The New Managerial Mandate: Leading with Trust in Singapore
By Gary McRae on 15 Nov, 2025 12:47:12 PM
Last updated on Nov 15, 2025 12:48:13 PM
The future of work in Singapore is being shaped by two powerful, often conflicting, forces: the hyper-speed push toward AI and the evolving human need for organisational trust.
As businesses invest in digital transformation, the greatest challenge is not technology but human leadership. Leaders must strike a balance between enforcing accountability remotely and building the trust that drives innovation and talent retention.
“We cannot command the wind, but we can adjust our sails.”
Chee Hong Tat
Minister of National Development
For business leaders, adjusting the sails means instilling Clarity and Trust to navigate the stormy seas of global uncertainty and digital disruption. This is the new managerial mandate.
The Trust Paradox in Singapore's Digital Economy
Recent data indicate that many Singaporean businesses struggle to align their tech investments with their readiness. Despite rising AI spending, a significant gap in skills and risk management remains.
The technical problem is clear, but the leadership solution is cultural in nature. The manager’s job is no longer to observe activity; it is to define and measure impact. A failure to build a culture of trust and transparency now will stall even the most well-funded AI initiatives.
From Monitoring Activity to Measuring Impact
In the post-pandemic landscape, an 'Assumption of Trust' has become a strategic lever for resilience, turning the hybrid model from a temporary fix into a competitive advantage for many Singapore-based organisations.
For instance, the experience of Adventus Singapore, a winner at the HR Excellence Awards, demonstrates that flexibility is a reflection of trust, not an exception to it.
The key learning was transforming leadership culture by shifting from monitoring activity to outcomes-based management—aligning expectations through clear, measurable goals and training managers in empathetic check-ins.
This is the core insight: Managers must be coached out of the 'monitoring' mindset. If you don't trust your people to work autonomously, you fundamentally limit your firm's potential for high performance.
Implementation · How to Practically Shift from Monitoring to Measuring
The transition from tracking 'inputs' (hours logged, emails sent) to measuring 'outputs' requires managers to change their toolset and mindset.
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Establish 'Impact KPIs'
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Replace time-based reporting with clear, quantitative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) focused on agreed-upon weekly results.
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Task Completion Rate: Percentage of assigned tasks completed on time. Project Cycle Time: The average time taken to complete a unit of work (e.g., resolving a ticket).
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Implement Focused Check-ins
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Shift the purpose of one-on-ones from status updates to roadblock clearance. Managers should ask: "What are your clear goals for the week?" and "What support do you need from me to deliver?"
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Utilise project management tools (e.g., Jira, Asana) that offer real-time visibility into task progress and ownership.
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Reinforce Ownership
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Leaders must clearly set the goal but empower the team member to choose the how. This deliberate autonomy fosters ownership and reduces the need for minute-by-minute supervision.
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Delegate decision-making authority for processes, allowing the team to develop a shared vision and goals. |
Obstacles to Building Trust in Hybrid Teams
Intentional trust is crucial in hybrid setups. Leaders in Asia often face challenges related to visibility and communication due to traditional hierarchies.
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Proximity Bias
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The unconscious tendency for managers to favour and trust employees they see more often in the office, creating a two-tiered system and undermining fairness. |
Mandate that all hybrid meetings follow 'Virtual First' norms (everyone uses their own camera/mic, regardless of location) to ensure consistent inclusivity and equitable participation.
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Communication Gaps
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Messages can be easily misinterpreted or lost in the scattered digital channels. The absence of non-verbal cues undermines social trust and exacerbates conflict. |
Standardise Communication Policies: Define explicit norms for response times and which channel to use for which topic (e.g., IM for quick questions, email for complex issues).
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Fear of 'Invisibility'
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Employees fear that a lack of physical presence will result in missed promotions or overlooked contributions, often leading to overworking and burnout. |
Managers must actively check in on well-being and use transparent dashboards to show that contributions—not hours—are being valued.
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Practical Clarity: Three Steps to Strategic Trust
For Singapore leaders seeking to future-proof their teams and close the digital readiness gap, The Clarity Practice recommends three immediate steps to implement an "Assumption of Trust" as a core leadership capability:
- Clearly define a measurable outcome for each role, moving focus from hours worked to specific deliverables.
- Establish transparent criteria for evaluating success so employees know what is expected.
- Provide training and support to both managers and team members to enable this transition.
As outlined in the Implementation section, the commitment here is to define clear KPIs that transition the managerial focus from inputs to outputs.
