Thinking Aloud

'Know-it-all' leadership no longer in vogue

Leaders are no longer the smartest people in the room, so best for them to admit it

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The first time I spoke with Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat was in 2012.

It was a sunny Saturday morning and people of different backgrounds - I remember a doctor, a housewife, a retiree, one or two activists, a couple of journalists, some students and politicians, of course - were at the National Library Building in Victoria Street to talk to one another about the issues that mattered to them, and to Singapore's future.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on March 31, 2019, with the headline 'Know-it-all' leadership no longer in vogue. Subscribe