Despite a leading role in setting goals for WHA Corporation, Jareeporn "June" Jarukornsakul defines her leadership simply by recalling a role-playing game when she was a child.
"Let's play grocery store," said the WHA chairwoman and group chief executive, referring to a game she often played with friends during her childhood.
Among the situations she liked most was pretending to be sellers and buyers.
"You played this and I played that. I had to simulate situations. This unintentionally taught me leadership," Ms Jareeporn said.
The game not only taught her into basic trade principles, which underlies the business activities Ms Jareeporn engaged with several years later, but it also urged her to set aims and rules of the game as well as develop creativity.
Now in the realm of WHA businesses, Ms Jareeporn oversees logistics, industrial estate development, utilities and power as well as digital platforms.
She is in the forefront of the businesses, an influential woman who inspires others not only with her success in work but also her lifestyle that exemplifies a balance between mind and body.
The real potential of a leader comes from inner abilities blended with support from colleagues, Ms Jareeporn said.
At the top of management, a leader must have not only a bird's eye view but also a long-term vision, an ability to look into the future complimenting an overview of day-to-day operations, she said.
To set goals for WHA and set out a journey to achieve it requires Ms Jareeporn to keep abreast of the global situation, including megatrends that will change the look of the world economy and society.
As a leader, Ms Jareeporn said, she or he must move at least one step ahead of other people. A leader must take action before others tell them what to do.
These make up her strategic thinking at WHA. However, strategy alone is not enough to grow the company. Collaboration with WHA staff at all levels and the right business partners are an indispensable part of success.
Business people cannot be great leaders without support from people surrounding them.
"I focus on human resource development. Good teamwork will support me and the company to achieve goals," said Ms Jareeporn.
She also stressed the need for communication. It is not just a skill handling negotiations with clients but also the ability to talk to her team to jointly come up with a vision and turn it into action.
Working in this environment, Ms Jareeporn said she feels comfortable to say: "I'm possible," a phrase she always uses to remind herself to press forward.
Grammatically, "impossible" can be broken down with an apostrophe and a space, turning the word into "I'm possible," but in the business world, the possibility will come with the real power of leadership.
Ms Jareeporn wants the WHA to grow further and be more internationally recognised.
In 2020, despite travel restrictions during the pandemic that led to delays in land transfers in her business and some other financial issues like depreciation of utility assets, WHA managed to bring in revenue of 9.4 billion baht and make a net profit of 2.52 billion baht.
The company set a revenue growth target of 30% this year.
"Past successes don't guarantee you will also succeed in the future. We have to look to our future path and walk onwards," Ms Jareeporn said.
The present WHA is the business career Ms Jareeporn aimed for in the past.
After completing her studies at Mahidol University, the public health graduate, aged 26, started her own trading and logistics businesses. About 10 years later she co-established WHA and saw it gain momentum after a takeover of Hemaraj Industrial Estate under WHA's plan to integrate WHA and Hemaraj's expertise.
Now Ms Jareeporn is looking to the future again, setting a goal to develop WHA into a multinational firm over the next three to five years.
"I like setting a target for myself. I picture my own mountain without comparing it with other people; then I stay focused to see if I reach the top as planned," she said.
Ms Jareeporn is applying a manpower development concept to charity work.
"I intend to develop a new generation of people equipped with knowledge and creativity, so they can live a successful life," Ms Jareeporn said.
Her goal is helping the country reduce social disparity.