Preparing the leaders of tomorrow

If you are in your mid-to-late twenties and are looking for a job that would give you international exposure in the financial services industry, competitive financial rewards, career development and possibly job security for at least 4-5 years, then read on. The Momentum leadership programme offered by Prudential (UK) could turn out to be the best thing you ever did to your career.
Prudential [or the Pru] created the Momentum programme in 2007 to identify and develop its next generation of leaders. To date, out of over 25,000 employees worldwide, 70 so-called “Momentees” are in the programme, 31 of whom are from Asia. Founded in 1848 and headquartered in London, Prudential is an international financial services group with presence in the UK, the US and 12 countries in Asia. With market-leading life insurance, fund management and consumer finance operations, the Pru serves over 25 million customers and has around £350 billion (Bt17 trillion) of assets under management as on June 30, 2011. In Asia, Prudential is in the top-three for market share of new life insurance business in eight markets [nine countries] in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The 70 Momentees are required to hone their skills across three different work roles for a combined period of four and a half to six years. They can indicate a preference to work in any business units: life insurance, asset management, communications, finance, human resources etc. Because Prudential believes in giving its future leaders full exposure across the group, it encourages and will facilitate Momentees to gain experience outside of their preferred areas and home countries. In my case, I joined the Pru in the summer of 2009 and was admitted to the programme in 2010. Last month, I completed my first role in private equity fund management in Singapore and am in the middle of moving to my next role in finance with the life-insurance business in Bangkok. For my third and final role, I want to join the global asset allocation team at the regional office in Hong Kong.
Upon completing the programme, Momentees will be fast-tracked and placed into senior managerial roles across the organisation. My immediate goal after the Momentum programme is to run a private equity fund for the Pru in Asia; longer term, I want to be in a position to take Prudential to the next level in this region.
In addition to a constructive career path, every year, Momentees get together and participate in week-long leadership development courses. The development weeks are held semi-annually, in May and October. It is rotated through countries with Prudential operations, in collaboration with external parties, professors from leading business schools and successful entrepreneurs.
The courses focus on building Momentee’s understanding of leadership, identifying their strengths and weaknesses and offering ways to improve to make them better leaders. Prudential’s senior managers also participate to discuss the multiple challenges of becoming successful leaders and to meet Momentees.
The development weeks are great because they are intentionally placed in between work. Although intense and exhausting, they allow Momentees to learn more about themselves and to reflect on their work performances. I have participated in two development weeks to date, and now I am more aware and convinced of my weaknesses and am coming up with ways to improve, or at least to keep these under control. I am also more alert than before to try to capitalise on my strengths.
One important lesson that I have picked up from the development weeks is about people’s differing concepts of leadership. I discovered that not everyone looked for the same set of qualities in a leader. In the Momentum group, some prefer their leaders to be chatty and friendly and empathetic whereas others prefer their leaders to be serious and disciplined and direct, etc. It became clear that I would not be able to lead successfully by sticking to and preaching my values. Instead, to do well, I would have to appeal to a broader group of people. The development weeks taught me this.
I also learnt that leadership style could not be copied like for like. For instance, I cannot simply adopt Steve Jobs’ style of leadership and make it my own. Everyone’s personality is different and hence his/her leadership style. It is organic to the individual and he/she must formulate his own version.
To join the Momentum programme, interested candidates have to go through a rigorous application process that starts from February of each year. There are four stages to the process, the first of which starts with a detailed registration online. A phone interview, a full-day assessment of the candidate at Prudential’s assessment centre in Hong Kong, London, or in the US, depending on the applicant’s location, followed by a final interview with senior management. Successful candidates join the Pru in late October where they undergo an induction course and participate alongside their new Momentum peers at the development week. This year’s October gathering will take place in Hanoi, Vietnam, in two weeks’ time.
I would encourage anyone with strong academic and work credentials to apply. At the least, I think you will find the full-day assessment event worthwhile [third stage of the application process]. The assessment day was divided into four parts and candidates were asked to perform different tasks before a panel of senior managers and Momentees. Although I was exhausted by the day’s end, I felt that I was properly challenged and tested. The event got me looking at leadership more seriously and about the qualities I would need to master, at a minimum, to lead well. Recruitment is over for this year’s intake and Prudential has received over 3,600 applications from 77 countries. The company has made Momentum offers to 14 candidates for the 2011 cohort.

Totsachai Asvinvichit is 30 years old; he joined Prudential in July 2009.