At this point, everything that my interviewees have told me about Desmond has been unexpected, to say the least.

The average Singaporean remains clueless about any of this, largely thanks to SMRT’s impenetrable PR strategy.

As a public-facing, public-serving company, their focus remains strictly on commuters. When they have to shape public perception by dealing with public enquiries from the Land Transport Authority (their regulator), Parliament, and irate netizens, the image of their CEO simply can’t be top priority.

Inadvertently, the image of Desmond Kuek the public figure diverged dramatically from Desmond Kuek the boss.

At least this is what I gather from those who used to work with him. As a boss, Desmond was consistently open to being wrong. He wasn’t fixated on his way of doing things, and could always be persuaded with a better solution.

While those I interviewed have all at some point articulated their disagreements with him, they admit that they were able to do so mainly because Desmond had created an open environment, one that reassured them they would be taken seriously regardless.

Desmond remained approachable, even when he needed to act under different constraints by reporting to various stakeholders.

Ryan says, “When I disagreed with something, I’d tell him, ‘Look boss, I know you’re the boss but these are my views. You might want to consider this.’ And I could always count on him to listen to me at least. That’s what you want in a boss.”

In Ryan’s own words, this comes from a “deep inner strength”. It also means being confident enough in your vision to have it challenged; not getting defensive when questioned, and being willing to make room for both different perspectives and enriching discussions.

To me at least, it seems that Desmond’s values have rubbed off on his employees.

Ryan goes on to share, “When he asked me to do important transformation projects, it was very hard to get senior management going. I was the youngest guy, and there were many power struggles. Desmond told me, ‘Ryan, you shouldn’t worry what people think about you.’ Those were very powerful words that I still return to whenever I face challenges at my current job.”

Those who still remain at SMRT are more than willing to admit that Desmond’s leadership changed the way they wanted to lead their own teams and the values they hoped to pay forward.

Tony, for instance, has always considered himself more “operational and executional”, often erring on the side of caution. In contrast, Desmond was a “visionary”, which Tony says taught him to be less aggressive and more assertive.

“It’s always been obvious to us that we’re serving the nation. This is the MRT, after all. People take pride in this job, much of which was instilled by Desmond over the last few years,” he adds.

Another current employee, Alvin Tan, the deputy director of human resources, recalls seeing Desmond take flak from stakeholders during the Bishan flooding incident. Despite the heavy criticism levelled against him by the public and ministries alike, he never shirked responsibility to protect his reputation. After the issue died down, Alvin wrote Desmond a note to thank him for being a role model.

“It changed the way I saw leadership and made me question if I would ever measure up to the bar that he set for us. Perhaps not, but I will never stop trying.”

I am reminded of a piece of advice someone gave me at the start of my career: a great boss won’t just make you believe in them. They also help you believe in yourself.