JAKARTA – Tackling a rigid, convoluted and sclerotic bureaucracy requires out-of-the-box thinking that goes against the grain of governance. In a book titled “Anti Mainstream Bureaucracy”, Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB) Abdullah Azwar Anas offers a new perspective, strategies, and the art of bureaucratic transformation based on his experience as a minister in Indonesia Maju Cabinet.
“This book summarizes the work of many people, of which the PANRB Ministry happens to be a part. We write it down so that it becomes a lesson for us. And I am very grateful as I learned a lot with my colleague ministers, heads of institutions, LPNK, LPNS, and other people in PANRB Ministry,” he said at the Discussion Forum on Indonesia’s Bureaucratic Reform Performance and the Launch of the “Anti Mainstream Bureaucracy” Book held in Jakarta, Thursday (10/10).
In the book, Minister Anas discusses paradoxical ways of governance that break with old ways of working that have become entrenched over decades and focus on delivering solutions to the community as “consumers” and the main stakeholders to be served.
He explained that this anti-establishment approach is not just a ‘fight’ against tradition, but rather the creation of a new culture of governance. Bureaucrats do not simply follow procedures, but become proactive, productive and impact-focused agents of change.
One to note, “Anti Mainstream Bureaucracy” is a continuation of several books: Creative Collaboration, Banyuwangi Innovation, and Anti Mainstream Marketing. “Anti Mainstream Bureaucracy” is a record of journeys and experiences that describe various concrete steps in bureaucratic reform and government innovation.
Furthermore, the book also recounts Minister Anas’ leadership since he was appointed to head the PANRB Ministry. He promoted the agenda of effective bureaucracy as an effort to implement President Joko Widodo’s three directives on effective bureaucracy; bureaucratic reform is not a pile of paper; and bureaucracy must be agile and fast.
“Once we stepped in, we saw, we met the others to discuss the priority scale of this office. And it turned out that there were a lot of problems. So we set seven priorities. But before that, we gave all the staff blank papers to write complaints about the office. What are their hopes for me and for this office in the future? It was done in order to solve the problem as soon as possible,” he explained.
In response to President Joko Widodo’s directive, the Ministry of PANRB established seven priority programmes. The seven programmes are narrated in the book along with 12 anti-mainstream measures divided into two main groups, abbreviated as 2S.
The 2S themselves are STRATEGY and STYLES. STRATEGY: The 7 Anti-Mainstream Actionable STRATEGIES. STYLE: The 5 Anti-Mainstream Leadership STYLES.
The first step, “STRATEGY” is a strategy that is the “hard aspect” of the government’s bureaucratic reform step. It is called the “hard aspect” because it contains objective-technical strategic principles that can be formulated into “how to” steps so that they can be easily replicated by anyone.
Its first seven moves were then developed into 20 derivative strategies. These strategies were explored and gained wisdom from the field. The 7 action strategies include competence; simplification; digitalisation; performance; agility; acculturation; and orchestration.
Meanwhile “STYLE” is a “soft aspect” as it is more personal-universal-situational. It’s more an art than a science. Five leadership styles are used to make bureaucratic reforms successful and impactful, including Inspiration: “Inspire with Evidence”; Speed: “Momentum to Accelerate Execution”; Execution: “It’s About the Details”; Collaboration: “Superteam is Superior than Superman”; and Winning Mentality: “Every Person is a Winner”.
Anas explained that one implementation of orchestration was when he faced challenges in leading the Ministry of PANRB. He said it was not easy to convince stakeholders. According to him, his authority as Minister of PANRB is not enough to organize other ministries.
In overcoming the challenge, Minister Anas embraced other ministers to be more powerful. “We should not ask for more authority, when we can use other authorities to accelerate the achievement of the targets given to us by the leaders,” he added.
On the occasion, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan expressed his appreciation for the launch of the book. According to him, the book is an extraordinary achievement by Minister Anas.
“I am proud that I have worked with Mr. Anas before. And I think the team in my office, we love working with him. And we are grateful that you wrote this book and did a lot of reforms in the bureaucracy. That makes it easier for all of us, will reduce corruption in Indonesia, bring efficiency, and bring a better name for Indonesia in the future,” said Luhut.
Luhut also hopes that Minister Anas will continue his work in the future. He asked everyone to do everything with their heart. “Because whatever our professionalism is, it cannot be achieved without heart,” he said.
Meanwhile, Management Expert Yuswohady commented on Minister Anas’ leadership style. He said that the anti-mainstream referred to in the book is a reflection of the paradoxical approach.
“The paradoxical approach is an approach that seems contradictory but can be connected and then produce something extraordinary. So, in my opinion, the maestro of paradox is Mr. Anas,” he said.
Yuswohady added that Minister Anas will start from the end and not from the beginning if he does something. “So, where is the end destination, he has mapped it out. Then there is also the more you give the more you get. Mr. Anas, the more he gives, the more abundant his sustenance,” he said.
It was further stated that Minister Anas has expertise in prioritizing. It is likened to if everyone wants to prioritize, there will be no priorities.
“This is the kind of art of leading made by Mr. Anas. If we expect quality, usually the quantity is small, and vice versa. But, with him, it is broken down. He can do a lot, but the quality is good,” he concluded.
