Kuala Lampur, May 29 -- I was never the loud one. Not in school. Not at family gatherings. Not in lecture halls, faculty meetings, or boardrooms. I've never felt the need to raise my voice just to be seen.

I don't dominate a room. I don't seek the centre. But I've always been there. And over time, I've come to realise: being loud isn't the same as being effective. And presence doesn't require volume.

We live in a world that often rewards noise. The loudest voices get the clicks. The most confident ones, the spotlight. The extroverted, the assertive, the performative - they're labelled natural leaders. But here's the truth: visibility isn't leadership. And performance isn't presence.

Back in school, I wasn't the most brilliant, nor the ...