A Child’s Courage, a Mother’s Awakening: Growing Tomorrow’s Leaders at CEO Master Club
An OYL parent’s testimony offers Cambodian business owners a powerful reason to reflect on leadership, family, and the legacy they are building.
PHNOM PENH — For one mother, the most moving sign of her children’s growing confidence was an embrace.
As her children grew older, she explained, they had become more hesitant about hugging or kissing her. Affection was still there, but shyness often stood in the way. During an Outstanding Young Leader (OYL) program at CEO Master Club, she experienced a moment that brought those feelings into the open.
Her children expressed their affection, and she was deeply moved.
For this mother, who is also a CEO Master Club member, the experience revealed something beyond her children’s willingness to participate. It showed how courage can help a family reconnect—and how a parent can discover new confidence alongside a child.
“When I joined, I became much braver,” she said, in testimony translated from Khmer. “Today, I want to tell them that Mum has courage too.”
Her words carry a message that may resonate with many Cambodian entrepreneurs: the work of developing people reaches into every part of life, including the relationships closest to home.
The Confidence Parents Hope to See
The mother described her children as generally shy. Seeing them participate well in the program gave her a reason to feel proud and to praise their efforts.
Her account highlights a familiar parental hope: that children will learn to trust themselves enough to speak, participate, and express what they feel.
Confidence can take many forms. Sometimes it means standing before a group. Sometimes it means trying an unfamiliar activity. And sometimes, as this mother’s testimony illustrates, it means overcoming the embarrassment that keeps a child from showing love.
She expressed gratitude for an experience that, in her telling, encouraged both her children and herself.
Her testimony is a personal account rather than a guarantee of what every participant will experience. Its significance lies in the changes she noticed—and in the emotional meaning those changes held for her family.
A Question for Cambodia’s Business Owners
For small business owners, the demands of running an enterprise can fill nearly every available hour. Customers need attention. Employees need direction. Financial decisions need answers.
Amid those responsibilities, another question deserves space: What are our children learning about leadership from us?
They see how adults handle pressure, communicate with others, respond to mistakes, and make time for family. The example a parent sets can make leadership feel either distant and intimidating or approachable and worth practising.
The mother’s testimony offers a compelling example of the latter. By acknowledging her own growing courage, she showed her children that learning does not end with adulthood.
That lesson also matters in business. An owner who remains willing to learn creates room for others to develop. A parent who takes a brave step gives a child permission to take one too.
For entrepreneurs considering CEO Master Club of CEO Institute, this story provides a meaningful starting point: an opportunity to ask how its membership and business training might support their own development, while learning more about the opportunities available to their children through OYL.
An Invitation to Take the Next Step
CEO Master Club’s forthcoming OYL training, presented as “Help Your Child Become an Outstanding Young Leader,” is scheduled for Sunday, October 25, 2026, at Diamond Twin Tower, Floor 7M, Koh Pich, Phnom Penh.
Parents interested in the program can contact the organizers to discuss participation and registration. Business owners can also inquire about CEO Master Club of CEO Institute’s membership and business training.
For the mother who shared her experience, the most memorable outcome was deeply personal: seeing her children find courage, feeling their affection, and recognizing that she was growing too.
Her message leaves parents with a possibility worth considering. Encouraging a child to become a leader may begin with showing that we, too, are willing to learn.
OYL registration and inquiries: Outstanding Young Leader on Telegram
Telephone: 098 539 297 | 096 9453 795 | 099 660 272
