Halogen’s management movement

The time has come for leadership renewal as Halogen Foundation Singapore reaches its 10th year mark. Martin Tan, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Halogen hands over the baton to Sean Kong, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, a promising self-starter who has trained more than 30,000 youths over the past 5 years. In this issue, we find out their thoughts on the transition process.

Interview with Martin Tan
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Halogen Foundation Singapore 

Halogen360 (H360): When did you start thinking about finding a successor? What prompted this decision?
Martin Tan (MT): About two years ago, I started the conversation with our Board about the need to prepare the organisation for the next phase of growth after our 10th year mark. Every organisation goes through key growth phases; I wanted to make sure we started to plan for Halogen’s next 10 years early. That was when we started our conversation on the need for succession planning, finding the right person and having me step down so that Halogen has a new team for a new season.

H360: What is your approach to succession planning?
MT: My approach for succession planning is very much the same as all staff hires, that is to find the best person possible and trust them to achieve great things beyond what you and they can imagine. We do not have a full-fledged fifty page paper on this but we took the necessary steps we believe to be important – to make a deliberate decision to step aside for the next generation of leaders to lead, to go all out to find the right person for the job, to induct the person early in key positional rotation so that he has an overview of the organisation, and most importantly, have them work with the rest of the team to create new synergies and camaraderie which is essential in building great teams.

H360: Why did you select Sean to be your successor?
MT: My successor must, first and foremost, be a person of good character and right values. He must possess the relevant competencies that can lead a team of highly dynamic individuals and have the ability to mobilise young people towards their own aspirations. I see all of the above criteria in him. I have confidence in his character and values and quite importantly, the youths love him. He connects with them through his wit, dry humour and at times, lame jokes (that actually works). I have seen him in action and judging by the reactions of the youths, this quality satisfies a key aspect of what we look for in the role of a CEO of Halogen. Also, as with how I have learnt through all the good and bad decisions I have made since day one of working at Halogen, Sean will also grow into managing a youth organisation.

“My successor must, first and foremost, be a person of good character and right values. He must possess the relevant competencies that can lead a team of highly dynamic individuals and have the ability to mobilise young people towards their own aspirations.” –  Martin Tan

H360: What processes did you put in to ensure a good platform for Sean to stand on?
MT: I put Sean through key rotations through the different aspects of the organization and also increased his involvement in management decisions over time. I coached him through his thought processes, and continue to spend enough time with him individually and as a management team in order to answer all the questions he has as he goes along.

H360: What is the transition process like? What are the key challenges you faced?
MT: It is almost like planning for your funeral. You think of all the things that need to be taken care of when you are no longer around. you then set in place precedence to ensure that certain thought processes are sound and ingrained. Like all transitions, the hardest part is really the chain of command. As time goes by, I slowly relinquish more and more responsibilities to Sean and quite often, the staff still come to me for decisions. It is part and parcel of the succession process and it is really up to me to make sure I refer them back to him for the final say. It is hard but it needs to be done.

H360: What is your vision for Halogen after you leave?
MT: My vision for Halogen remains the same now as when we first started: that the organisation will be a thought leader in youth leadership development around the world. We will develop young leaders who will practically change the world in issues they believe in. We must continue to innovate and create new ways of inspiring young leaders towards social change. It may be through new technologies that we dare not even dream of today. That would be an awesome future. Sean is well-placed to lead us there.

Interview with Sean Kong
Deputy CEO, Halogen Foundation Singapore 

H360: Why did you agree to take up the baton from Martin?
Sean Kong (SK): When Martin shared the vision of Halogen to me, it was very compelling. Having been in the education industry for three years, I was looking for an avenue that can produce longer-term results that is more sustainable and holistic. Being a charity, Halogen offers such a space to create this impact, as we are not driven largely by a bottom line and have the freedom to pursue other objectives.

H360: What are some key challenges you faced as you underwent the transition process?
SK: My biggest challenge is not having the knowledge of what I do not know. When I first embarked on the transition process with Martin, I did not know where to begin asking questions. The other challenge is in learning how to run a youth organisation. The learning curve for management fundamentals such as finance, human resource, communications are rather new to me. At times it felt like I was transported from a swimming pool to an ocean, where I have to learn fast to swim against the tide.

H360: What is your approach in navigating the changes?
SK: I roll up my sleeves and learn by doing. I learn through making mistakes and keep on pushing myself to get better. Once I figure out how things work, I ride the waves to get things done right. For things that I do not know, I tap on the existing expertise of those in Halogen for institutional knowledge and subject matter know-how. For key decisions, I consult martin to get his input. He will always ask difficult questions to sharpen and stretch me. He also offers perspectives from multiple stakeholders be it from an educator, a donor, a board member and others. Besides Martin, I also tap on the expertise of our board.

H360: What were the emotions you felt through the transition process?
SK: In the heat of it all, the uncertainty can be very real. There is a tendency to compare to the ‘almighty’ Martin Tan. At times, his shoes seem such big ones to fill. However, as I gradually take on some of the reins and see tangible progress from the contributions and decisions I make, I am encouraged. When I see the students and my staff meaningfully engaged, I get a sense that I am doing the right things.

H360: What drives you to take on this leadership challenge?
SK: Education is in my blood. My grandmother was a Chinese teacher, my father was a Physical Education (P.E.) and Chemistry teacher, my mother was also a P.E. teacher who taught Geography, and my sister currently teaches science. On top of that, my grandaunt trains Principals in the National institute of Education (N.i.E.) and I have relatives who teach in Hong Kong. Coming from a heritage of educators, I see a strong need to build young leaders who are both competent and with good character.

“Education is in my blood… Coming from a heritage of educators, I see a strong need to build young leaders who are both competent and with good character.” – Sean Kong

(H360): What is your vision and aspirations for Halogen?
(SK): My vision for Halogen is for us to be at the forefront of youth leadership development in terms of pedagogy, technology and research findings, with resources that educators can tap on. When people think of youth leadership development, I would like them to immediately think of Halogen. I think what we currently have is good. However, we cannot rest on our laurels. We need to constantly innovate. The youths of today learn so much more outside the classroom. If we do not get into their mind-space, we will lose mind-share.

We also see a need to inspire educators and parents to see themselves as leaders, and equip them to lead well. Educators and parents have the most influence over our youths. If we invest in the leadership capabilities of educators and parents, we can then see a more sustained impact.

“Educators and parents have the most influence over our youths. If we invest in the leadership capabilities of educators and parents, we can then see a more sustained impact.” – Sean Kong

Lastly, I want Halogen to continue being a fun, dynamic and relevant organisation while being inspirational and catalytic at the same time. my goal is for us to have the knowledge and skills on how to enter the world of youths, earn the right to speak to their hearts, and be thought-provoking at the same time.

I want us to continue to make a difference, be aligned in our core values and have shared aspirations for what our youths can become.