Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius once famously said, "A leader ought to be someone that's reliable and does the most sensible thing at the time."
Over 1,900 years later, the words of the philosopher king still ring true as 21st century humans grapple with the repercussions of the pandemic, war, economic uncertainty, and climate change.
More than ever, the world is in dire need of leaders capable of building meaningful relationships, collaborate, and discover innovative solutions to address challenges across all levels. And this includes businesses too.
Creating positive impact through Employee Resource Groups (ERG).
ERGs are employee-led and volunteer-driven groups centered around shared identities or experiences, as well as those who identify as allies to these people. Their mission is to create communities that bring employees together and ensure they are supported, both within the company and the communities.
ERGs' focus has broadened from fostering diverse and inclusive workplaces to creating future leaders capable of inspiring people by steering organizations and communities through uncertainties. Its success in creating tomorrow's leaders prompted many multinational companies around the world to adopt it.
Micron Malaysia is one of the many organizations that has benefited from supporting its team members through its ERGs.
Under its Micron Young Professionals (MYP) initiative, it has been able to identify and groom future leaders from Micron’s workforce of more than 3,800. At the same time, MYP has been addressing causes related to education, sustainability, environment, and more through its various team-led initiatives.
"ERGs such as MYP are not only supporting us as individuals, but it also creates positive impacts within the communities we've engaged and, in the process, we learn important leadership, communication, and teamwork skills," Nurul Amalia Binti Mohd Idris told Mashable Southeast Asia.
In her span of 18 months of being with Micron, the 24-year-old DEMQRA engineer has conquered Mount Kinabalu under MYP's Project Conquer 1.0 initiative. The entire process has honed her leadership, teamwork, and communication skills.
"It was not easy because we had to scale the mountain for two days and one night. With an elevation of 13,435 feet, we had to coordinate with the team effectively," she said, adding that reaching the peak was worth all the effort.
"The entire experience taught us the importance of motivating each other. The mountain was a metaphorical example of the goals we want to achieve at Micron and in life, so scaling and reaching the peak is an experience I'll always cherish."
Amalia's team also imparted important life skills to young students from SK Pulau Aman under MYP's School Adoption programs recently.
"We taught these children between the ages of seven and 12 lessons related to IT, academics, and also conducted some agricultural activities and more."
The MYP, according to Amalia, also contributes to Micron's business growth for the long-term as society learns of its positive role in addressing crucial issues.
"My friends and family members often voice surprise when they learn that my company supports us to be involved in community and capacity building programs such as MYP."
“MYP helps young professionals like us to build meaningful relationships, challenge convention and promote innovative ideas, provide opportunities to learn and grow, and support our communities. MYP has set a stage for young professionals to be leaders.”
Similar to Amalia, Soon Jun Hao will be scaling Mount Tahan, the highest mountain in Peninsular Malaysia. However, his team's initiative comes with a cultural exchange angle.
"Unlike Amalia's Conquer 1.0, Conquer 2.0 will not see us scaling the peak of the mountain," the Test Solutions Engineer revealed. "Instead, our mission is to learn survival skills from the Bateq tribe located near the mountain and in return impart knowledge to enhance their lives."
The Bateq tribe are indigenous people of Malaysia who've made the rainforest of the Southeast Asian nation their home. They can be found in the states of Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang – the state Jun Hao and his team will be delivering food and hygiene supplies to.
The environment also has a special place among Micron's team members. Jun Hao and his team worked in unison to plant 400 mangrove trees at Sungai Tembus, Penaga, Penang.
"This shoreline is identified as Malaysia’s Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) because it’s an important location for migratory shorebirds and the conservation of bird populations," Lye Shiuam Lan, another leader in MYP said.
For Lye Shiuam Lan, businesses will be able to remain sustainable if their consumers are able to do the same. Under the MYP, the Supply Chain Analyst applied key learnings at her job to increase awareness of disposing used cooking oil in a sustainable way.
"Did you know that you can create soap from cooking oil? Many at our workshops expressed their surprise when we told them this," the 26-year-old said.
All one needs is 25 liters of used cooking oil, Shiuam Lan revealed. Through the soaps produced, she and her team raised RM2,700 – all of which will be used to support Micron's Family Outreach Program.
"Through this workshop, we taught 60 people how to create soaps out of cooking oil. Not only did we teach them ways to reduce their carbon footprint to save the environment, but we estimate that we helped each person save RM1,400."
Shiuam Lan's research indicates that unclogging a pipe can cost as much as RM1,400 if deemed serious.
"Majority of these pipes get clogged because families would pour the cooking oil into the kitchen sinks, and into the sewerage system."
A lot of money can be saved if all the participants involved begin creating soaps from cooking oil. This, she says, will help them support their families and enjoy a less polluted environment.”
"It's a win-win for everyone from the environment, people, and Micron!"
Besides that, Shiuam Lan was also part of the committee that organized the REUNITED event recently.
“The easing of COVID-19 measures in Malaysia has given our team members more access to their work sites, leading to a host of reunions amongst colleagues and friends. Micron organized an appreciation event, named REUNITED to celebrate the return to sites and recognize team members for their tenacity and resilience during the pandemic.”
“Working life and social issues within working communities were significantly impacted by restrictive measures to combat COVID-19. The company places great emphasis on the mental and physical health of its employees.”
Micron aims to create future leaders through its Employee Resource Groups (ERG).
ERG programs such as the MYP bring a sense of purpose to team members at Micron.
"It's because at the end of the day, we know that we're doing something good for society and the world," Amalia said, adding that she looks forward to leading more MYP-related projects.
For Jun Hao, the skills he has learned at MYP are essential because he has been able to apply key learnings at his work too.
"I learned a lot about leading projects and managing resources and people. These are invaluable skills which people usually only discover later on in their career. However, at Micron, we're trusted to take charge of these projects and I really have learned so much within 11 months of being in the company."
Shiuam Lan observed that ERGs such as MYP address numerous challenges in one go.
ERGs address both workplace and social challenges, while also developing future leaders and increasing employee engagement. With the myriad of programs under MYP, we ensure that all of our stakeholders, from investors, team members to consumers, and everyone around the world, are positively impacted by what we do."
Micron Malaysia is currently on the lookout to grow its team. If you're someone who wants to bring purpose into your life and work, you can apply to work at Micron.
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Cover image sourced from Micron Malaysia.
