Axiata’s Young CEO Development Programme: Application Questions in 2018 — Part 3

Disclaimer: This article is based on my personal journey via my application for the programme from year 2018 to 2019. This article is not funded by Axiata or any of its affiliates in any way. It is meant as a fun read for those curious on how the application questions were at the beginning.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

If you have accidentally skipped Part 1, read HERE first!

If you’re looking for Part 2, it’s HERE! 🤓

To those who are lost with where we are, we covered leadership roles in Part 1 and leadership motivations in Part 2.

And now, we are proceeding to go through some thought processes behind answering YCDP’s query on how this programme will shape us into the future.

We’re already halfway through so bear with me for 2 finale questions! 😉

Question 3:

What do you look for in the Young CEO Development Programme to help prepare you for the future? (1000 words)

Response to Question 3:

First and foremost, I see the Young CEO Development Programme (YCDP) as a platform to challenge myself to something new, especially on the business and leadership theories since I crave for the adrenaline rush of being thrown into something I am unfamiliar with. Being someone who had always been in non-corporate bodies and activities such as student councils, events team, ambassadorial and engineering roles thus far, it comes as second nature to vie for something unique once again this time around. This something unique I strongly believe will be the YCDP.

Based on the triangular leadership journey chart which I observed on the YCDP site, I can see lots of effort put into the structuring of activities which encompasses the addition of new skills from time to time for each year before moulding us into solid CEO characters. I find the timeline very reasonable since learning should take time for the concepts to really set in. What is needed is the quality in these transcended information instead of just the quantity. Besides that, I find the skills advocated for in the YCDP very relevant to current times, especially on the critical thinking, business immersion, and personalized mentoring aspects.

Take critical thinking for instance, this trait is highly demanded by employers in all parts of the globe. This trait is crucial for it offers the learner to see things differently, to challenge the status quo, and to come up with something unique which the learner can add value to while ensuring it aligns with the learner’s beliefs. In this day and age where innovation is stagnating, this skill will come incredibly useful and I feel I will have to improve lots on this. With the YCDP putting it on the list, I see it as a very strong pull factor.

Another worthy mention is the business immersion aspect which ensures we are provided the internship and related case studies which can make the situation as real as it can be to the real world. This is beneficial since I will have the chance to adjust to an environment which closely resembles the business world, thus making it easier for me to adapt into real businesses thereafter. The case studies are an added bonus too since they act to provoke our minds to put us in a position to critically evaluate the situation and come up with possible solutions.

Not to be underestimated as well is the personalised mentoring aspect which helps makes the learning path even sweeter, if I may add. Apart from having someone who can guide you and point you out if you make any mistakes, you have someone who can explain concepts or your doubts in more clarity, and broaden your horizons in a whole different way. This, to me, is truly exciting and comforting at the same time. Something secondary which I look forward to is also the building of bond together with my mentor where I contribute valuable ideas and viewpoints so that we may both engage in more useful discourse which can lead to actionable plans and active task execution.

Last, but not least, I view the YCDP platform as an opportunity to network with everyone all over Malaysia, be it the younger ones or the older ones. I find that every individual out there has a story to tell and it is always heartening to listen to what they have to say while having meaningful discourse with them. Apart from engaging in conversations, I can also learn from them key skills and traits which I may not have encountered before this and apply them into my life. Likewise, if I were to find people who are less experienced than me, I can impart my knowledge to them if they do need the advice. Help should go in a circle, and I for one think that YCDP can be a very positive platform for all the participants to motivate each other and keep on pushing each other to our limits.

In short, I am captivated with how the organizing team behind YCDP had put in the effort everything is meticulous planned; from the scheduling to the key skills included. Based on the details which I see and the layout of the site, I can see that YCDP is indeed something to look forward to if I do get selected!

Photo by LOGAN WEAVER on Unsplash

To conclude question 3, one just simply needs to commit to 2 things: reading through every single bit of and digesting the YCDP website, highlighting bootcamp features which intrigue you, and letting the team know why you so deserve to be a part of this awesome bootcamp!

For me, it was more so of breaking down the expected learning outcomes which they highlighted for each of the 8 bootcamps and then choosing details which I can explain based on what I am most passionate about.

I opine that this section was included so as to let Axiata gauge your understanding of their programme and to see if you are a good fit for it. Think of the answer to this question analogous to the job interview question of “How do you see yourself fitting in this company?”.

I am sure you, dear reader, will find a way to research them up and craft a creative answer for yourself.

So yea, that’s about it for Part 3 of this quadrology article series.

For Part 4 of this 4-part quadrology experience, refer to this link here! 😉

For those wanting to know how the programme experience was like for me (I was accepted! 😄) at the end of the day, read here!

About the author:

Cheech Sia is your one-of-a-kind engineer based in Selangor, Malaysia. He is also a super enthusiast when it comes to areas of personal development and financial education. Connect with Cheech on LinkedIn, Facebook and Youtube.