skills and coaching needs. I leave some of them alone while for others I am on their backs day in, day out. It depends on their competencies in their own field. Also, my people don’t have to guess. They know exactly what they are supposed to achieve for the year.

I have a general manager who is new in his role so I spend a lot of time coaching him until we are both comfortable that he understands my expectations, then we move on to other aspects. I give him the opportunity and challenge him to prove himself. I also encourage the [management] team to exchange and share the good things they have done during meetings so everybody gets to benefit.

What would make a candidate stand out against other applicants?

We are looking for people who love working with people. Fundamentally, what makes them happy is seeing people become successful.

One aspect HR can improve in is find out how we can add value to our employees and help them become better professionals. They are not there just to manage benefits or salaries. HR needs to train employees to have the right mindset and make sure they really appreciate their roles in the organisation.

Melisa Tantoco Quijano

President

Nu Skin Enterprises Southeast Asia