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Sometime** public officers

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<3TZ / CEO of the Civil Service College and Deputy Secretary (Development) of the Public Service Division, Lionel Yeo offers refreshing personal takes on life, art

and trekking.

Text by Wong Sher Maine Photos by John Heng

L I O N E L Y E O IS T H E K I N D O F affable chap you could happily shoot the breeze with on first meeting.

The trim, youthful Dean and C E O of the Civi l Service College - the training arm for Singapore's pub­lic officers - and Deputy Secretary (Development) of the Public Serv­ice Division regales with delightful, revealing anecdotes about life, his wife, art, trekking and work.

The accidental public officer As a teenager, he harboured dreams of becoming an ad agency creative director or lawyer. But his biggest wish was to study overseas and a government scholarship was what reeled him into public service.

"The PSC (Public Service Com­mission) was first to make me an offer and I accepted. Otherwise, I didn't know very much about public

service," says the London School of Economics alumnus.

Fifteen years later, M r Yeo, 38 -who served in the Ministries of Trade and Industry (MTI), Finance, Information and the Arts (MITA), and Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) - is still around, earning "psychic income" (non-monetary income that grati­fies psychological and emotional needs) by working with great peo­ple. "Also, I do get a kick out of do­ing good for Singapore."

Trekking diplomacy At M T I , he led the Singapore del­egation in negotiating a free trade agreement with New Zealand, Chile and Brunei.

Chief Chilean negotiator Ricardo Lagos Jr, son of the then Chilean President, found out that M r Yeo is

an avid trekker who has hit the trails in Nepal and Mount Kilimanjaro.

The two went for a walk in the foot­hills of Santiago. Taking a break by a stream, they talked business, with M r Lagos giving M r Yeo greater in­sight on the issues that Chile was concerned about and the ones they had more room to negotiate. "Ne­gotiation is not always what takes place in formal meetings. In this case, my trekking came in useful!"

Investing in relationships Mr Yeo's father - a public officer with secondary school education who served in the customs and ex­cise department for over 30 years - was recently hospitalised and was visited by customs officers, despite having retired 20 years ago.

Says M r Yeo, whose mother was a housewife: "How many of us can

A Cuppa With

leave the Serv ice for 20 years and s t i l l be w e l l - r e g a r d e d by c u r r e n t l y s e r v i n g officers? T h e measure o f a m a n is not based on the t i t les he h o l d s . T o me , it 's a pe r sona l r e m i n d ­er that we have to treat people w i t h respect , that i n v e s t i n g i n h u m a n re­l a t i o n s h i p s is i m p o r t a n t . "

T h i s , he feels, can make a d i f ference i n engag ing staff. " I n t e r n a l staff engagement is p a t c h y across p u b ­l i c sector organ i sa t ions a n d i t r ea l ly b o i l s d o w n to h o w to relate to each o ther o n a per sona l basis . I f we don't pract i se e m p a t h y w i t h our o w n peo­p le , there is no chance o f p r a c t i s i n g e m p a t h y w i t h the p u b l i c . "

A supportive workplace T o that e n d , one key pro ject o n his radar is b u i l d i n g up C u b e , an i n ­t ranet p o r t a l for p u b l i c of f icers . " T h e a s p i r a t i o n is to create an o n ­l i n e c o m m u n i t y o f p u b l i c off icers w h o can co l l abora te , share ideas, discuss , connec t , f i n d each o ther . " *

H a v i n g e m p a t h y and a keen eye can he lp to get the best out o f peop le . M r Yeo has seen h o w some p u b ­l i c off icers c l a m up at meet ings ( i f they no t i ce that t h e i r bosses are not speak ing up) as i f i n fear o f ups tag­i n g t h e i r super ior s .

