WHAT THE PRIME MINISTER TAUGHT ME

During his time at MAS and SGX, Teng worked for and with Singapore’s top government and business leaders, including PM Lee Hsien Loong, DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister of Finance Heng Swee Keat, Teo Swee Lian, Tan Kim Kway, Yeo Lian Sim, Magnus Bocker, Hsieh Fu Hua and Gan Seow Ann. Here, his takeaways.

MENTOR THE NEXT GEN

“Despite their busy schedules, they always have time if you need help. They are always willing to impart knowledge and they want to help others succeed. They also set aside time to check on the well-being of their key people, even if they are no longer working for them directly. We need to invest in our future talent to make sure that the next generation is better than the present.”

CLARITY

“The leaders I have worked with exhibit clarity of vision and purpose, have the ability to articulate them and are fully committed to achieving them.”

ABILITY TO ADAPT

“They also demonstrate the ability to adapt their approaches to take into account rapidly changing circumstances, without losing sight of the goal.”

TIRELESS

“There is a sparkle in the eye and fire in the belly, regardless of age. They are generating new ideas, thinking out of the box, connecting dots and making things happen. They are always thinking of what’s next and planning ahead.”