On International Women’s Day, Sheila Singam inspires women to challenge limiting beliefs and embrace their full potential through courage and reinvention.
KUALA LUMPUR: On International Women’s Day on Sunday, stories of courage, reinvention and ambition came to the forefront, and few embody these qualities better than Sheila Singam.
Over four decades, she has been a teacher, journalist, coach, entrepreneur and, most importantly, a change agent inspiring women to embrace their full potential.
“I call myself a change agent, a facilitator of learning and growth.”
Sheila’s journey is a masterclass in refusing to be confined by society’s expectations.
“I believe human beings have tremendous potential to do many things. But society often puts us in a box.”
Her career began as a mathematics teacher, a path chosen at her father’s urging.
“In those days, parents thought teaching was the perfect job for a woman. You worked half a day, went home, got married and raised children.”
However, Sheila refused to be boxed in.
“I got bored. And boredom can sometimes be a powerful motivator for change.”
She moved into real estate, then recruitment and training, before answering her long-held calling: journalism.
Writing for theSun, New Straits Times and The Edge, she interviewed high-profile personalities and travelled internationally, all while challenging the notion that women must settle for one role in life.
“It was the dream job. Business-class flights, international assignments, it was amazing.
“But I kept asking myself: what am I really contributing?”
That question led her back to training and personal development, and in 2008, Sheila founded her consultancy Human Equation Sdn Bhd, helping individuals, universities and corporations unlock potential.
“Starting the business was not easy. The biggest challenge was money.”
With children in university and months without income, she relied on perseverance, self-belief and faith.
“You have to trust that if you do the work, things will come.”
For Sheila, growth begins in the mind.
“My superpower is shifting mindsets. Change how people see themselves and everything else changes.”
Her approach relies on stories and lived experience rather than rigid lessons.
To young women entering the workforce, she said: “Do not limit yourself to being just one thing. Why can you not be a writer, a coach and an entrepreneur?”
Sheila calls it the “multi-hyphenate mindset”, embracing multiple skills instead of restricting yourself to a single path.
Her own life proves her point. Once told that she lacked talent in painting, she challenged that assumption and later held her own art exhibition.
“That is what I teach people: challenge your limiting beliefs.”
As women around the world celebrated their achievements on International Women’s Day, Sheila offered a simple but powerful message.
“Fear will always be there when you try something new. If you wait for fear to disappear before you act, you will never begin. Feel the fear, and do it anyway.”