Annual Panel Conversation
Championing Equity Through Mentorship
Highlights from our annual panel conversation with Winnie Chan, Tina Tan-Leo, Dennis Cheok and Jaycie Foo.
“I love the word ‘champion’. All of you are champions.”
— Professor Annie Koh
Some days are brighter than others. Last Thursday was one of those days (in spite of the grey and wet weather).
Last Thursday, Bynd Artisan hosted our fourth annual panel conversation (and first live one), where a special group of champions gathered at Cult Design’s first Singapore store at Club Street to speak — and participate — on a topic close to their hearts. And as you might have heard, when one speaks from the heart, one shines. Imagine a room full of them. ✨
The topic, in honour of this year’s International Women’s Day, is “Championing Equity Through Mentorship”.
What does it mean to mentor? What does it take? How important is the role of chemistry in a mentor-mentee relationship? How can good, effective mentorship make an impact for those on the receiving end? And ultimately, in what ways is mentorship a powerful opportunity to produce equitable outcomes and the positive changes we wish to see in the world?
Our panel of three mentors and a mentee — Winnie Chan (co-founder of Bynd Artisan), Tina Tan-Leo (co-founder of Privato), Dennis Cheok (Creative Director of UPSTRS_) and Jaycie Foo (Business Development Manager at OSIM) — shared the many different forms and outcomes of mentorship (career, technical, sponsorship, reverse mentorship, etc), their personal experiences, as well as what they’re each doing to bend the curve.
We wish you could all have been there with us to witness in person this meaningful experience, complete with a gorgeous spread of canapés by The Oyster Bank. Instead, we’ve extracted some of our favourite moments and excerpts to share with you. We hope you’ll enjoy them and perhaps be inspired to be a champion yourself.
Highlights from the conversation:
Winnie:
“I believe that leaders who invest the time in making their organisations more diverse, equitable and inclusive will be able to see the results of a successful and happy workforce. Bynd Artisan, for example, has always been inclusive in our hiring decisions. We have older craftsmen in our team who have helped the younger staff cultivate empathy, respect and compassion. As leader in the workplace, it is about being able to help your team discover their strengths and weaknesses, and to design job scopes that can optimise their talents.”
Moving forward, how will you continue to champion and promote equity?
“Walk the talk by being an advocate for the social causes you believe it. For me, it’s female empowerment and imbuing confidence and advocating for others. Offer your time as a mentor whether formal or informal, build social awareness so everyone may gain new understanding and perspectives of those from different backgrounds and cultures. All this will lead to a building a better organisation, a better community and a better world for everyone.”
Tina:
“For a lot of people, the biggest obstacle that they have is fear. Fear of not making it, fear of not doing it correctly, fear of so many things. That’s a mindset. As a mentor, you hope that you can help them change that mindset — to help them not to be afraid, to think out of the box and go forward.”
“(When I started my business) there was no mentor, no social media. It was just ‘you better know how to do it!’. It was a learning curve, a journey, and I wanted to share with other entrepreneurs this journey to being successful in business. It takes a while and you just need to be patience and have perseverance.”
“Choose mentees who are hungry, driven and have the enthusiasm to go forward. It takes all that to be an entrepreneur. And yes, it helps if we have the chemistry.”
Moving forward, how will you continue to champion and promote equity?
“Let’s always have the drive to help. It’s important to give back.”
Dennis:
“I think one of the first things I ask myself is: What makes or qualifies me as a mentor?”
“I wouldn’t be where I am as a designer without someone like Collin Seah as a mentor to me. All in all, I think a mentor is someone in your life whom you know you can turn to at key junctures in your career when you need the external wisdom, someone whom you can trust to help you make informed decisions.”
Moving forward, how will you continue to champion and promote equity?
“A lot of it is about staying true to who you are. It’s also very important to recognise and make use of every good opportunity that comes your way (to act).”
Jaycie:
“As a mentee, mentorship has been a journey of self-discovery and actualisation for me. It has taught and encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone, do things that scare me — like saying yes to this conversation — to learn from a role model and someone experienced, inspired me to grow and lead a more purposeful life.”
“I think it’s important for mentorship to not be limited to working professionals. It should also extend to women who are younger, who may be feeling lost and uncertain emotionally and mentally. They may be of a lower socio-economic status, or from minority groups.”
Moving forward, how will you continue to champion and promote equity?
Stay grounded and consistent with my values. And live by example.
To our moderator Yvonne Chan, our host Cult Design, our caterer The Oyster Bank, the panelists and everyone who came out to join us and share your stories, thank you for a meaningful and memorable evening! Our hearts are filled. #byndartisan #SomethingsWorthSharing
The views expressed in this conversation are solely the speakers’ own and are not necessarily that of Bynd Artisan’s.
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