Leadership Analysis of Lee Kuan Yew

This article provides a leadership analysis of Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime Minister of Singapore. It explores his leadership qualities, such as being visionary, resilient, innovative, and having a strong mindset. The article also discusses his transformational leadership style and decision-making abilities. Additionally, it includes a reflection on the reader's own leadership style and the results of emotional intelligence and self-confidence tests.

Running head: LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS OF LEE KUAN YEW
LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS OF LEE KUAN YEW
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS OF LEE KUAN YEW
Introduction
Leadership is something that mostly comes naturally but with time and situation, it is refined. the study of leadership is
considered extremely important and many businesses and countries have been built and broken due to leadership. The present paper is
divided into three parts with focus on leadership. The first part involves analysis of a known leader, the characteristic style of the
leader, the use of power and influence by the leader. The leader chosen for the analysis is Lee Kuan Yew, the late Prime Minister of
Singapore. Kuan Yew had been a great leader who is attributed to building the modern day Singapore. The second part includes
reflection of my own leadership skills. In the second part, I will take up three assessment tests that include self-confident test,
emotional intelligence test and cultural intelligence test. I will also prepare a leadership development plan with which I will be able
describe my own style of leadership and in the areas where I lack. This will also help me in understanding about the kind of leader I
could become. In the third part, I will use feedback from a leader who will assess my leadership development plan and tell me in the
areas where I need to improve.
Part One:
Lee Kuan Yew as the great leader
Lee Kuan Yew was the former Prime Minister of Singapore who has the record of being the longest serving prime minister in
world history. He was the first prime minister who reined Singapore from 1959 to 1990. Kuan Yew is credited to having transformed

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Singapore into a flourishing metropolitan city from a third world country within just thirty years. The following are some of his
leadership qualities that made him a great leader.
Visionary
Leaders have a clear vision about what they want to achieve and in what way they are going to achieve it. Visionary leader
works with a clear vision and have a compelling vision for any field in which they work. The leader is able to view beyond the
confusion, chaos and challenges of the present scenario to an authorizing vision of tomorrow. A leader with such a vision is fueled by
inspirations and this in turn helps others around him to be inspired and motivated. Kuan Yew had the vision to make Singapore a free
nation. When Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, two years after the confederation was formed, Kuan Yew was devastated.
He had described this event as the “moment of anguish” (Kwang, Fernandez and Tan 2015). However, he did not give up and kept
working for his vision. Apart from being faced with the challenge of separating from Malaysia, Kuan Yew also had the daunting task
of bringing together the ethnically and culturally different citizens of the country as one. He accomplished his plan with a clear vision.
Resilient
A good leader has the ability to recover from the toughest of times and come out triumphant. Resilience is a trait that makes a
leader tough. A resilient leader recovers promptly from setbacks, adapts effectively to changes and keeps on despite being confronted
with adversity (Stagman-Tyrer 2014). Kuan Yew proved that he was a resilient leader after being faced with so many hardships as the
prime minister of the country. When Singapore separated from Malaysia, Kuan Yew shed tears in front of national television (Ho

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2016). Nonetheless, he kept working hard towards his vision and turned around the fate of Singapore. Instead of crying over the
separation, Kuan Yew decided to execute his plans. He used this moment of anguish as his fuel to make earn a developed nation status
for Singapore before Malaysia. After making Singapore an independent country, he made it a developed city-state within a span of just
thirty years.
Innovative
To become a successful leader, one must have innovative ideas and the strength to turn those ideas into reality. Innovation
refers to unique ideas that make something or someone ahead of others. An innovative leader is the one who has a fearless attitude of
trying new things. Kuan Yew had the strength of character to try new ideas and turn Singapore into a thriving economy. He believed
that it is the innovativeness of the people that helps a nation thrives. He had always encouraged the people of Singapore to look for
new opportunities in any field.
Strong mindset
A leader has to have a strong mindset because it helps him take strong decisions without worrying about oppositions. The
leader with a strong mindset must have an iron fist way of dealing with things for the betterment of his people. With a tight grip on
power, Kuan Yew allowed no one to interfere in his decisions for the country. He had even once made the statement, “If nobody is
afraid of me, I am meaningless” (Telegraph.co.uk, 2019). He made sure that he led his country out from the colonial grip of the British
and he did so by ensuring that everyone adhered to his commands. For such an iron-fisted way of governance, Kuan Yew was often