" I f y o u have s o m e t h i n g to c o n t r i b ­ute , let's hear i t . I t doesn't mat ter w h a t y o u r t i t l e i s . . . I f you're l i v i n g i n constant fear o f l o s i n g y o u r j o b , y o u can't be a g o o d p u b l i c off icer. W e have to be able to serve w i t h o u t fear or favour . "

H e n c e , as a boss, he bel ieves i n " seek ing f irs t to u n d e r s t a n d before y o u make y o u r s e l f u n d e r s t o o d " . A t meet ings , he tries to "make people feel a b i t more secure (and that they can) suggest a l ternat ive ideas w i t h ­out fear o f r e p r i s a l . "

The under-valued spouse M r Yeo's w i f e is a w a r d - w i n n i n g ac­tress J an ice K o h , w h o was a N a t i o n a l A r t s C o u n c i l o f f icer for about four years. T h e t w o , i n t r o d u c e d by m u ­t u a l f r i ends , w o r k e d o n the R e n a i s ­sance C i t y pro ject together - he was at the t h e n M i n i s t r y o f I n f o r m a t i o n

and the A r t s - before she became a f u l l - f l e d g e d actress.

" M y w i f e is better at w h a t she does, t h a n I am at w h a t I d o , " says M r Y e o , w h o most en joyed his wife 's a c t i n g i n the p l ay One Flea Spare, i n w h i c h she p l ayed a 1 2 - y e a r - o l d g i r l . " N o t m a n y people are prepared to invest t h e i r careers i n the arts . "

M r Yeo earns more t h a n his w i f e -s o m e t h i n g he ques t ions . " O u r s o c i ­ety has d e c i d e d to pay o f f ic ia l s more t h a n art i s t s . It's not abso lute ly clear to me that th i s is a g o o d t h i n g . I n 100 years, w h o w i l l k n o w the names o f today's p e r m a n e n t secretaries? B u t people w i l l s t i l l be a p p r e c i a t i n g the p a i n t i n g s o f C h u a E k K a y and r e a d i n g the w o r k s o f A l f i a n Sa'at."

"There ' s a r i s k somet imes that those o f us i n p u b l i c service take ourselves a b i t too ser iously . P u b l i c o f f i c ­ers must k n o w our place i n h i s t o r y and pay su f f i c ient respect to o ther profess ions that p lay a v i t a l par t i n n a t i o n - b u i l d i n g " - not o n l y art ists , but also entrepreneurs , c i v i l soc ie ty groups , "any o ther per son or group whose heart is i n the r i g h t p lace" .

Empathy is vital Respect goes r i g h t d o w n to the g r o u n d , w h e n a p u b l i c of f icer is , say, e v a l u a t i n g appeals f r o m entre­preneurs . " T o d a y we may say we're not g o i n g to give y o u a l i c e n c e . A r e we prepared to contempla te that th i s entrepreneur may have an idea w h i c h c o u l d t r a n s f o r m the w o r l d ?

Trust Me

m the JOSS

4.1 What's usually in your cuppa?

American ginseng tea.

Where do you get your favourite drink?

The shop at Funan IT mall next to my PSD office.

If you .have so toco^ it-It .jdbesn^msitter. what^our title is..

" I t may seem obvious to take the p u b l i c sector p o s i t i o n as the correct one. B u t somet imes we s h o u l d pause and ask ourselves : C o u l d we be wrong? W e shouldn ' t be too q u i c k to assume we k n o w best. W e need to l i s t e n , engage and u n d e r s t a n d . "

W h i c h is w h y the C S C aims for p u b l i c off icers to see m u l t i p l e v i e w ­p o i n t s i n any issue. " E m p a t h y i n

P" p o l i c y - m a k i n g is about b e i n g able to wear d i f fe rent s takeholders ' shoes ," says M r Y e o , w h o uses the w o r d " e m p a t h y " numerous t imes i n the i n t e r v i e w .

"It's s t i l l w o r k i n progress , but we w a n t people to see that the g o v e r n m e n t perspect ive is bu t one per spec t ive . " H

* You can follow Lionel Yeo on Cube (www.cube. gov.sg) from Dec 2011 onwards.