Dinesh Senan: 16 June 2020

“First choose who you will Be, then Do what you must do …”

– Epictetus: Greek Philosopher: 50AD – 135 AD

As the threat of global scale disasters also looms ever larger on our not too distant horizon, we (#SGUnited) need to BE our ‘highest selves’, and to then ACT from that place, (as we engage not only each other domestically, but also the world at large), or risk our very survival as a species.

The near-horizon threats, including and going beyond this pandemic at hand, comprise imminent global water and food shortages, rapidly advancing land desertification and precipitously rising sea levels due to the escalating polar ice cap melts, related to the dangerous climate change trajectory we have placed ourselves upon.

Especially for the sake of the next generation of humanity, our children, we need to step up our game. We need to do it now. And we need the very best Leadership to show us how, by example.

I What needs to be transformed

In Singapore, we are also at a pivotal point in our post-independence political history, when the baton of internal leadership of the dominant party is about to pass to the 4th generation of leaders at the imminent General Elections.

As a matter of urgency, and if we are to prevail as a species, we need to first transform our behavioural systems. If we are to do this successfully and sustainably, we must necessarily come from a core set of ‘Foundational Values’ em- bracing the critical Elements comprising (A) inclusion & equality, (B) transparency & accountability, (C) collaboration (both within Singapore and also as between all nations on earth) and (D) humility & servant leadership.

These Foundational Values are nothing more than clear-eyed CHOICES and MINDSET SHIFTS which we can proactively make, and must make now, as regards who we wish to BE. Ahead of all that we might then wish to DO.

Get the entrenchment of these values right, and the aligned actions that follow will be far more readily achievable. Fail on any of them, and the odds against our survival are stacked very high.

II It is the ‘soft infrastructure’ that builds the toughest resilience

What builds and sustains the ’social compact’ in any society, without which no leadership team may succeed sustainably, are these Foundational Values, or the soft infrastructure of lasting resilience, comprising several Elements.

Each of these Elements, in turn, may inspire and translate into actions, behavioural systems and policies that stem from our ‘highest states of being’, which, if embraced by our 4G team, for instance, will galvanise our evolution towards a new paradigm of national, (and, by example, of global), leadership. Powerfully inspiring and attracting deep, sustainable support from all whom you purport to lead.

These vital elements are:

(A). Inclusion & Equality

“Pride is concerned with Who is right. Humility is concerned with What is right.”

– Ezra T Benson: Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ: 1811 – 1869

We need a leadership that inspires a sense of engagement and thereby secures the ‘tacit buy-in’ of ALL Singaporeans. This is never accomplished through divisiveness, but through its polar opposite. This is also not just confined to the general notions of inclusion and equality in terms of race, language, religion, gender, disability, etc, but may also find application within the political arena, which is till now, still structured to be systemically divisive.

Here, (and given that the next GE is around the corner), we need to find the will to transcend our current, primitive ‘adversarial’ or ‘opposition’ based politics. It is an archaic mindset that fails to recognise the serious drawbacks of a simplistic Westminster Model first-past-the post winner-take-all electoral system, as the nation then loses the merits and advantages of the so-called losing parties.

And, as our highly educated and sophisticated electorate here knows very well, there’s grave folly in believing that any ONE political party might possess ALL of the skills and experience to optimally run EVERY aspect of governance required to lead in today’s increasingly complex world.

As this Westminster Electoral Model is (currently) the only electoral model we have in use here, we may yet strive to Transcend its systemic limitations by adopting a Mindset Shift. A bold evolutionary mindset shift upwards, perhaps, to one that softens the primitive rhetoric on unnecessarily divisive ‘opposition’ politicking whilst genuinely building a higher sense of graceful ‘Co-Governance’ across the parties in the House. This mindset shift can only work where BOTH the dominant party and the minority parties’ leadership teams embrace the intrinsic wisdom of graceful Co-Governance. Wherein each ‘side’ first recognises the areas of Commonality they share, (placing National interest above partisan interests, al- ways), whilst also ‘seeing through’ the different partisan flags to recognise the common ‘Singaporean-ness’ of every member of the House.

Quite simply, lack of inclusiveness in ANY form will lead to suboptimal ideation and policy making, and to suboptimal implementation. And especially where Time is sacrosanct in the face of the looming existential threats, divisiveness is something we simply cannot afford to have.

(B). Embracing Transparency & Accountability

“A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.”

– 14th Dalai Lama: b.1935

Eliminate opacity. Provide clear answers. This will provide the substratum of Trust you will need. It’s a choice you can and must take, if you are to carry your people along with you. Take responsibility for your errors too. Nobody expects perfection of you. What we do expect is honesty. When the electorate gives you their mandate, they give you their trust, knowing that you are human. The mandate is given to you to do your best. Not to never be wrong. Be true to yourselves, and to the nation, and you will find that trust begets trust.

(C). A Spirit of Collaboration

“None of us is as smart as all of us.”

– Ken Blanchard: American author and Leadership Consultant: b. 1939

If we are to prevail, we will need to accelerate the extent to which we collaborate, not just within Singapore, (as with contact tracing technologies, for instance), but also with every other nation on earth. The scale of the challenges necessitate smart collaboration, in order to optimise our responses to these threats.

Such solutions need to be deployed immediately, empowering national leaders to optimise the quality of their policy and collaboration decisions.

Yet, you would do well to appreciate that deploying them alone will not ensure actual usage and willing adoption. Short of crudely attempting to ‘mandate’ such usage by the blunt instruments of law, achieving willing adoption will also require the tacit buy-in of the people, and the effectiveness of our leadership will again be tested then.

(D). Humility & Servant Leadership

“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.”

– Max DePree: American Businessman and Writer: 1924-2017

The Element that most subtly and significantly colours ALL of the above elements, in the bid to build a sustainable Social Compact, is genuine Humility, as may best be reflected in the deep understanding of the rare opportunity given to only a select few, to be in a position of ‘servant leadership’ to his/her fellow citizens.

Competency and qualifications alone will never replace the need for humility. Forgetting that it is a ‘sacred and humbling privilege’ to be granted the trusting mandate of your fellow man, to lead him and his family safely towards a brighter future, you would do a grave disservice to yourselves, to the nation, and to the world.

III Going Forward

ALL of these Elements go towards building the critical Sustainable Social Compact we desperately need to hold us together as the biggest existential threats approach us rapidly, and to help ensure we pull through successfully, and thrive. They derive from Choices I pray the strong 4G Leadership team might make, to first rise to their highest states of Being, and to embrace the Foundational Values above, which are as much needed at home as they are across the world today.

I hope you will start here, and humbly lead by example. And in so doing, achieve the invaluable holistic and genuine buy-in of the electorate at large.