“The distance between a leader and his employees is only that which comes first by a step, those who are raised by a branch, those who are above a hair, those who are exalted by an inch. The leader we hope for is a leader who does not distance himself too much from his employees,” said Prof. Corina D.S. Riantoputra Ph.D., Psychologist, Secretary of the Board of Trustees (MWA) of the Universitas Indonesia (UI). She delivered these excerpts from Malay in a scientific oration entitled “Leadership Psychology: Essence, Position and Philosophy”, during her inauguration as a UI professor at the UI Convention Hall, Depok Campus, West Java (Saturday 16/12). According to her, there are many problems in leadership practices in Indonesia. Some of them are passive leaders (passive leaders who receive a salary, but are reluctant to direct their employees); self-serving leaders (leaders who focus only on themselves); destructive leaders (leaders who are rude and demean their members); and hubris leaders (leaders who are too self-confident and make decisions that endanger their organization).
According to Prof. Corina, these problems arise because the leadership currently developing is still oriented towards leader centricity which considers leaders to be everything and ignores its employees. The good news is that the paradigm has recently shifted to become leader-member centric that recognize organizational members are also important. Therefore, Prof. Corina recommends Leadership Psychology as a means for leaders to look at basic assumptions about life.
There are five basic assumptions that can be used as a reference in Leadership Psychology. These five assumptions are assumptions about oneself (as a leader), assumptions about one’s abilities and limits, the leader’s goals, assumptions about the relationship between the leader and organizational members, and assumptions about the organizational context, including culture and regulations.
Self-identity directs leaders to move to understand who they are. People who define themselves as leaders tend to take the initiative, express different opinions, and are sincere in carrying out their tasks. For women leaders, there is often an identity conflict between her as a woman and as a leader. Prof. Corina said there must be synergy between these two identities. If there is no synergy, identity conflicts will arise which can be burdensome.
“My research on MSME entrepreneurs in Indonesia shows that the more conflict there is, the harder women will work because of their feelings of guilt. The more she shows she is capable, the higher the conflict. This has an impact on disturbed mental health. Her children are disturbed, her husband at home is disturbed,” said Prof. Corina.
Apart from understanding their own identity, leaders must know their abilities and limits. This is closely related to humility. A humble leader will feel good about himself and want to learn from others. In this case, leaders can appreciate the abilities of other people and are conclusively able to make their members feel valuable, safe to speak, and moved to take initiative.
Before deciding to become a leader, someone needs to understand what the goals and basic principles are. The purpose of leading is not for personal needs, but to build the organization. The leader must realize that they and their members are one team. Prof. Corina said, “It’s time for us to forget that leaders have followers, as if members of an organization are people who are incapable of thinking, like goats whose noses are poked. Organizational members are meaningful, so we need to build a sense of us or appreciation of our-ness within the organization.”
An organizational culture that displays too high of a power distance makes it difficult for employees to speak up. In these conditions, leaders must approach, open up, and say, I’m not the one who understands everything, let’s work together. To bring this closeness to life, the leader must realize that they cannot make their opinion the rule. They need to respect existing regulations and understand the limits of their authority.
“Leadership needs to talk about meta-competencies. It’s enough to discuss knowledge and leadership styles, we have to talk about the essence and basic assumptions of humans. Employees must be able to say when their leaders are wrong, and leaders must be able to train themselves to build unity with their members,” said Prof. Corina.
Prof. Corina’s research regarding Leadership Psychology is one of the many studies conducted previously. Some of them are Psychological and Social Factors Important for an Individual’s Participation in Training Indonesia (2023); Employee Accountability in Indonesia: The Role of Formalization, Managerial Monitoring Behavior and Perceived Competence (2022); and Investigating Work Engagement of Highly Educated Young Employees through Applying the Job Demands-Resources Model (2021).
Before being confirmed as; Professor in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology UI, Prof. Corina completed her BA in Psychology at UI in 1992; received a Master of Commerce (in Organizational Study), University of New South Wales–Australia in 2000; and earned a Ph.D. (in Organizational Behavior) at the University of New South Wales–Australia, in 2010.
The inauguration procession was led directly by the Rector of UI, Prof. Ari Kuncoro, S.E., M.A., Ph.D., and was also attended by the Chair of the UI MWA, Dr. (HC) Noni S. A. Purnomo, B.Eng., MBA; Chairman of the MWA for the 2007–2012 period, Purnomo Prawiro; Chairman of the MWA for the 2019–2023 period, Saleh Husin, S.E., M.Si.; President Director of PT Kereta Api Indonesia, Didiek Hartantyo; Commissioners of PT Kereta Api Indonesia, Riza Primadi and Chairul Anwar; and Director of Human Resources and General Affairs of PT Kereta Api Indonesia, Suparno.
