As a dynamic force in Singapore’s leadership development scene, Cindy Tien is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) – a credential held by 12% of speakers globally—an executive coach and corporate trainer who has impacted more than 30,000 people.
Through her work at P Suite and Imageworks, she has equipped leaders and professionals across industries —from finance and healthcare to tech and retail—building human-centred capabilities that future-proof organisations.
In this SG60 Showcase, we spotlight how Cindy’s lived experiences and sharp insights have made her a sought-after voice in Singapore’s leadership space. From resilience to public speaking, Cindy shows how EQ for Influence can unlock the edge in our careers – the sauce to being heard, seen, and taken seriously.
Read on for her candid thoughts on blind spots, breakthroughs, and building the influential muscle leaders need today.
Highlights
Building the Foundations of Resilient Leadership
Q: You’ve built a name as a leading voice in emotional intelligence and resilience. What drives your work in this space?
A: I speak on EQ because I’ve lived the cost of not having it. As the EQ Maven and Titanium Hipster (yes, I’m literally metal with two titanium hip implants), I’ve walked through overcoming addictions, near bankruptcy, and major health crises. That’s where my work comes from: not just theory, but hard-earned clarity on what derails even the most capable leaders.
When people struggle, it’s rarely because they don’t know what to do — it’s because their patterns, blind spots, and emotions hijack their decisions. I help them break through that internal noise so they can lead, speak, and show up with their authentic influence.
With 20+ years in corporate and 12 years as a speaker, coach, and trainer, I now work with leaders and sales teams across multi-national organisations, such as Amex, Citibank, JP Morgan, luxury brands, and more — helping them turn hurdles into hallmarks.
Q: What do you think sets you apart from others in your field?
A: I have a sharp radar for calling out BS. What is a BS? Let’s get straight to it!
BS isn’t just one thing—it’s a cocktail of blind spots, belief systems, and straight-up bullshit. It’s what we don’t see, what holds us back, what we refuse to challenge.
- Blind Spots – The things we can’t see about ourselves, but everyone else can. Our patterns, our knee-jerk reactions, our emotional tripwires. We think we’re self-aware, but our blind spots keep us playing the same loops over and over again.
- Belief Systems – The invisible scripts running our lives. The ‘shoulds’ and ‘musts’ we’ve inherited— ‘Good leaders don’t show emotion,’ ‘Success means sacrifice,’ ‘ You need to hustle to get rich’. Some serve us; many keep us caged.
- Bullshit – The excuses, the justifications, the illusions we buy into. The stories we spin to avoid discomfort. “I’m too busy.” “That’s just the way I am.” “I’m just someone who can’t do sales.”
Sound familiar?
These BS blocks are why we burn out, numb out, lash out, and sell ourselves short. So my mission is to help people break through them. To show you the parts of yourself you’ve avoided, ignored, or been too scared to face. And to own it, be liberated by it, so you can do something about it.
Hence, I’m open to shamelessly share my BS first – so that people can boldly own up to theirs.
What sets me apart is my ability to identify those tendencies with honesty and empathy, together with a huge dose of wicked humour, as I take my audiences and clients through the journey of change…
Clients say I provoke reflection, engage audiences, and inspire action – planting seeds for transformation. I don’t do fluff. Just work that lands.
Q: How do you continue to grow and evolve in your craft?
A: I stay sharp by practicing what I teach through curiosity, connection, and constant growth. I engage with thought leaders, attend industry conferences, and invest in my own development
But most importantly, I stay close to the ground, coaching leaders, training teams, and listening deeply to the real struggles they face. This keeps my content fresh, relevant, and rooted in the realities of today’s workplace.
I share weekly reflections on LinkedIn, host my video podcast Own Your BS Show, and I’m finalising my book Inside — Breaking Through Your BS for Emotional Resilience, which will publish in 2025. The work keeps evolving because all of us are evolving.
Q: What are some of your most impactful speaking or training topics?
