Ahmad Shahrizan
ExecutTeam Leader | Credit Analyst
“Recognized for my work, empowered to lead with empathy and purpose.”
#LeadershipJourney #ContinuousGrowth #YoungLeader
Q1. What does being promoted mean to you personally?
The promotion is a reflection that my proven effort and dedication over the past year and a bit have been recognized, which makes me feel deeply appreciated. It signifies that the work I’ve put in to understand complex credit landscapes and contribute to the team’s success has truly paid off.
Even more importantly, this step up doesn’t just recognize past achievements, it gives opportunities for development that I’m truly excited about. It’s an invitation to grow, to take on new challenges, to mentor others, and to contribute to the company’s vision in a more significant way. It feels like a beautiful alignment where my personal growth is supported by my professional trajectory.
Q2. What challenges did you overcome to reach this milestone?
Moving beyond my comfort zone involved several key areas of personal growth. I made a crucial shift in my mentality by viewing technical errors not as failures, but as an essential part of the mistake and learning process that ultimately helped me build smarter, more accurate reports. Concurrently, I had to deliberately cultivate my human skills and a significant challenge for someone used to focusing on numbers which meant by learning how to coach individuals, resolve disagreements constructively, and truly inspire a team. A vital leadership competency I worked hard to develop was the ability to understand and balance between efficiency and empathy. I learned that getting quick results must always be paired with understanding and supporting my team and clients. Finally, a significant personal hurdle I overcame was my low self-esteem to voice out and made a speech, requiring consistent practice to present complex ideas clearly and confidently to managements in high-stakes meetings.
Q3. How has your role evolved since you first joined?
My role has evolved from being purely reactive and analytical to becoming strategic and team-focused. When I first joined, my focus as an Executive was primarily technical. I concentrated on individual case files, strictly following procedure, and ensuring highly accurate analysis during the mistake and learning process. My main goal was sheer efficiency in processing reports.
Now, as a Leader, the shift is profound. My mentality has moved from doing the work to enabling the team to do their best work. This means the job is less about the numbers and more about human and conceptual skills. My focus is now on setting the analytical vision, mentoring junior analysts, and fostering a culture where they feel comfortable taking initiative. This has required me to actively grow in areas like managing my low self-esteem to made a first step so I can confidently advocate for my team and our strategies. Ultimately, the role has evolved into one that constantly requires me to understand and balance between efficiency and empathy ensuring we meet our business goals while genuinely supporting the people who make those goals possible.
Q4. What support or mentorship helped you grow?
The journey of my professional growth was significantly accelerated by robust support and mentorship. My direct manager was key in reframing the mistake and learning process, transforming my mentality from focusing on errors to embracing strategic solutions. They beautifully modeled how to understand and balance between efficiency and empathy in leadership, setting a high standard for me to follow. Crucially, my peers created a safe, constructive environment for developing my vital human skills. Through honest feedback and practicing tough conversations, they helped me overcome my natural low self-esteem to voice out and made a speech, building the confidence needed to present clearly to managements. Finally, formal company training in emotional intelligence provided the crucial tools that allowed me to successfully integrate knowledge into the drive for efficiency.
Q5. What’s one lesson you’ve learned that you now apply daily?
As an analyst, my mentality prioritized getting the calculation right. But to succeed as a leader, I realized that my technical advice only lands if I present it with genuine understanding of the other person’s context and concerns. I now start every conversation whether giving feedback to a teammate, or presenting a complex analysis to a management by focusing on their needs and perspective first. This intentional focus helps me overcome my old tendency towards low self-esteem to voice out and made a speech because I am now focused on providing value to them, not on the fear of judgment. It’s a subtle but powerful change in my human skills that ensures our team remains both productive and supportive.