SPEECH BY SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, MR LEE YI SHYAN, AT THE CENTRE FOR CREATIVE LEADERSHIP’S 10TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY, ON 9 OCTOBER 2013, 8.30 AM, RAFFLES HOTEL
John Ryan, President and CEO of the Centre for Creative Leadership (CCL),
Roland Smith, Vice President of CCL Asia Pacific,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning!
1. First of all, let me thank all of you for inviting me to be part of this joyous occasion to celebrate the 10th anniversary of CCL being in Singapore.
2. As one who had experienced the Leadership at the Peak (LAP) programme, and who had subsequently worked hard to persuade CCL to set up an operation here in Singapore more than a decade ago, 16,000 km away from its headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina, I am indeed very happy and proud of the fact that CCL has grown its Singapore operations very meaningfully since.
3. I am particularly pleased that CCL and we in Singapore had recognised that leadership development would be of growing importance and increasing demand here in Asia. It is this shared perspective that underscored the many joint works which CCL subsequently carried out with many entities in Singapore and the region.
Leadership in a Tumultuous World
4. In the globalised world that we operate in, inter-connectedness and inter-dependency often bind us on a common risk and rewards system. Information (or mis-information) dissemination and opinion-making through social media are exerting ever more pressures on leaders and organisations to consider view points large and small, and to react to events near and afar.
5. Leaders now are required to listen, decipher and distil internal and external opinions and suggestions before they formulate product strategies or in our case, social and political policies. Top-down consensus building and centrally coordinated implementation seem to be at odd with the free-wheeling spirit of horizontal and maybe even haphazard way information and opinions are formed amongst digitally-charged masses. The question is: can past successful leadership models still work in the (for lack of a better word) “new world”? How would leaders not lose their followers when the latters are engaged by both internal and external causes or forces?
6. At the national level, creating a shared purpose amongst the people is arguably more difficult and complex. The current stalemate between the US Congress and President Obama’s healthcare program has not just caused the partial shutdown of the federal government, but also raises the fundamental question on how could a country of this size and might be effectively led in the future.
7. In an article entitled “No way to run a country”, Economist suggested that “the shutdown is a symptom of a deeper problem: the law-making process is so polarised that it has become paralysed”. Clearly how leaders in America lead the way forward beyond the current impasse is of great consequences to the world and interests us in this room.
8. To be fair, all nations face varying degrees of challenges in forging consensus and shared purpose amongst their people. Political systems, traditions and culture, quality of leaders and human resources, the sense of equity amongst the haves and have-nots, religions and races can all add to or subtract from consensus in a society. In countries with democracies, the presence or lack of consensus is often shown through election results. Elsewhere, riots and coup were the only through not necessarily an effective way to change a regime in hope for better lives and progress.
Leadership driven by Shared Purpose
9. Here in Asia, relatively speaking, the prospect for peace and growth pains a happier picture. The desire for better lives amongst their people is apparent in economies that have opened up and experienced wealth creation. From Middle East to China, India to New Zealand, there are a myriad of expressions for better lives in the form of “Economic Vision 2030” and in China, President Xi Jinping coined the term “China dream”. These desires for better lives are being translated into growth strategy and job opportunities.
10. In fact, Asia is urbanising rapidly. A study suggested that more than half of the largest cities in the world will be in Asia by 2025. Sustained investments in education, infrastructure and urbanisation supported by free trade regime will fuel economic growth and create a large middle class in the next 20 years. Asia’s growth means enlarging markets for many businesses. There is one caveat thought – that Asia has access to talents, nations and business are led by effective leaders.
CCL’s contribution to leadership development in Asia
11. Singapore recognises the strategic importance of human resource development. While we have dedicated huge amount of resources to basic and advanced education, vocational and professional skill training, we also realise that leadership development can be systematically implemented to give our talent pool that special edge.
12. In fact, having built a huge research base and databank of benchmarks based on American and European leaders, CCL Singapore’s work will further deepen our collective understanding of leadership values, traits and best practices of Asian leaders. Such insights are useful to all firms with businesses spanning the geographies of Asia. It is also of great value to public sector leaders who need to understand their own constituents and evolve leadership models that suit the Asian culture and norms.
13. Toward this end, I am happy to note CCL is one of our closest partners that actively contributes to our human resources and human capital ecosystem. Last year, CCL and the Human Capital Leadership Institute (HCLI) released a joint study entitled The “Five Paradoxes of Leadership in Asia”. Drawing from interviews with five organisations in Singapore that are recognised for their excellence in human resources, the study distils best practices for human capital and leadership development in Asia. CCL also provides world-class leadership development training programmes to groom Asia’s current and future leaders. It conducted their premier “Leadership at the Peak” programme for the first time in Singapore and in Asia last year.
Conclusion
14. Singapore will succeed if we remain as a talent hub. Likewise, businesses will flourish if they have effective leaders. The good news is, we all can be more effective leaders if we are given the opportunities to grow and the right coaching and feedback to improve.
15. Leaders exist because of their followers. They excel because they live for a larger purpose. But leaders can be lonely too. Good partners definitely help. Thank you CCL.