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PERSPECTIVE ON LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS: HBSP No.: NTU270
FROM EMPLOYEE’S LENS Ref No.: ABCC-2016-009
Date: 10 June 2016
Koh Cheng Boon
SPRING SINGAPORE
On 13 March 2016, the Chairman of SPRING Singapore announced that the Industry and Enterprise
Department 1 (IED 1) of SPRING would have a new director, as of 15 April 2016. Simon Lee, a manager
in IED 1, has enjoyed autonomy because he is a prominent member of the industry and a valuable member
to the team. He heard via the grapevine that the new leader, Stephanie Koh, was well known for adopting
a micromanaging and task-focused leadership style. Simon wondered if he could excel under this new
leadership style and if he should begin looking for a new job.
SPRING SINGAPORE
Formerly known as the Productivity and Standard Board (PSB), SPRING Singapore was formed out of the
merger between the National Productivity Board (NPB) and the Singapore Institute of Standards and
Industrial Research (SISIR) in April 1996.
In April 2002, it was renamed SPRING (Standards, Productivity and Innovation for Growth) to signify the
shift towards an innovation-driven economy and its new role in promoting creativity to sustain growth in
Singapore. SPRING focuses on three areas: productivity and innovation, standards and quality, and
development programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the domestic sector. As a
statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore, SPRING has the mission “To help
Singapore enterprises grow and to build trust in Singapore products and services” 1.
The Chairman heads SPRING and is assisted by the Chief Executive Officer. It is organised into five
departments: Industry and Enterprise 1, Industry and Enterprise 2, Corporate Development, Capabilities
and Partnership, Quality and Excellence (see Exhibit 1).
1 Retrieved from [Link]
Dr Koh Cheng Boon prepared this case based on public sources and field research. To maintain confidentiality, the
author may have disguised certain names and other identifying information. This case is intended for class discussion
and learning, and not intended as source research material or as illustration of effective or ineffective management.
COPYRIGHT © 2016 Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be copied, stored, transmitted, altered, reproduced or distributed in any form or medium whatsoever without the written
consent of Nanyang Technological University.
The Asian Business Case Centre, Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue,
Singapore 639798. Phone: +65-6790-4864/6552, E-mail: asiacasecentre@[Link]
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Page 2
ABCC-2016-009
CULTURE IN IED 1
IED 1 is responsible for helping enterprises with financing, capability and management development,
technology and innovation, and market access. Hence, managers and executives are expected to learn the
ropes and know the industries they are assigned to. Subsequently, they are required to develop strategy
plans to help SMEs in Singapore to innovate and grow.
LEADERS’ AND SUBORDINATES’ PERCEPTIONS OF EACH OTHER
For the past 3.5 years, Simon Lee, a manager in IED 1, had enjoyed autonomy because he was a pioneer
who specialised in Human Resource in SMEs. As a scholar of SPRING, Simon had the same mindset as
the others. Prior to 2015, the SPRING scholars’ mentality was to become entrepreneurs after their minimum
term of service, which usually ranged from two to four years depending on the type of scholarship they had
received.
In his work at IED 1, Simon was a self-sufficient employee. According to the incumbent Director of IED 1,
Josephine Lim, “Simon is a self-driven scholar who always plans ahead. I don’t have to tell him what to do.
He will set his own goals and develop the industry under his charge”.
Simon described Josephine as “a leader who empowers her subordinates”. He went on to comment on how
this leadership style appeals to him, “I find this leadership style encourages innovation. I am motivated
because this culture gives me the autonomy to develop the industries I am responsible for. I have total
freedom to plan my schedule and to do what I deem fit”.
Simon’s colleagues described him as “a typical millennial who valued total empowerment and an idealist
who firmly believed that leaders should provide support for subordinates especially for scholars like him to
work independently”.
When he was studying in university, the Big-5 personality inventory revealed that he was:
Big-5 Personality
(OCEAN: Openness to Experience,
Descriptors
Conscientiousness, Extraversion,
Agreeableness, Neuroticism)
Low openness to experience Preferred routine than changes
Very high in conscientiousness Dependable, responsible, achievement oriented
Low in extraversion Not sociable and preferred to keep things to himself
Low in agreeableness Has a mind of his own and tended not to trust others easily
High in neuroticism Worried and tended to feel insecure
GRAPEVINE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Just like the any other staff member at SPRING, Simon attempted to use the grapevine to find out about
the new leader, Stephanie Koh, who was well known for her micromanaging and task-focused leadership
style. Simon’s friends and colleagues who had worked with Stephanie before cautioned him that she would
push her subordinates to excel: “We don’t really trust her and we wish the department she is going to best
of luck!”
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Page 3
ABCC-2016-009
Simon also tried to learn more about Stephanie through various social media sites. He found the following
on LinkedIn and Facebook:
Figure 1
Screenshot of Stephanie’s LinkedIn
Source: Created by author.
Figure 2
Screenshot of Stephanie’s Facebook page
Source: Created by author.
With this information, Simon began to consider his alternatives, from trying to find a vacant post within IED
to going for interviews with other organisations. However, Simon realised that the employment market was
bad and that he had to give two months’ notice before he could leave SPRING.
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Page 4
ABCC-2016-009
For the next month, Simon was under tremendous stress due to the reported leadership style of his new
boss. He began to ask himself whether he could excel under this new leadership style and whether he
should start looking for a new job.
He decided to call his university professor whom he trusted for advice, “Prof Koh, can we have kopi on 20
Mar 2016, 9am at Canteen B. I need to consult you something.”
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Page 5
ABCC-2016-009
EXHIBIT 1
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF SPRING SINGAPORE
Source: Retrieved from [Link]
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