In my previous piece, I talked about why organisations need a shared leadership language — especially here in Southeast Asia, where diversity, speed and complexity are part of everyday business.
But let’s get real — what does that actually look like in practice?
We often talk about leadership development, strategy alignment and cultural transformation as if they’re separate things. They’re not. They all rely on one thing: how your leaders think, speak and act. When leaders across the organisation speak the same language, it creates clarity, momentum and trust. When they don’t, everything feels harder than it should be.
Let me share a few examples of how this plays out in real organisations I’ve worked with or observed closely.
Case 1: One Group, Many Businesses — No Common Thread
One large Thai conglomerate I worked with had dozens of business units — from retail to logistics to digital ventures. Each had its own culture, its own leadership style, and even its own “definition” of performance. Leaders were growing in silos. People weren’t moving across businesses. Strategy execution felt disconnected.
We helped them co-create a leadership framework — not just from the boardroom, but from stories and insights shared by their own top performers. It wasn’t about creating the “perfect” model. It was about building something real and usable.
Then came the magic: that framework was embedded across leadership development, performance reviews and succession planning. Suddenly, leaders could move between units with confidence. Teams spoke the same leadership language. Alignment became real.
Case 2: The Bank That Needed More Than Strategy Slides
A regional bank was expanding fast across Southeast Asia. The leadership team had a strong vision — but it wasn’t landing. Middle managers weren’t confident explaining the “why” behind change, and teams felt confused and disconnected.
The solution wasn’t another town hall. It was simple: we created leadership language labs. Safe spaces where leaders could practise how to talk about the strategy — in their own voice. How to connect the big picture to the day-to-day. How to lead with empathy and clarity, across cultures and generations.
Six months later? The bank saw stronger engagement, faster adoption of new initiatives and leaders who finally sounded like they were pulling in the same direction.
Case 3: A Startup That Got It Right From the Start
And then there’s the tech company I love talking about. A Southeast Asian startup that scaled from 40 to 400 people in just over a year. But here’s the difference — they didn’t wait to “figure out” leadership later.
They defined their leadership language early. It wasn’t a long list of values. It was three simple principles that showed up everywhere — from team check-ins to Slack messages:
- Lead with context, not control
- Make it safe to speak up
- Own the outcome, together.
This language gave everyone a North Star. As the company scaled up, the culture didn’t dilute. It got stronger.
What Do These Stories Tell Us?
You don’t need a fancy playbook. You need clarity. You need consistency. And you need your people to believe in the way your organisation leads.
The companies that win are the ones where leadership doesn’t sound different in every meeting. Where the words match the actions. Where leaders at all levels say, “This is how we lead here” — and actually live it.
My advice? Don’t wait. Start. If you’re a senior leader, ask yourself:
- Do our managers speak the same leadership language we do?
- Are we reinforcing the right behaviours, not just promoting the right people?
- Can people across the business clearly describe how we lead here?
If not, it’s time to build it.
Because when strategy gets hard (and it always does), the only thing holding it together will be the way your leaders show up. That’s why leadership language isn’t just about words — it’s about your future.
Arinya Talerngsri is Senior Vice President, Local Partner and Managing Director at BTS Thailand (formerly SEAC), part of the BTS Group, a leading global strategy implementation firm. She is passionate about revolutionising education and creating opportunities for Thais and people worldwide. Executives and organisations looking to collaborate or learn more about leadership development, talent development, succession planning and organisational transformation can contact her directly at arinya.talerngsri@bts.com or visit her LinkedIn profile.