At first glance, Mr Mervyn Tan’s workspace looks no different from that of his colleagues at National Parks Board (NParks).

But a closer look reveals his sporty hobbies: photos of him fly fishing and mountain climbing adorn his cubicle walls, while several well-used footballs sit under the desk.

The deputy director (Park Connector Network) is the captain of the NParks football team, playing in the annual Singapore Government Services Football League.

He began playing at age seven, when his father introduced him to the game, and has “never looked back” since, he says. These days, he plays at least thrice a week, including a weekly training with his NParks teammates.

Years of experience on the pitch have honed certain qualities in Mervyn that also prove useful in his work. Teamwork and leadership are crucial on both fronts, he tells Challenge.

With his skills, experience and passion, Mervyn was made football captain right after joining NParks in 2009. “Being captain challenges me to retain my composure during intense moments, and that serves me well in other areas of my life, including work,” he says.

At work, he is a leader too, heading a team of eight to manage and maintain park connectors in the central, eastern and northeastern parts of Singapore.

They conduct frequent visits to more than 40 sites, walking or cycling on the routes to ensure safety and usability. This includes looking out for defects in infrastructure (e.g., signage), checking the health of plants and arranging for fallen branches to be cleared.

The officers usually split up for such inspections, so Mervyn organises biweekly team rides where everyone cycles along a park connector together. That way, they can bounce ideas for improving park facilities off one another. It also creates opportunities to build camaraderie and spur innovation.

For example, when the team wanted to beautify the Punggol Promenade park connector, they hit upon the idea to add greenery in an economical way during one of such rides. Using recycled water bottles and racks, they made floating green structures by hand. The floating plants can now be found at a pond at Punggol Promenade.

Mervyn and his team do have an advantage: spending time outdoors is highly recommended for getting new ideas. As John Kanengieter from the National Outdoor Leadership School writes in the Harvard Business Review, disconnecting from the constant interruptions of emails or mobile notifications allows people to connect and create “lightbulb moments”.

For Mervyn, another important attribute of a sportsman is the competitive spirit, which he says pushes him to do better at work.

“Being competitive means I’m serious at what I do and I want to do it to the best of my ability. It also means having the awareness and sensitivity to acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of myself and my team, and see how we fare against other teams,” he says.

Under his leadership, the team has won awards for their work, such as the 2016 NParks Greening Excellence Awards for Best Park Connector for the Punggol Promenade Riverside Park.

Beyond awards, it’s the satisfaction of making a difference to Singapore’s park connectors and greenery that keeps him going. As a child, he spent a lot of time playing and being active outdoors with his family, which inspired him to study horticulture and join NParks.

“It’s nice to play a part in the evolution of park connectors, with more people now using them for recreational purposes,” says Mervyn.

And with a well-maintained park connector network, using it for getting fresh ideas may just be a short walk away.

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