Why ‘Inside the Leader’?

When I first became a Design Lead at 27, just like many first-time leaders, I was unprepared and went in with my best intentions. I learnt that the best intentions are not always enough, and it was through much sweat, tears and the grace of God that I overcame some of the challenges — although I am sure that my team would agree that I’ve failed them many times over.
I had a supportive manager who empowered me to do my best work, and he remained someone I look up to. But at that time, I wished there were more resources surrounding being a first-time manager. I frequently doubted my decisions and took things one step at a time. A few years later, more resources surfaced on Medium, and books published later such as Lara Hogan’s Resilient Management and Julie Zhuo’s The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You really resonated with me.
Later, I continued to mentor leaders and found that my struggles were not unique to me. I began writing about my first time being a manager, and several other stories about interviewing people as a first-time hiring manager. To my surprise, these remain the most-read stories to-date on my list of published stories. I feel convinced that many first-time managers out there are actively looking for resources that are authentic, actionable and most importantly, humane.
In Inside the Leader, I hope to help first-time managers or young managers/leaders find the guidance they need by getting inside the minds of real leaders. Here, I speak to leaders whom I look up to and those who lead from the heart.
I hope that you find what you are looking for here. I am happy to receive feedback on how this publication can be improved. Feel free to contact me at peilingchin at gmail dot com.
Thank you for reading this far.
Pei Ling
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