The HR Leadership Journey: Tenacity, Flexibility, Values

What does the career journey of a HR leader look like, and what life and career lessons can we draw from those who have broken the ground ahead of us? Long-time HR leader Carmen Wee shares her experience of decades in the profession

- Carmen Wee

Being able to show role models and mentors is a key pathway to increasing diversity at any level. But what does it take for someone to work their way up to a life and career stage where they can be such a role model and mentor? People Matters asked long-time HR leader Carmen Wee, the author of From the Kampung to the Boardroom: My Leadership Journey, to tell us about her rise through the profession. Carmen has been in HR from the very start of her career, holding regional and then international roles with large companies, and within the last few years she stepped up to take board directorships.

Here's her career story: a journey of cross-disciplinary experience, flexibility, and openness to opportunity.

What you study isn't necessarily where you'll find your career

“When I was young, I thought that I wanted to become a social worker. I wanted to do something altruistic. So I studied social work at the National University of Singapore. In my final year, I was attached as a medical social worker for 10 weeks. It was very interesting, because the doctors would refer patients with emotional and counselling needs to the medical social work department, and I did my share of counselling, casework, and intervention. And I realised that I had no desire to do this work for the rest of my life. I could see how the other social workers were tired and burned out, how their caseload just piled up, and how they would be there for the next 10-20 years or until they retired – and I didn't see any future in that for myself.