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View all search resultsFatimah Kalla: Recruiting professionals for added talent and a devoted approach to work
(Courtesy of Kalla Group)Family-owned companies are often branded tight-knit operations where employees not from the inner circle are kept at armâs length
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(Courtesy of Kalla Group) (Courtesy of Kalla Group)
(Courtesy of Kalla Group)Family-owned companies are often branded tight-knit operations where employees not from the inner circle are kept at arm's length. While businesswoman Fatimah Kalla heads one of the nation's most famous family-owned firms, she sees the positive gains from letting professionals have a say in its management.
'The bigger a company is, the more employees it has, and so it becomes difficult [for the family] to control company operations. Therefore we use professionals for day-to-day operations,' said the president director of PT Haji Kalla & PT Haka Sarana Investama, which oversees the Kalla Group.
She said each head of division wielded the authority to make a decision within the scope of their job but 'we [the family] are involved in making the bigger decisions like setting policy, purchasing assets, setting targets and determining business areas'.
The Makassar-based PT Haji Kalla & PT Haka Sarana Investama operates 29 companies, grouped into several core businesses, namely automotive, property, construction, energy, infrastructure and agro-industry. The companies are spread over several provinces, including South Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua, East Kalimantan and Jakarta.
The 10th daughter of Haj Kalla and Athirah, who established Kalla Group, started to be engaged in the business in 1987, but only became its president director in 2004, replacing her brother, Muhammad Yusuf Kalla, who was elected vice president for the 2004-2009 period.
Fatimah said her management approach was influenced by the traditional Islamic values nurtured by her late devout parents, although she also realizes the need to make improvements in management to keep up with the times.
'The values that we learned from our father included that working is an act of devotion, service, building the nation and developing the community with sincerity. While from our mother we learned the importance of serving, showing appreciation for customers and teamwork,' said the mother of two.
'The essential value that I gained from my parents is that a company should benefit many people. It means that CSR or zakat [tithes] should be prioritized or become an obligation. This is the reason why our business can 'last forever',' added Fatimah, referring to the 60-year-old-holding company with around 5,000 employees.
What has she learned from her distinguished brother, the former VP?
'From Pak Yusuf Kalla I learned that productivity is in parallel with improvement,' she said.
And as part of the effort to develop employees, Fatimah has set a benchmark for management, the key elements of which she has taken from Yusuf Kalla's ideas with his motto, 'the faster, the better' and from Astra International, Toyota and other companies.
Fatimah emphasized the importance of having a strong team with capable employees who are expected to contribute to the company's growth.
'Therefore, we always try to develop people and turn them into the best,' she said. 'If we think that working is an act of devotion, then we all are equal and we have to delegate. Perhaps, by position, I am more powerful and by structure, I am higher but as human beings, we are one family. We eat together. What employees eat is also what we eat, we perform prayers in the same place, etc.'
Fatimah refutes the widespread assumption that the family's business boomed due to ties with politically connected figures, especially when her brother was in government.
'No. When Pak Yusuf became vice president, we felt that we had to maintain his good name and we couldn't get up to any inappropriate stuff,' she said.
'Yes, indeed, we sometimes met high-ranking officials but rules remained rules.'
She's the boss
Fatimah, who turns 51 on April 19, believes Indonesian women have equal opportunities to become leaders, but holds to the belief that most women are 'less logical' than men.
'But with women frequently engaged in social gatherings, they are becoming more logical. Now, I notice more women using logic rather than emotion, one of the qualities that a leader should have,' she said, citing state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina president director Karen Agustiwan as a successful female Indonesian leader.
She acknowledges that dealing with family affairs ' traditionally considered the responsibility of women ' may explain why women cannot be as free as men when becoming leaders.
'There is a feeling of guilt when women have to leave their families or spend more time outside their homes [on business],' she said.
Fatimah's role as president director requires her to go to Jakarta or other provinces, where a company under a similar business group operates. Usually, she stays there for one or two nights.
'Alhamdulillah [Thank God], I work in Makassar, it is closer to my office,' she said.
Do women make better leaders than men in some respects?
'I don't know, I think men should know that,' she said, laughing. 'The approach that we adopt is whether it is OK for them. But as a leader, a women cannot do what a male leader does, such stay late outside the home and going places,' she said.
Fatimah said that the most interesting part of being a leader was seeing her subordinates become a success.
'We push employees to handle big things and they can accomplish them. Employees, who were previously just average, can achieve success. That's made me proud,' she said.
'Another thing that I can take pride in [as president director] is when we can come up with big projects and implement them, which are useful to many people,' she added.
Her approach to relaxing outside the office.
'I just relax by gathering with my family or visiting relatives or friends,' she said. 'My garden is full of trees, which make my house very homey.
Fatimah Kalla
Place and date of birth: Makassar, April 19, 1962
Experience
President director of PT Haji Kalla & PT Haka Sarana Investama (holding of Kalla Group) since 2004. She is also chief commissioner of PT Bumi Jasa Utama since 2008 and PT Trans Kalla Makassar since 2006; commissioner of PT Bumi Sarana Beton since 1998, PT Kalla Inti Kars since 1995, and PT Bukaka Lintastama since 1990. She is also a director of PT Bumi Sarana Utama since 1998.
Education
School of Pharmacy at Hasanuddin University (1981-1986)
