When the mill manager resigned unexpectedly, the company scrambled to fill the gap.
The clock was ticking, production couldn’t stop, and eyes turned to one name — Amir.
He had been a solid performer as a technical lead, someone who knew the palm oil mill inside and out. But leading people? That wasn’t in his original career plan. Still, with no time to waste, he was appointed Senior Mill In-Charge almost overnight.
At first, the transition felt like being thrown into a fast-moving river without a life jacket.
Technical issues piled up, but now there were also people problems — shift conflicts, morale dips, and constant questions demanding clear decisions. The skills that had made him an excellent engineer didn’t automatically make him a confident leader.
Amir knew he could either sink… or learn to swim fast.
So he did what he always did best — learned.
He asked experienced managers for advice instead of pretending to know it all.
He listened more than he spoke, especially to operators who’d been in the mill longer than him.
He learned to balance targets with empathy, realising that numbers only improved when people felt valued.
It wasn’t instant.
There were mistakes, long nights, and moments of self-doubt. But over months, Amir grew into the role — not just as someone running a mill, but as someone leading a team.
That period became the turning point of his career. Years later, when people spoke of him, they didn’t just remember his technical skills — they remembered his calm leadership in a crisis, his willingness to grow, and how he turned a forced promotion into a foundation for a lasting management career.
Lesson:
Great managers aren’t born ready — they are developed. With the right support, even unexpected appointments can become defining moments in someone’s leadership journey.
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