Uphold Integrity in an Automated World
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the UK's FCA recently announced a strategic AI-in-Finance partnership to champion safe and responsible AI innovation. This demonstrates that integrity and governance are now global competitive factors.
Leaders must ensure their AI systems—from recruitment tools to fraud detection—are fair, accurate, and compliant.
A lack of integrity or fairness in automated processes will immediately destroy cultural trust. Your leadership team must possess the ethical clarity to vet and correct algorithmic bias.
This vigilance extends to training employees to act as the first line of defence against scams, a collaborative effort that recently foiled over $33 million in potential losses across Singapore.
Invest in Managerial EQ (Not Just Technical Skills)
The most critical investment in the AI era is not in new software, but in the leadership skills of your managers. Managers who lack emotional intelligence struggle to coach teams through massive technological change or sustain connections in a hybrid setting.
We recommend targeted Executive Coaching to equip managers with empathy and communication skills. The process begins by assessing current capabilities, choosing specific areas for improvement, and conducting regular coaching sessions.
Evaluate impact through feedback from team members and track progress in measurable outcomes. This development bridges the talent gap and supports long-term adoption of technology.
Measuring the Effectiveness of Trust-Building Initiatives
Trust must be treated as a strategic asset with measurable results. What gets measured is treasured.
Internal Trust Metrics (Leading Indicators)
These gauge the health and alignment of the workforce:
- Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS): Measures how likely employees are to recommend the organisation as a great place to work.
- Leadership Trust Index (LTI): A dedicated survey tool that measures three components of trustworthiness within the leadership cohort: Ability, Integrity, and Benevolence.
- Pulse Survey Data: Frequent, short surveys tracking real-time sentiment on topics like Psychological Safety and Perceived Fairness—especially related to hybrid work policies.
Business Impact Metrics (Lagging Indicators)
These link trust initiatives directly to the bottom line:
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Employee Retention Rate
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High trust reduces stress and increases engagement, directly correlating to lower turnover and reduced cost-per-hire. |
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Productivity/Efficiency
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High-trust teams collaborate more effectively, resolve conflicts more quickly, and experience fewer sick days, resulting in quantifiable increases in productivity. |
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Customer Satisfaction (CSAT/NPS)
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Internal trust translates to better service and product quality, which drives external customer satisfaction and loyalty. |
Targeted Executive Coaching and ROI
What Targeted Executive Coaching Looks Like
Targeted Executive Coaching for a trust-driven, hybrid mandate is behavioural and measurable.
- 360-Degree Baseline Assessment: The process begins with a 360-degree feedback assessment (pre-coaching) to identify the leader's specific gaps in competencies, such as Active Listening and Delegation, as reported by their direct reports, peers, and supervisor.
- Goal Alignment: The coach, leader, and sponsoring executive (HR/CEO) collaboratively define SMART behavioural and business objectives.
- Behavioural Practice: Coaching involves weekly or bi-weekly sessions focused on real-world scenarios, such as helping a leader move from dominating virtual meetings to intentionally inviting input from remote staff (practising inclusive communication).
Demonstrating Coaching ROI
The return on investment (ROI) for coaching is substantial, often quoted at 5 to 7 times the initial investment, with some studies showing returns of up to 788% when retention is factored.
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Tangible Cost Savings
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Calculate savings from reduced staff turnover (avoided recruitment and onboarding costs) and increased productivity (faster project completion and efficiency gains).
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360-Degree Post-Assessment
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The most accurate way to show impact. Compare the post-coaching 360-degree assessment scores to the baseline to quantify improvement in targeted competencies (e.g., a 20% increase in 'Delegation Effectiveness' score).
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Business Metrics Correlation
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Track key business metrics (e.g., team engagement scores, goal attainment rate) 6-12 months after coaching completion and correlate the positive shifts with the improved leadership behaviour.
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In short, coaching ROI is demonstrated by translating improved leadership behaviours (e.g., better delegation) into measurable business outcomes (e.g., a 5% faster product launch cycle or a 10% lower team attrition rate).
Conclusion
Singapore is entering a phase that demands extraordinary stewardship. To build a business that is resilient, digitally ready, and capable of attracting top talent, leaders must commit to the strategic asset of organisational trust.
The clarity to define outcomes, uphold integrity, and lead with empathy is what separates companies that merely invest in technology from those that truly drive the future of work.
Ready to transform your leadership team's capability for strategic trust?
Contact us now to schedule a complimentary consultation or learn more about our Corporate Leadership Development programmes.
Take the next step towards building a high-trust, future-ready organisation.
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