Leadership Assessment - Mr. Lee Kuan Yew

The paper assesses the leadership style of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of Singapore, highlighting his effective leadership traits such as courage, confidence, conviction, clairvoyance, communication skill, clarity, charisma, and commitment. These qualities enabled him to lead Singapore out of challenging economic and political situations from 1950 to 1960, inviting foreign companies for investment and making unpopular decisions that ultimately led to the country's success.

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Leadership Assessment – Mr. Lee Kuan Yew
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LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT – MR. LEE KUAN YEW
Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of Singapore, has been considered to assess his
leadership style and understand the various aspects of effective leadership. Leadership refers to
the ability of an individual to lead a group towards particular goals or objectives. There are
various leadership styles that can witnessed around the world. Some of the leaders use mixed
approach to handle their followers. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew had various traits of an effective leader
which allowed him to improve the situation of Singapore after it failed to merge with Malaysia
(Leong, 2000). Some of the major traits of Mr. Lee were courage, confidence, conviction,
clairvoyance, communication skill, clarity, charisma, and commitment.
The country faced challenging political and economic situation from 1950 to 1960. Mr. Lee
accepted the challenging economy with courage and pushed his team hard to work for the public
and take the country out from the demise. Moreover, one could have easily witnessed the glazing
confidence within Mr. Lee which continuously reinforced his ability to take courageous action.
Mr. Lee took courageous steps to invite foreign companies for investment in the Singaporean
economy when the country was under the rank of third world country (George, 1984). The
confidence to invite world level MNCs to invest in the country that has not even effectively hold
the ground after the turmoil of World War II was obviously an example of appreciable
confidence.
Moreover, Mr. Lee was faithful in the ability of the team with which he was moving ahead to
change the face of Singapore. He had strong conviction which eventually converted into success.
Most important, he took decisions that were unpopular to the masses because he was sure that
those decisions are for the greater good of the society in the days to come. He had the ability to
look far into the future and think something bigger for the society and Singapore at large. His
clairvoyance easily reflects in the shape of Singapore which it is today. Apart from these above

LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT – MR. LEE KUAN YEW
qualities, he was clear communicator (Kwang et al, 2015). He effectively communicated what he
desired for the company and from the country. His words selection were effective whenever he
made speeches and comfortably helped the people of Singapore understand what he wants to do
for the country and how important it is that the people of Singapore support his cause. His
speeches made profound impact on the individuals living in the country.
Charisma and commitment of Mr. Lee helped him bypass major challenges efficiently.
Moreover, his ability to impress and negotiate effectively with the individuals made him an
effective leader (Josey, 2013).
These characteristics and traits of Mr. Lee helped him become an effective leader who can lead
group of individuals out of any major crisis. As understood, a leader should have the ability to
clearly communicate his vision to the followers, must be able to act on his vision, and must have
faith on his vision. These qualities help the leader achieve miracles.
References
Kwang, H. F., Fernandez, W., & Tan, S. (2015). Lee Kuan Yew: the man and his ideas. Marshall
Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd.
Josey, A. (2013). Lee Kuan Yew: The Crucial Years. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte
Ltd.
George, T. J. S. (1984). Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore. Eastern Universities Press Sdn. Bhd..
Leong, H. K. (2000). Prime ministerial leadership and policy‐making style in Singapore: Lee
Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong compared. Asian Journal of Political Science, 8(1), 91-123.