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As the leader shares, learning is not simply about absorbing information. Its real value lies in giving people the opportunity to test ideas, reflect on their experience, and improve through practice.
Learning and development is most valuable when it moves beyond knowledge-sharing and creates meaningful change in how people work. For Eric Lim (pictured above), this means giving people the opportunity to test ideas in real situations, learn from the results, and continuously build confidence through practice.
As Vice President, Learning Excellence, Group Business & Transaction Banking at Alliance Bank Malaysia, Lim works closely with business leaders to shape capability-building strategies that strengthen sales performance, leadership effectiveness, and organisational readiness. Drawing on more than 19 years of experience across relationship management, sales leadership, and L&D, he brings a commercially grounded perspective to developing people and teams.
His approach is guided by a simple but powerful principle: learning through application. Rather than focusing solely on delivering programmes or content, Lim believes L&D should create practical opportunities for employees to experiment, reflect, and apply what they have learned in the context of their day-to-day work.
Ahead of his session at Learning & Development Asia 2026 – Malaysia, Lim sits down with Emily Chong-Gupta to talk about turning learning into action, the value of asking the right questions as a leader, and why organisations must build capabilities deliberately rather than simply fill vacancies.
Q Which L&D principle has most influenced how you help others or yourself learn best?
The principle that has influenced me most is learning through application. People learn best when they can connect an idea to something real, try it for themselves, reflect on what happened, and then try again.
This has shaped how I approach L&D, moving beyond simply delivering content towards creating opportunities for people to practise, experiment and apply what they have learnt in the context of their actual work. Ultimately, learning becomes meaningful when it changes what someone does, not just what they know.
Q Who has been a mentor or coach to you personally, and what is a timeless lesson they taught you?
I’ve been fortunate to learn from several leaders, mentors and coaches throughout my career, and one lesson that has stayed with me is that you don’t need to have all the answers to help someone grow.
"Sometimes the most powerful thing a leader or coach can do is ask the right question, listen, and create the space for someone to discover the answer themselves. It is a lesson that continues to influence how I lead, coach, and develop people today."
Q What is an unexpected or interesting skill you have picked up that colleagues may not know about?
Whenever I travel, I’ve developed a habit of going beyond simply seeing the sights. I genuinely enjoy striking up conversations with locals and understanding their background, values, culture and way of life. Over time, I’ve realised that this curiosity about people has become a skill in itself, learning to listen, ask better questions and understand what shapes someone’s perspective.
Sometimes the most powerful thing a leader or coach can do is ask the right question, listen, and create the space for someone to discover the answer themselves. It is a lesson that continues to influence how I lead, coach and develop people today.
Q In fewer than 10 words, what is your number one motto for helping people and teams grow?
Progress over perfection; consistency turns effort into growth.
Q A quick preview of your session at Learning & Development Asia: What is the one key takeaway you hope attendees will gain?
Our panel, “From vacancy to velocity: Keeping pace with mid-management scarcity, critical skills and digitalisation,” explores a challenge many organisations are facing today: we cannot simply hire our way out of every capability gap.
I hope attendees walk away recognising that building the next generation of leaders requires a much more connected approach, linking recruitment, development, mobility, succession and real business exposure rather than treating them as separate initiatives.
As organisations navigate critical skills shortages, digitalisation and changing workforce expectations, L&D has an opportunity to move beyond being a provider of programmes and become a strategic enabler of the talent pipeline.
Most importantly, I hope our discussion leaves attendees with practical ideas to bring back to their organisations and perhaps one important question to reflect on: Are we merely filling vacancies, or are we deliberately building the capabilities we will need next?
I want to attend the conference: If you're keen to attend this closed-door conference, kindly register your interest here. For speaking opportunities, please write in to Emily Chong-Gupta. We look forward to welcoming you!
I want to sponsor: Engage in meaningful dialogue through dedicated speaking slots, roundtable discussions, and at your booths! If your organisation provides any talent solutions and products that you'd like to showcase, you’ll fit right into this event. To learn how you can sponsor, please reach out to a member of our team now!
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