What a Singaporean farmer can teach CEOs about leadership

I GREW up around plants, nurseries and farms, but it took me many years to understand what I had really learnt from this world.

When people think of farming, many imagine soil, land and manual labour. That is part of the picture, but not the whole one.

Farms come in all forms. Some are soil-based. Others are indoors or climate-controlled. There are aquaculture, mushroom and egg farms.

Their methods may differ, but the reality is the same: Farmers today are also entrepreneurs running businesses under difficult conditions.

Like every other business owner, they need sustainable demand, healthy margins and room to grow. They worry about costs, manpower, productivity and whether the next investment will pay off.

Yet, farming is often discussed either too romantically or too technically. We talk about food security, land use and technology, but sometimes forget that behind every farm are people making business decisions every day.

The farmer’s mindset

Over time, I realised that the lessons I learnt from this world were also about how we lead, make decisions and stay grounded when the season changes.

Many of us were taught that leadership means growth. We set targets, push for results, build teams, expand into new markets and keep asking how to move faster.

But farming has taught me something simple: Growth cannot be forced.

You can water a plant, but you cannot manually force it to grow. You can invest in technology, but you cannot command the harvest. You can plan for the season, but you must respect the conditions around you.

This is what I call the farmer’s mindset. 

Farming is hard, uncertain and often unforgiving. But because of that, it teaches a practical form of leadership. It tells us to work with seasons, not against them, and reminds us that the visible harvest is always connected to invisible preparation. 

In Singapore, land is limited, costs are rising, manpower is tight and many needs must be balanced carefully. Change is not something we can avoid.

The test of leadership is not only whether we can make hard decisions. It is also how we carry people through change without losing what matters. 

Simplicity, resilience, adaptability

The first lesson farming taught me is simplicity. 

When a system is cluttered, growth becomes difficult. In a soil-based farm, weeds compete with crops. In a high-tech farm, poor calibration can affect output.

Different models, same truth: When the conditions are not right, growth suffers. 

Leadership is the same. When things become uncertain, many leaders respond by doing more – more plans, meetings, strategies and targets.

But more does not always mean better. Sometimes, leadership starts with clearing the field: What really matters now? What are we trying to protect? What must we stop doing so that the important things can breathe again?

A grounded leader must know the difference between leaves and roots.

Leaves are visible: growth, revenue, expansion and public recognition. Roots are less conspicuous: purpose, values, trust, culture, relationships and the quiet systems that hold everything together.

If the roots are weak, the tree will not stand for long.

Another lesson is resilience. 

Many people think resilience means enduring everything quietly. I do not see it that way.

In nature, resilience is not stiffness. A tree that refuses to bend may break, while a plant that moves with the wind has a better chance of surviving.

To me, resilience is the ability to stay rooted while adjusting to changing conditions.

This matters for businesses – especially family firms, small and medium-sized enterprises and longstanding companies.

Many carry knowledge that cannot be fully written down in a manual. There are relationships, habits, skills, instincts and trust built over many years.

When change happens, leaders must remember that they are not only moving assets or processes. They are also moving people, memory and trust.

The third lesson is adaptability.

Farmers must read conditions in the environment. In traditional farming, this may mean watching the soil, sunlight, rainfall and pests. In high-tech farming, it could entail reading data, adjusting climate controls and managing nutrients.

Different tools, same mindset: What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow.

But adaptability does not mean chasing everything new. There will always be current trends – artificial intelligence, sustainability and new markets. In the long run, some will matter, and some will not.

The danger is when leaders adapt without roots. Then we chase what is popular but forget what we stand for.

True adaptability asks: What has changed around us, and how should we respond without losing ourselves?

Leadership lessons from farming

For me, this is personal. My family business is in the nursery and landscape services trade. I did not plan to spend my life in this industry. I entered it almost by chance after graduation, but I stayed.

Over time, I saw that this work was not only about growing plants, producing food or delivering landscape projects. It was also about patience, responsibility, stewardship and trust.

The farmer’s mindset reminds me that leadership is not about forcing growth at all costs.

It is about creating the right conditions for growth to take place.

This does not mean resisting change. Farmers do not rebel against seasons. They respect them.

But every change needs care. When leaders make decisions, we must look beyond efficiency alone. We must also consider continuity, trust and the human knowledge beneath every system.

To me, grounded leadership is not about slowing down. It is about moving forward with clarity. It is knowing what to prune, what to protect and what to plant next.

In the end, whether in soil, water or a controlled environment, the strength of any harvest still depends on the health of its roots.

The writer is the founder and chief farmer of The Local Farm. He will be launching his first book, GROUNDED: The Farmer’s Mindset for Life & Leadership, in June, published by World Scientific.