When the world shut down during the pandemic, leadership theories were tested like never before. Plans failed, systems froze, and certainties vanished overnight. For many executives, it was a breaking point. For Professor Loredana Padurean, Senior Associate Dean at the Asia School of Business, it became a breakthrough moment that redefined what it truly means to lead.
“Resilience is not a personal trait; it is an organisational skill,” she reflects. “We often talk about bouncing back, but the real challenge is learning how to bounce forward.”
That philosophy shapes The New Leadership Playbook, a programme and dialogue series by the Asia School of Business that explores how leaders can thrive amid uncertainty. During the School’s 10th Anniversary Leadership Forum, held in partnership with PayNet, FIDE Forum, and Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), regional CEOs, entrepreneurs, and academics gathered to examine one essential question: what does resilience mean in a world that never stops changing?
Across finance, manufacturing, and technology, one truth emerged. Resilient organisations do not just survive shocks; they transform them into strategic advantage.
Professor Padurean observes that the traditional model of command and control leadership has faded. Today’s high-performing leaders are those who lead through connection, empathy, and adaptability. “Modern leadership is not about being the loudest voice in the room,” she explains. “It is about listening, learning, and creating the psychological safety for others to innovate.”
At the Asia School of Business, resilience is not taught as a theory, but as a lived experience. Through Action Learning, the School’s hallmark methodology, students work directly with organisations across Southeast Asia to solve real business challenges in unpredictable environments. From Vietnam’s manufacturing corridors to Malaysia’s financial hubs, they learn to navigate ambiguity, manage crises, and build solutions that endure.
“You cannot teach resilience through lectures,” Professor Padurean says. “You teach it by exposing people to uncertainty, giving them the tools to make decisions with limited information, and empowering them to learn through reflection.”
This approach has produced leaders capable of transforming industries. Alumni have led digitalisation efforts in traditional sectors, built social enterprises, and accelerated sustainability initiatives. Many credit The Asia School of Business for reshaping how they respond to crises.
Farhan Ahmad, Group CEO of PayNet, one of the event’s supporting partners, shared how resilience is rooted in informed risk-taking. “The key is not to avoid risk but to understand it deeply,” he said. “When guided by data and purpose, boldness becomes strategic.”
That perspective was echoed by members of FIDE Forum, who emphasised governance and foresight as foundations of resilience in the boardroom. Meanwhile, leaders from TRX discussed how Malaysia’s international financial district was designed to withstand global volatility through innovation, sustainable planning, and long-term vision.
For Professor Padurean, these insights highlight that resilience is both structural and human. It depends as much on systems and strategy as it does on mindset and emotional intelligence.
In her research, she found that emotionally intelligent leaders are significantly more effective at guiding teams through turbulence. “Resilience is not about being unbreakable,” she says. “It is about being self-aware enough to bend without breaking.”
This balance between toughness and empathy forms the core of what she calls the resilience dividend: the ability to emerge stronger and wiser from adversity.
“The world is not going to get simpler,” she adds. “The leaders who will thrive are those who see crisis as a classroom and uncertainty as a source of strength.”
As the Asia School of Business celebrates a decade of redefining management education, its message remains clear. Leadership in the 21st century is not about predicting change but shaping it. Through its network of corporate partners, global faculty, and purpose-driven alumni, the School continues to nurture leaders who can turn volatility into vision and disruption into renewal.
Resilience, as this new playbook reminds us, is not about returning to the past. It is about daring to build what comes next.