Yogyakarta, October 16th 2020—The Department of Public Policy and Management held Virtual Career Talk and brought the topic about Leadership and Management: Yin and Yang of Change on Friday (16/10). The webinar, which was part of the Human Resource Management and Change Management class, was conducted online via Youtube and Zoom. The speakers in this webinar were: Muhammad Yusuf Affandi, MBA, Manufacturing Academy Manager of Unilever; Nova Yustina Paramita, MBA, HC Strategic Manager of PT. Pertamina EP; Dr. Mariman Darto, Head of the KDOD LAN Puslatbang; and Eli Susanto, S.IP., MBA., Ph.D, Lecturer of the Department of Public Policy and Management of FISIPOL UGM. The discussion was moderated by Annisa Rahmania, a student of the Department of PPM, class of 2019, and started with a speech from Prof. Dr. Wahyudi Kumorotomo as the Head of the Department of Public Policy and Management.
Ely Susanto began her presentation by quoting an article by a senior Cisco System, HBR, in August 2020. In the article, she stated that there are three keys to future success: human resources, organizational culture, and great leaders. Ely gave an example of one country that is able to adapt to change is Singapore. For her, Singapore is able to be like that because of the capabilities that are supported by a great culture, it will produce great people. “The Singapore formula can be great because the bureaucracy is filled with great people who are capable of being great agents of change,” Ely said.
Unlike Ely, Yusuf explained about changes generally. For him, in every second there is a change, change is a necessity. Yusuf did not deny that in general the change was uncomfortable, it is possible that at the beginning of the change everyone would panic and be anxious as their responses. Therefore, he said by understanding change it would bring a person to a higher level. One of them is also by not denying and being more accepting. “The more we understand about change, the more we will find opportunities,” Yusuf said.
Nova then continued by dealing with changes that occurred in the work environment. PT. Pertamina EP, where she works, also faces changes that come from within and outside. Therefore, Pertamina is preparing Change Management as a strategy for dealing with change. The Change Management that was mentioned by Nova included: sharpening the ability to align with the goals of the company and the environment; mitigate the risk of the actions that will be taken; and it is hoped that the leaders will be able to inspire other workers.
Changes that occur in the work environment do not only occur in companies but also in government agencies. As mentioned by Mariman, the COVID-19 pandemic encourages Enforced Digital Disruption, for example the in-person meetings and other classic things can no longer be done. For him, old patterns need to be changed and technology becomes an important key. Mariman said there are three important principles that can be done: changing the perspective and way of working, conducting studies with adjustments, and changing the way of communicating.
As a leader, Mariman also mentioned that changing is indeed a difficult thing, but leading change is a possibility. For him, even if changes can not be done quickly, the process must still be carried out. “A leader is required to build the first opportunity in the creation of organizational culture and value,” he said as the closing statement that quoted Schieln, 2009.