Leading Virtually – My Journey

RSOG Leadership in Action

Leading Virtually – My Journey

 with

Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar

Framework of the Session

With stakeholders’ segments becoming more diverse, louder, and information flowing faster through various channels, leaders appear to struggle in juggling these dynamics. Practitioners in the media industry have confronted this dynamism with the transition from print to integrated media, and more recently, complementing it with social media platforms. Apart from adapting to these channels, they must rigorously enhance their intellectual nous and creativity as far as content is concerned to exert leadership and influence over relevant stakeholders. What are some considerations for leaders at the backdrop of these changes?  How does the change impact leadership approach, particularly in Malaysia? These are some of the potential focus areas that Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar will discuss in this session.

Key Takeaways from the Session

Recently, two scholars from Massachusetts Institute of Technology argued that the human brain may be the most complex object in the universe, but as a species, humans are not always collectively very smart.  That was the nuance the Guest Speaker shared at the beginning of the session.  His career in journalism has brought him to many parts of the world, including conflict zones such as Afghanistan and Bosnia.  He observed that at times, some of the things humans did, were effectively unreasonable but was accepted in the name of “truth”.  Interestingly, such a perception may change in the future due to a certain event that took place or as more information becomes known.  Perhaps, such a turn is the effect of “association”, as observed with Afghanistan’s Mujahideen. In the past, they were lauded as heroes against the Soviet Army by the West but they were then perceived very differently following the September 11 incident.

As the old saying goes, the pen is mightier than the sword. The concept of leading in absence, or virtually, has been around for a long time.  In the case of the media industry, their virtual leadership has always been anchored around ideas.  Ideas are what separates one media outfit from another.  Apparently, ideas, especially good ones, are harder to get as compared to before.  Whether this is due to the world becoming faster than ever – with less time to think and reflect – the result of automation or humankind has been exhausted, only time will tell.  The Guest Speaker thinks that imagination in addition to trial and error are important in getting ahead in a virtual world like today.  The physical world is yet to be fully understood, what more the virtual world that seems to be of no limits and unprecedented in many ways.

While not discounting the potential economic impacts that the virtual world could offer, the Guest Speaker is concerned with some of the downside observed lately.  He drew laughter from the floor when he shared about the “forward generation”, which does not mean forward-looking, but simply forwarding whatever is received – often without verifying its accuracy or anticipating the impact of the sent message.  He shared his personal experience about being addicted to a certain online application, which he thinks could easily happen if one lacks discipline when leading virtually.  Being a linguist at heart, he is troubled by the language used in the virtual world which may be compact but lacks the politeness and beauty.

The Guest Speaker also highlighted the rise of “backpack journalism” where everyone can be a journalist if they have a smartphone. Unlike before, technology allows direct broadcast from people on the street.  The media groups are fast losing their exclusivity and must compete in an increasingly crowded space.  According to the Guest Speaker, “curation” is the order of the day – coming out with something different, unique, timely, and trendy.  Ironically, such approach requires a lot of ideas, which evidently comes through meaningful and constant engagement and interaction on the ground.

Key Issues Raised

• Ideas need to be nurtured.  For organisations, continuous learning must be encouraged, space given to people to express and share their thoughts, encouraging trial and error, and recognising that failure is part of ideation process, not a weakness.
• To date, the signs are not that encouraging for the future of the newspaper.  Apart from competing with online outlets, which are far more economical and agile, the change in the way people live also makes newspaper distribution harder.  High rise dwellings offer limited opportunity for physical distribution as compared to landed terraces in the past.
• Living in the virtual world requires a progressive mindset with good articulation and salesmanship skills.  In that light, a lot of investment should be made on youth in terms of connectivity skills – they may be connected but lack connectivity.
• A more sustainable way to ensure people embrace positivity in the social media is through continuous education, possibly at an early stage by inculcating the right values.
• A leader can exercise better judgment through regular consultation with colleagues, subordinates, and the relevant stakeholders.  There will be times when sentiments should be set aside, especially when the decision involves the future.  The Guest Speaker shared that the switch in direction for the Mastika  magazine in the early 1990’s was tough, as there was nostalgia that came with it.

About the  Guest Speaker

Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar was the former Chairman of Media Prima Berhad and Chairman of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP). He was the Group Editor of Utusan Melayu Bhd from 1992 to 1998. He was a member of the National Brains Trust on National Education, set up by the National Economic Action Committee (NEAC). He was one of the members of the nomination committee for Education and Community category of the Merdeka Awards. He was the Chairman of the Consultation and Prevention Panel of the Malaysia Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) until December 2015. He was also a member of the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC). He served as a member of the political funding task force set up by the government. He is also a member of the newly established Putrajaya Higher Education Task Force (PHETF). He is also on the board of Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN) and one of the corporate figures involved in the Ministry of Higher Education’s CEO@Faculty Programme, where prominent individuals are attached to public universities to mentor and provide industry perspectives. He is currently the Chairman of Nobel International School in Kuala Lumpur. Johan is an accomplished playwright, actor and director and an award-winning writer. He was a columnist for the New Straits Times from 2002 to 2015 and writes weekly for Berita Harian as well for seven years. Since April 2016, he writes fortnightly for The Star. As a journalist, he covered conflicts in places like Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, South Africa, China and Myanmar. He graduated from the University of Malaya in 1977 with Bachelor of Arts degree.

Contact

To get more information on this event, you can contact us via email at programmes@rsog.com.my