John was a talented engineer, quietly excelling in his role at a large tech company. His managers appreciated his efforts, but few saw him as anything more than a skilled individual contributor. That all changed when the company implemented a comprehensive leadership potential assessment program. To everyone’s surprise, John’s results revealed exceptional leadership traits—learning agility, tolerance for ambiguity, capacity to problem-solve, and strategic thinking.

Many global organizations are looking to Asia as the center of future growth. The International Monetary Fund forecasts real GDP growth of 6.5% in India and 4.1% in China in 2025, and more than half the world’s consumers live in Asia. The region also has an outsized proportion of future talent, with 60% of the world’s youth. According to Rupali Gupta, a Korn Ferry Senior Client Partner based in Singapore, this is an opportunity for global companies to leverage the innate (and sometimes undervalued) strengths of the region’s leaders.