The mandarin and the teacher: Long-time civil servant Lim Siong Guan talks to Vikram Khanna about Singapore’s generational challenges and the art of leadership
February 10, 2014 Leave a comment
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 08, 2014
The mandarin and the teacher
Long-time civil servant Lim Siong Guan talks to Vikram Khanna about Singapore’s generational challenges and the art of leadership
IT is hard to imagine a career in the Singapore civil service as rich in variety, accomplishment and distinction as that of Lim Siong Guan. In his 37 years in the service, he has held positions at almost all levels. He has been an engineer in the Sewerage Department, started a flying club to groom pilots for the air force, procured tanks and artillery for the military, worked with school teachers and principals to reshape education policy, helped draw up national budgets, promoted innovation in the civil service, pioneered the development of e-services in government and also oversaw Singapore’s investments.
He has occupied some of the hottest seats in government, covering key ministries and statutory boards (see bio). And his innings still aren’t over. Even now, eight years on from official retirement, he is Group President of the GIC.
In the course of this long journey, Mr Lim has collected a wealth of experience and memories, friends and admirers. Many of his mentees and proteges are scattered across government, and some are even in cabinet. One of them, Minister for Education Heng Swee Kiat, revealed at the launch of Mr Lim’s book last month that there is a saying in the civil service: “This is very LSG.” It is mentioned whenever first principles and core values are invoked to draw up a new policy or initiative.
Mr Lim’s book is entitled The Leader, the Teacher and You, which he co-authored with his daughter Joanne. “There’s an adage which says: Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime,” he says, as we begin our conversation. “What I hope to do in my book is share thoughts developed over the many years of my working life and hope that some of them will be interesting to other people. The book does not really offer any solutions, nor does it go in any depth into the policies of the past. The intention is to convey what drives organisations to excel, about the need for leaders to think about the future and about succession.”
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