Toh Leyi, Senior Manager (Digital Transformation), People's Association, Singapore

1) What does public service mean to you? Can you share more about your role in the public sector?

To me, public service is about ensuring good intentions translate into real outcomes for people. It means designing policies, programmes, and services that are practical, fair, and inclusive.  

My journey at the People’s Association has shaped this belief. I started in a community centre, where I mobilised volunteers, conducted house visits, and supported families in need.

That experience gave me insight into how policies are experienced on the ground.

To me, public service is about ensuring good intentions translate into real outcomes for people. It means designing policies, programmes, and services that are practical, fair, and inclusive. 

I later moved to the Grassroots Policy and Programmes Division, where I partnered ministries on national initiatives and supported impact measurement work, giving me a clearer view of how strategy becomes implementation.  

Today, I work in the Digital Transformation Office, where I map workflows, identify bottlenecks, and redesign processes with system owners using digital tools.

Our goal is to reduce friction so officers can spend more time on meaningful community engagement and service delivery.  

2) Tell us about a project you championed. What impact did it have on the community?

I recently participated in a PA Hackathon where my cross-divisional team explored how volunteer participation could be better tracked and supported across the organisation.  

Rather than jumping straight to technology, we began with people. We mapped officer and volunteer journeys to uncover manual pain points, fragmented processes, and gaps in record visibility.

We then developed a prototype that gave officers a fuller picture of volunteer contributions, making it easier to recognise efforts, identify those ready to do more, and engage them more intentionally.  

What I valued most was that the project went beyond productivity. It demonstrated how well-designed systems can strengthen human connection, not replace it. 

3) As a young professional, how has your unique background or perspective allowed you to identify a solution that others in your organisation might have overlooked?

My background has taught me to balance empathy with rigour.  

My training in Psychology, together with hands-on ground experience, helped me understand how people think, behave, and experience systems in real life.

I recognise that well-intentioned policies can fall short if they do not reflect lived realities. 

My Master’s in Social Data Analytics later equipped me with tools to question assumptions, analyse patterns, and design evidence-based solutions.  

I tend to approach problems from both angles: understanding people first, then designing solutions that are practical, measurable, and scalable.

Beyond asking whether a solution improves efficiency, I care whether it genuinely improves day-to-day experiences. 

4) What is your personal strategy for staying motivated when managing heavy workloads and tight deadlines?

First, I find the right people to build with. Thoughtful colleagues who challenge ideas constructively often help create momentum. 

Second, I treat constraints as design parameters. I try to understand what can and cannot change, identify room to innovate, and work within that space.  

Most importantly, I maintain a healthy dose of discontent. I make it a point to keep asking: How can we do this better? Who might we be leaving behind? 

What would make this more useful for the people we serve? This mindset keeps the work meaningful. 

5) If you had just one area to invest in to accelerate transformation in the public sector (regulation, technology, talent, etc.), which one would you choose and why?

I would invest in people.  

Technology can enable change, but people determine whether it takes root and endures.

Even with the best systems in place, transformation can stall if officers are unconvinced, inadequately supported, or hesitant to adopt new ways of working. 

That is why investing in capability, culture, and leadership matters. 

Officers need the skills and confidence to use new tools effectively. Teams need psychological safety to experiment and learn. Leaders need to model and reward curiosity, initiative, and strategic foresight. 

6) What is your greatest ambition as you grow in your public service career?

My greatest ambition is to help shape how public institutions evolve, so they remain effective, trusted, and responsive in a changing world. 

I aspire to be a leader who can bridge ground realities, policy thinking, data, and technology – someone who can make difficult decisions, rally people behind a shared vision, and build systems that deliver lasting public value.  

Just as importantly, I want to be a trusted mentor. I have benefited from mentors who gave me room to think, grow, and contribute early in my career, and I would love to do the same for others. 

7) What is a “universal value” that connects everyone in your department – from interns to directors – and how do you use that to drive collaboration?

Commitment to real impact. We share the belief that transformation should not be change for its own sake. It should tangibly improve how people work, how services are delivered, and how outcomes are achieved. 

I use this to drive collaboration by anchoring discussions in purpose. By consistently asking “Who are we doing this for?” and “What problem are we trying to solve?”, we steer conversations towards shared outcomes. When we align on what genuinely matters, collaboration becomes much easier. 

8) What is the best piece of advice you’ve got for the next generation of public servants?

Make sure your heart is in the right place, and do not become discouraged when impact is not immediately visible.

Public service can be deeply rewarding, but it can also test your patience. Many worthwhile changes take time because the challenges society faces are diverse and complex. 

Your contribution does not need to be the final breakthrough.

Sometimes, it can serve as the groundwork that enables one. Every small improvement matters: a resident helped, a process improved, an insightful question asked.  

Stay sincere, stay patient, and never underestimate the value you bring. 

9) What is a myth you wish to debunk about young public servants?

A myth I would debunk is that young public servants are conservative, conformist, or seeking stability.   

I have met many young officers who are thoughtful, values-driven, and quietly ambitious about making things better. They may work within institutional constraints, but that does not mean they lack conviction or courage.

What looks like caution is often responsibility, because public service decisions affect real lives. 

These officers are more idealistic than people assume. They understand that reality is messy, systems are imperfect, and progress can be slow. Yet, they choose to stay and push for better. 

10) Write a letter to your future self in 2035. Please keep it within 200 words.

Dear Le Yi,  

I hope you lived the last ten years fruitfully and unapologetically – as a mother, wife, daughter, public servant, and member of society.  

I trust you are leading others while staying close to the ground, and that responsibility has made you wiser, not harder.  

Continue to choose courage over comfort, make room for alternative voices, and stay grounded in what truly matters.

Keep offering clarity amidst complexity, composure in uncertainty, and space for others to grow. Lift others up, just as your mentors once lifted you. 

Most importantly, I hope you are enjoying the richness of life and laughing often. Always make time for the people you love and the things that make life beautiful.  

Stay sincere. Stay sharp.  

With love,  

Your 2026 self