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Diana Santosa: Connecting the dots for change with courage, agility and opennes
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(JP/R. Berto Wedhatama) (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)
(JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)Diana Santosa believes change is inevitable, but it is how a company deals with it that makes the difference in its fortunes.
'We have to start learning to accept change because there's no company that's not growing,' said the managing director of PT Batik Danar Hadi, one of the most prominent batik retailers in the country.
'Every company is dynamic and all that is associated with change is not intended to reduce the share of work of employees or even to replace them.'
Belying her gracious and calm demeanor, Diana, 43, describes her leadership style as authoritarian in running the family-owned company.
'To be honest, I prefer an open and participative management style. But due to the ongoing situation and condition of the corporation, I understand that it's more beneficial to employ strict supervision during this improvement phase.'
To make change, Diana believes one needs to hold to a solid principle which everyone in the corporation must abide by. For her, that principle is simply 'be loyal to the company'.
It remains a challenge to implant this value, especially in Indonesia, where employees more often have a profound loyalty to owners of a family-run company. Consequently, Diana firmly disallows any staff to treat her and the board of directors as divine-like figures holding absolute power.
She incessantly reminds all employees of the most important qualities that will definitely guarantee the success of their careers, which according to her, are their dedication to the company and the achievements they produce along the way.
'Thus, once everyone is loyal to the company, they would only think of serving the corporation, not the owners nor the bosses.'
Diana trusts this principle, which she eagerly promotes to be everyone's working motto, will make the company become more positive and adaptable to change over time, especially in creating healthy relationships between longtime and new staff.
In 1996, Diana was appointed to her current position; it was part of the decision made by her father, H. Santosa Doellah, the founder and president director of Danar Hadi Batik Group, to pass down the business to the next generation.
'Actually, there is some sort of delegation of duties within our family. I was told personally by my father to be the leader in PT Batik Danar Hadi whereas my two brothers were assigned to head other businesses in the Group,' Diana explained.
'I sincerely accepted this responsibility, because I not only truly respect my father but I also realize that who else will continue running and growing the companies established by my parents if not their own children.'
Diana supports her father's firm view of not having more than one key leader to run each company, which is also the reason behind his decision to only appoint one family member to manage each company.
'Thankfully, each of us in the family never has any friction associated with each individual's professional responsibilities,' explains Diana. 'For example, although my brother [H. Dewanto Santosa] is also the finance director of PT Batik Danar Hadi, he constantly respects my position and never overrides my decisions within the company.'
Learning process
It took Diana around six years to gain complete authority as managing director. In those early years, she patiently underwent the intricate step-by-step process of becoming a successful businesswoman, from sales and marketing to accounting and finance.
'I definitely gained countless valuable business insight during the first years of my involvement in the company. It was in 2002 that my father fully entrusted the company to me.'
Her previous experiences helped Diana in recruiting fresh talents for general manager positions.
'When I first joined the company, I learned that by being down-to-earth, attentive and able to blend in with the other employees made them more appreciative and receptive to me,' she said.
'Thus it's my duty now to select the most capable top level executives who are not only creative and smart in doing their job, but more importantly, possess a good leadership quality and emotional stability.'
Diana quickly realized that finding the right people was the most challenging task in restructuring the company, apart from creating a clear organizational chart and details of the job descriptions and responsibilities of every employee.
'It has been a trial and error process for all of us, but now we have finally found several promising young executives who will assist us in growing the company. So hopefully, we can settle this restructuring process by next year.'
To maintain the stability of the company's current workforce, Diana monitors her employees by establishing solid communication with the general managers; whenever a crucial matter arises, she quickly acts as mediator.
'If a significant problem occurs, I prefer to talk immediately to the general manager who's responsible for it in private. That way, it wouldn't become an office rumor, which eventually can affect the person's own credibility.'
She also reminds the general managers to be attentive in their behavior toward other employees.
'Because in the end, other staffs look up to them, so they should be able to be a good role model.
'Although I'm strict, I prefer to delegate tasks to the general managers, that way I can also concentrate more on the big picture,' Diana said.
'I let them handle the usual day-to-day operation and then regularly evaluate the way they manage their team, such as how they treat their team's personnel and how efficient is their work performance.
'I will only intervene if they need support in solving delicate matters or making hard decisions.'
Diana also conducts induction training for new employees.
'In my opinion, induction training is a must for every new staff. More importantly, Danar Hadi is an established batik company, so they need to understand all about batik and the reformed organizational structure,' she said.
'All of these things are introduced as a short cut for them to quickly adapt to their work, thus they can position themselves accordingly within the company.'
Other important training, such as leadership coaching, is also prepared by the human resource division to develop the employees' professional character.
'This improvement stage we're facing right now is closely interlinked with the behavioral traits of all employees. Hence, one way to move the company forward is to enhance the quality of every staff member by providing them with adequate personal development trainings.'
She enjoys traveling and visiting royal palaces both in around Indonesia and abroad with her family. She also is fascinated by Lego.
'My profound interest with Lego was ignited when I helped my son build a Lego castle. I felt a great deal of satisfaction when I was able to complete it. And so began my personal adventure with it,' explained Diana who keeps all of her Lego creations, including representations of the Taj Mahal and Sydney Opera House, in a large glass display cabinet at home.
Name: Diana Kusuma Dewati Santosa
Place and date of birth: Surakarta, Nov. 21, 1969
Experience:
Managing Director, PT Batik Danar Hadi, Jakarta since 1996. She previously worked as a merchandising manager at PT Sahid Noel Mitra Sejati, Jakarta.
Education:
Undergraduate degree in Economics, Trisakti University, Jakarta
