After 19 Years in Business, Two Days of Leadership Training Spark a Powerful Personal Transformation
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — For many business owners, experience is measured in years. But sometimes, a breakthrough can happen in just two days.
For Ms. Ton Malin, owner of O'Meas Hotel, nearly two decades of running a business had brought extensive real-world experience. Yet after participating in the “Leadership Toward the Highest Level of Success” training program at CEO Master Club of CEO Institute, she said the two-day experience gave her a new perspective on what effective leadership truly requires.
“I have been in business for 19 years, but during these two days, I gained so much understanding and experience,” Ms. Malin said. “I now understand more clearly how I should lead my business toward greater success.”
Her reflection highlights an important reality of leadership: business growth is not driven by strategy, systems, or financial performance alone. It is also shaped by the leader’s ability to manage emotions, understand people, communicate wisely, and respond to challenges with maturity.
Leadership Begins With Self-Mastery
Before joining the program, Ms. Malin acknowledged that managing her emotions had often been difficult.
She described herself as someone who could become angry, disappointed, or frustrated when employees did not behave or perform in the way she expected.
But from the first day of training, one lesson began to change her perspective.
She learned that leadership demands emotional discipline.
A leader, she explained, must learn to control anger, reduce resentment, make personal sacrifices, and recognize that employees may think, feel, and respond differently from the person leading them.
That realization became one of the most significant lessons of the program.
“Before these two days, I did not really know how to control my emotions,” she said. “After listening to the trainer, I learned that as leaders, we need to control ourselves, reduce our anger and disappointment, and be willing to sacrifice because we are the ones leading others.”
Her words reflect a challenge faced by many entrepreneurs: the skills that help someone start and operate a business are not always the same skills required to inspire, develop, and retain people.
From Blaming Employees to Understanding Them
One of Ms. Malin’s most meaningful reflections concerned the relationship between leaders and their teams.
In the past, she said, there were times when frustration led her to criticize or blame employees without fully understanding what they were feeling or why they behaved differently from her expectations.
The training encouraged her to view those situations through another lens.
Employees are not simply extensions of the owner. They have different personalities, emotions, strengths, experiences, and ways of thinking.
Understanding those differences can change the way a leader communicates, resolves conflict, builds trust, and develops a stronger organization.
“In the past, I had many weaknesses,” Ms. Malin reflected. “Sometimes I became angry or blamed people without understanding their feelings, because they are different from us.”
For her, recognizing this was not a sign of weakness. It became an opportunity for growth.
Turning Knowledge Into Action
The true value of leadership training is not found only inside the classroom. It is revealed in what happens when the leader returns to the workplace.
Ms. Malin said she intends to take the lessons, experiences, and insights gained during the program back into her business and apply them to the way she leads her team.
That commitment represents one of the central messages of the training: sustainable organizational change often begins with personal change at the top.
When leaders become more emotionally disciplined, thoughtful, understanding, and intentional, their influence can extend far beyond themselves. It can affect employees, workplace culture, customer service, business performance, and ultimately the future of the organization.
After 19 years in business, Ms. Malin’s experience offers a powerful reminder that leadership development does not have an expiration date.
No matter how long someone has been an entrepreneur, executive, or manager, there is always another level of understanding to discover.
And sometimes, the most important transformation in a business begins not with changing the employees—but with changing the way the leader leads.
Training Information
Program: Leadership Toward the Highest Level of Success
Organizer: CEO Master Club of CEO Institute
Venue: CEO Institute, Diamond Twin Tower, Koh Pich, Phnom Penh
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
The experience of Ms. Ton Malin demonstrates a lesson relevant to business leaders everywhere: greater success begins when leaders develop not only the ability to manage a business, but also the wisdom to manage themselves and understand the people they lead.