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criticized but admired as well. It is important for a leader to understand that he could not make everyone happy and he must not strive
for that too. The leader has to understand that the decisions must be made in favor of the country as a whole. Kuan Yew did just that.
Honest
Along with the above-mentioned characteristics, a leader must be honest. Honesty is a virtue that very few people have and if a
leader does not have honesty, other traits would be void as well. Being honest requires a leader to not only be honest himself but also
to demand honesty from others working with and around him as well. Kuan Yew was known for being ruthlessly honest and he would
demand such honesty from his colleagues as well. While speaking about Kuan Yew’s honesty, Dhanbalan, Singapore’s former
minister and the prime minister’s colleague states, “Lee Kuan Yew was not only honest but he was also ruthless in demanding honesty
from his colleagues” (Straitstimes.com, 2019).
Lee Kuan Yew’s leadership style
The leadership style that best describes Kuan Yew’s leadership is transformational style of leadership. A transformational
leader is the one who works with people to identify the desired changes, creates a vision to guide that change and executes that change
in collaboration with committed members of a team. Transformational leadership has mainly four basic elements that Bernard Bass, an
industrial psychologist Bernard Bass developed in the year 1985.

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The first is idealized influence of the leaders. As per this element, transformational leaders become role models for their
followers owing to their charismatic personality. The second element is the ability to motivate and inspire others. The transformational
leader has a clear vision of the future and the ability to communicate effectively those expectations with the group. The third element
is the stimulation of creativity and intellectuality. A transformational leader gives much value to intellectuality and creativity. The
leader allows his followers to involve in the decision-making process and stimulates their efforts to enable them to be as innovative
and creative as they could. The fourth and last element is individualized concern for group members.
Lee Kuan Yew possesses all the above elements and that made him a great transformational leader. With his extraordinary
skills as a leader, he was able to transform Singapore into a thriving city-state. He had the charisma to influence others. He had such
communication skills that were very assertive and yet powerful. He was able to bring his people together and despite going through a
hard period during the 1960s, he made sure that his people trusted him. Another trait that made him a transformational leader was his
clear vision.
Lee Kuan Yew’s decision-making style
Decision-making seems a simple process but the making good decisions require the leader to be strong and clear in his vision.
Leading a team in any field does not always have the same pattern as different people have different styles of leading. Some
great qualities could be attributed to some leaders and the most competent leaders have such qualities. It is crucial to have the

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capability to organize a team or a group. The leader has to be wise, aggressive and understanding at the same time to make effective
decisions for the entire team or the country. Apart from that, a leader must also have good ability of problem solving.
Kuan Yew had all these abilities and that made him not only a good leader but also a great decision-maker. He took decisions
that changed the fate of Singapore and made it a developed city-state. One of the greatest traits of Kuan Yew as a decision-maker was
that he was not afraid of taking unpopular decisions. He believed that it is not possible keep friends while one is working for the
betterment of the country because it would not be possible for the leader to satisfy his friends all the time. The leader has to make
tough decisions that could be against many but in favor of the country in entirety. It was due to his decisions that Singapore was able
to come out from the shackles of British rule. When Singapore separated from Malaysia, Kuan Yew was devastated but he knew that
he had to make some strong decisions to come out of this phase. The country was vulnerable at that time and was constantly under
threats from different sources that included Indonesia with its challenging stance and the communists. He made some decisions that
strengthened the national security. He introduced conscription in 1967 wherein all males above the age of 18 had to join the Singapore
army. Within a few years, the army was strong and ready to face any attack. On the economic front, he made the decision to boost the
economy of Singapore by attracting foreign investments. For this, he helped boost the country’s infrastructure that attracted First
World countries like America, Japan and Europe. He also took several anti-corruption decisions in which the added power given to the
Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) to make arrests and investigate matters of corruption (Quah 2015). Therefore, it was
clear that Lee Kuan Yew was a great decision-maker as well.

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Part Two:
Reflection on own leadership style
I have a strong leadership sense and I know that I could become a great leader if given a chance. However, I have realized that
I need to improve upon certain areas of weakness that could hamper my leadership skills. I have had some experience of leading a
team in my university during a project.
Strengths
As a leader, I know that it is extremely important to have effective communication skills. Communication is a vital aspect of
leadership and without a stronghold on this aspect; one could not become a good leader. I am a good communicator because I am a
good listener. To communicate effectively, it is important to listen to others when face-to-face communication takes place (Mikkelson,
York and Arritola 2015). A good communicator also allows others to communicate without any interference and encourages effective
communication. Apart from that, I am a good decision-maker and I say this from my experience of leading a team. I was faced with a
situation where my team was lagging behind the project and I took the decision to honestly speak about the situation with my
professors and and ask for some suggestions. The decision was fruitful as the professors not only extended the deadline but also
suggested on doing the project quickly. This also demonstrated my strength as an honest leader.
Weaknesses

