CEO Talk & Entrepreneurial Development Forum: Building Leader’s Resilience During and Post Covid-19

Mr. Ir. Yunus Triyonggo, MM., CAHRI, who is the HR & GA Director of PT Bridgestone Tire Indonesia, was a resource person in the E70 class of Business Management (KSMB) on Saturday, June 13, 2020 at 10.30-12.00 WIB. He completed his undergraduate education (S1) from the Department of Agricultural Industrial Technology of IPB University, Masters (S2) in Management from Diponegoro University and a Doctor of Management and Business from SB-IPB University. He has worked at various top companies such as Indofood, Sampoerna, Unilever, and Nestle. On this occasion he delivered material “Building Leaders Resilience during and post Covid-19”.

The speakers conveyed facts about conditions during the Covid-19 outbreak such as increasing unemployment, declining GDP, and declining economic growth around the world. There are several business sectors that have collapsed but there are also business sectors that have developed during a pandemic. This requires business people to be able to face these challenges in order to survive and adapt to transformation.

Resilience is the ability to adapt in challenging circumstances. Then, who are the resilience leaders? Resilience leaders have (1) the ability to cope with disruption, changes in direction and adversity, without engaging in dysfunctional behavior, and (2) the ability to adapt under immense pressure, all whilst maintaining their high energy, and continuing to instill confidence in their employees and customers. To build resilience leaders, a leader needs to have the characteristics of self-leading, physical well-being, supportive networks, coping skills, flexibility of thought, and a positive attitude.

There are 6 tips that can be implemented with the team to stay afloat: (1) have an informal check-in daily, (2) communicate and then communicate some more, (3) spread the word around when good things happen, (4) keep feedback lines open, (5) be aware of specific challenges faced by all, and (6) be patient. For example, there are several cases of companies responding quickly to the Covid-19 pandemic such as Ms. Nurhayati Subakat from PT Paragon Technology and Innovation who provided medical equipment and personal protective equipment, Mr. Garibaldi Thahir from PT Adaro Energy Tbk who initiated to work together, synergize with all parties in overcoming and accelerating the response to Covid-19, Mr. Chairul Tanjung from CT Corp who is working with several companies to build a Health Care Unit (HCU) ward and ICU at Airlangga Hospital Surabaya. Business people are required to adapt by transforming their business.

After presenting the material, students actively discussed and shared experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic. There were some students who took the opportunity to develop a pest-control business through room disinfectants and hand-sanitizers, some also transformed by producing masks. Resilience leaders are required to move fast (speed), agility to change, and carry out a faster cycle or faster PDCA. Thank you very much Mr. Yunus, hopefully you can come to SB-IPB in person next time.