A: My top three signature programs
- The Leader Within: Igniting Your EQ Einstein for Influence – This keynote and masterclass dives into the EQ factor that drives real leadership, while detecting the gaps and turning influence into action
- The Power of Recognising You – This keynote and masterclass exposes the hidden drivers to why leaders burnout and lose their resilience, while providing practical strategies to prioritise for transformation.
- Boost your EQ with the Enneagram – A deeper 2-day workshop combining personality profiling, self-awareness, and personal mastery, while sharpening the skills to navigate tough conversations with confidence.
Each program is designed to be interactive, story-driven, and immediately actionable.
Elevating Singapore’s Human Capital for the Future
Q: How does your work align with Singapore’s national goals for leadership and resilience?
A: Over the past five years, I’ve designed and delivered programs that help individuals and organisations thrive under pressure. I co-developed an Emotional Intelligence program with Imageworks, a homegrown firm, to equip professionals with resilience and adaptability skills.
The program builds emotional resilience and adaptability to help professionals manage uncertainty, restructuring, and pandemic-related mental health challenges.
We delivered impactful cross-industry training, helping leaders manage stress, improve communication, and build stronger, more resilient workplace cultures.
Beyond EQ, I’ve coached leaders to become powerful public speakers—not just to speak, but to own their voice. These leaders now communicate with greater confidence and authenticity, influencing teams and stakeholders across Singapore and the region.
This work has been especially significant in sectors such as healthcare, finance, and retail, where leadership communication directly impacts morale and performance.
Additionally, I’ve trained sales forces in multiple global organisations to sharpen their brand presence and connection skills. These programs have helped sales professionals in Singapore strengthen client relationships, differentiate themselves in competitive markets, and drive sustainable business growth.
Q: You’ve trained professionals across major Singaporean institutions. What outcomes are you most proud of?
A: I’m most proud of the moments when the switch finally flips, when my audience and participants get it, stop overthinking, and start taking action. That’s when teams shift from guarded to truly connected. More importantly, it’s when individuals finally break through what’s held them back for years.
I once had someone write to me on LinkedIn, and he said, “Cindy, it was because of the training I attended with you – the stories you shared and the strategies you taught – that led me to make this bold change”. This was gold.
As a Singaporean, I’m honoured to have worked with many of our own Singapore companies and institutions — DBS, OCBC, NUH, NUS, Singtel, and more — through speaking and training engagements. At the core, it’s always about impacting lives and creating real transformation — that’s the work that keeps me going.
Q: You often refer to the three pillars in your proposition. Can you walk us through them?
A: Absolutely. My work centres around helping organisational teams to sharpen these 3 areas:
- Strengthen Connections – Influence dies when you can’t read the room or build real trust. But real connection starts with being grounded and connected to yourself first. If you’re not clear on who you are, you’ll struggle to connect with others genuinely. I help leaders gain that deep self-awareness, before equipping them with the skills to build strong connections.
- Conquer Challenges – Obstacles aren’t the real problem; it’s the patterns of behaviours that keep people stuck. Burnout, stress, self-sabotaging tendencies, and overthinking — these quietly erode leadership presence and steal away self-respect. I help leaders cut through that internal noise, call out the real issue, and move forward with clarity
- Claim Your Messages – Too many leaders still water down their voice. I help leaders sharpen their brand and speak with confidence, whether giving tough feedback, selling, or commanding a stage presence. Public speaking, storytelling, or tough conversations — they stop playing small and start speaking their truth.
Final Thoughts: Why Cindy Tien Is One to Watch
Leaders rarely lose sleep simply over their jobs. What keeps them up are the people issues, overwhelming workload, tough conversations, and the emotional noise that comes with real obstacles.
Cindy Tien equips Singapore’s workforce with the mindsets, knowledge, and skills that truly matter. Her story is one of hard-earned transformation, and now, she’s helping thousands break through blind spots and turn hurdles into hallmarks.
As Singapore moves into its next chapter of growth, leaders like Cindy are shaping not just what our workforce can do, but who we can become.
Highlights
This interview is part of the SG60 Showcase series by NewInAsia, spotlighting 60 changemakers driving Singapore’s next chapter. Stay tuned for more.
Read the Chinese article here, or listen to the podcast here.