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Although I have much strength as a leader, there are certain areas where I need to improve more in order to become a complete
leader. First, I hesitate taking harsh decisions thinking that it might upset my friends or teammates. Secondly, I am not a good orator
and often mumble when asked to deliver seminar speech or anything similar. When I was made the leader of the team, I was asked to
make the decision to choose my teammates. It was tough for me to do so because I did not want to upset my friends and I did not want
to lose strong members. As an orator, I am very weak and this I realized when I was asked to present our project to a classroom full of
students and professors. Then, I realized that I have to improve on that part as well.
I also undertook three different types of tests to examine my strengths and weaknesses as a leader.
Emotional intelligence test
Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to identify, understand and take control of emotions in others as well as in
ourselves. Divided into four sub-categories, the emotional intelligence test, known also as EI, tests the capability of an individual
based on her or his emotions. The four sub-categories include self-awareness, social awareness, self-management and relationship
management. My overall score in these four categories was 45. This indicated that I needed to work on the skills that could help me
identify, view and express my emotions in others and myself as well.
Self-confident test

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Known also as self-esteem test, this test helped me identify the level of self-confidence I have. I score 59 in the test, which
means I have good confidence in myself although I need to improve it more. The test revealed that I fear rejection from others because
of who I am. I seek approval from others.
Cultural intelligence test
Cultural intelligence is used to explain the capability of an individual to associate and work efficiently with people from
different cultures. in the cultural intelligence test, I scored medium. This means that although I could work with people from other
cultures, I need to improve on that.
Leadership development plan
GOAL Strengths/Weaknesses ACTIVITY TIMEFRAME MEASUREMENT
1. To
become
an
effective
orator
Weakness: Not being
able to give speech in
front of many people
Activity 1: Attend
seminars in the
university to watch
leaders give speech
on stage.
Activity 2: Practice
Period 1: One
to two weeks
Period 2:
Continue till
the next
Indicator 1:
Feedback from
peers

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giving lectures and
speech amongst
peers. I will ask my
friends to give me
some topic on which
I could give speech.
opportunity
comes to
deliver speech
on stage
2. To
develop a
strong
decision-
making
attitude
Weakness: Do not have
a strong decision-
making quality as I fear
I might upset my
friends
Activity 1: Practice
making decisions at
home with my
younger siblings and
at university with
junior students
Period 1: One
month
Indicator 1:
Number of
successful
decisions taken
Part Three:

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Feedback from the leader
YES NO UNCLE
AR
Are the goals set out clear and achievable? Y
Are the activities set out clear and doable? Y
Are the goals aligned with the strengths or weaknesses set? N
Are the activities aligned with the strengths or weaknesses set? N
Is the timeframe for the activities and goals reasonable? U
Are the measurement indicators appropriate and measurable? Y
Would I do the same as the student? Y
Overall, is the development plan feasible/reasonable/appropriate? (e.g. does the proposed
plan address the strengths and weaknesses?).
Y
After I prepared my leadership development plan, I showed it to one of my friend’s father who is the owner of a small yet
successful business. His father provided some valuable feedback to me regarding my leadership development plan. He stated that
although I have developed a strong plan, there are some areas that I might consider adding in to the plan. These were plans on

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improving self-confidence, cultural intelligence and emotional intelligence. He stated that during his time, no such tests were available
but still he was able to build a successful company. The feedback was very important for me because I realized where I needed to
improve and modify further.
Conclusion
I now know that a leader must possess multiple qualities and that he could never be complacent. I am also aware that honesty
is the best virtue a leader could have because it ensures that no one could question your intentions or decisions. Lee Kuan Yew’s story
had a great influence on me. I realized reading about him that you need not satisfy everyone to attain the bigger goals.

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Appendices:
Emotional Intelligence

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Self confident test

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Cultural Intelligence

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References:
Ho, B., 2016. Learning from Lee: lessons in governance for the middle kingdom from the little red dot. East Asia, 33(2), pp.133-156.
Kwang, H.F., Fernandez, W. and Tan, S., 2015. Lee Kuan Yew: The man and his ideas. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte
Ltd.
Mikkelson, A.C., York, J.A. and Arritola, J., 2015. Communication competence, leadership behaviors, and employee outcomes in
supervisor-employee relationships. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 78(3), pp.336-354.
Quah, J.S., 2015. Evaluating the effectiveness of anti-corruption agencies in five Asian countries: A comparative analysis. Asian
Education and Development Studies, 4(1), pp.143-159.
Stagman-Tyrer, D., 2014. Resiliency and the nurse leader: The importance of equanimity, optimism, and perseverance. Nursing
management, 45(6), pp.46-50.
Straitstimes.com (2019). Remembering Lee Kuan Yew: A leader who was ruthless in demanding honesty. [online] The Straits Times.
Available at: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/remembering-lee-kuan-yew-a-leader-who-was-ruthless-in-demanding-honesty
[Accessed 9 May 2019].

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Telegraph.co.uk (2019). Lee Kuan Yew: his most memorable quotes. [online] Telegraph.co.uk. Available at:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/singapore/11489177/Lee-Kuan-Yew-his-most-memorable-quotes.html [Accessed 9
May 2019].