Leaders with strong social skills are becoming more valued, says chief of Google Singapore Ben King

Mr King was the first guest on The Leader’s Chair, a limited series on CNA’s podcast Work It, which is hosted by CNA’s Crispina Robert and HR expert Adrian Tan.

In The Leader’s Chair, C-suite leaders from various fields talk candidly about their work and provide insights on leadership lessons they’ve learnt along the way.

Mr King said his experience in Thailand gave him an opportunity to deepen his skills and forge a team that worked well together. But he also stressed that he has noticed that there’s been an evolution of what makes a good leader.

Leaders were once picked for their technical talent, said Mr King, adding that such people had to exhibit “executive presence” and show charisma.

“We used to grapple with this a little bit in terms of executive presence. This need to have executive presence was seen as something that was required to move up or go into leadership roles and over time that’s been unwound,” he said.

 A good leader now is someone who may not be the most charismatic speaker but “they could be an incredible thinker and somebody that can influence in ways that other people just cannot”, he added.

Today, these leaders have a combination of social skills like empathy, influence, the ability to listen and fold in different viewpoints, said Mr King.

Here are some excerpts from the podcast:

CARVING OUT TIME IS A DISCIPLINE

King: Monday mornings for me are a protected area. I used to start at about 8.30am with one-on-ones. I don’t take a meeting now before 12pm, doesn’t mean I’m not working. I’m working from 7am to noon. It allows me time to do all my pre-reads, make sure I’m organised for the week, make sure my inbox is well managed. The benefit is that it takes pressure off Sunday. In my house, Sunday is called Daddy Day.

BEING A LEADER IS NOT ALL ABOUT TECHNICAL SKILLS

King: As you move on in your career, you go from a set of responsibilities, which are very execution focused. When you move into leadership, it’s actually not about all the things you do. It’s about the decisions you make.