Asta Brata Leadership, Creativity and Innovation

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2.3 Asta Brata Leadership, Creativity and Innovation

Leadership is the capability of affecting one group of people in order to achieve a vision or a set of objectives already determined Robbins and Judge, 2015. A leader determines whether an organization or company will be successful or fail. As far as the theories of modern leadership are concerned, Luthans 2006 proposes the theory of transformational leadership to which many researchers have paid attention Reuvers et al., 2008; Garcia-Morales et al., 2008. The transformational leaders greatly affect their subordinates Robbins and Judge, 2015. Luthans 2006, who quoted the study conducted by Bass 1990, mentioned four characteristics of the transformational leadership. They are 1 charisma which includes vision and mission, being able to contribute to pride, being respected and trusted; 2 being inspired, which is shown by communicating high expectations, using symbols to focus on what is undertaken, expressing important objectives in a simple fashion; 3 intellectual simulation, meaning that a leader should show intelligence and rationality, and should solve problems carefully; and 4 paying attention to individuals, meaning that a leader should show attention to personals, and treat, train and advise employees individually. A transformational leader is made to be more creative by hisher creativity; in addition heshe should also motivate hisher subordinates to be creative as well Robbins Judge, 2015. The companies headed by the transformational leaders have more decentralized responsibilities; they tend to take more risks, and compensation is aimed at achieving the long term outcome. The transformational leadership which gives emphasis on individuals is a behavior which individually empowers subordinates to develop and improve their self-effectiveness. In Hinduism, the philosophy of leadership is explained using the terms which are highly meaningful, one of which is what is referred to as Asta Brata, the eight great natures of Gods. Asta Brata is guidance to the leadership teaching or the humanity-based leadership teaching. It can be found in Kekawin Ramayana the Old Javanese Poetry of Ramayana written by a great poet named Walmiki. The Asta Brata was taught by King Rama to Wibhisana in the framework of the succession of the Alengka royal kingdom after Rahwana was killed Yasasusastra, 2011. In Yasasusastra 2011, the natures of Almighty God, Ida Hyang Widhi Wasa, which are used as the people’s strength, are further discussed. All leaders should have such natures. Lord Indra, Lord Yama, Lord Surya, Lord Chandra, Lord AnilaBayu, Lord 10 Kuwera, and Lord Agni are the eight lords which constitute the body of a leader. They are all referred to as Asta Brata Kariyadi, 2013. Furthermore, Wiratmaja 1995 affirmed that the eight strengths which constitute the body ability of a leader are the strengths which cannot be separated from one another in their implementations. If they are implemented as a totality, then Asta Brata will greatly contribute to the authority which a leader has; therefore, it will be easy for himher to motivate hisher subordinates to do their respective obligation. They all reflect the ideal behaviors of a king or leader and are the manifestations of the great natures of Gods. In Ariastha 1999, it is stated that Asta Brata means the main leadership eight teachings instructed by Sri Rama to Bharata who was crowned the King of Ayodya. Asta Brata is symbolized using the great natures of the universe which need to be referred to as guidance by a leader. The eight components of Asta Brata are as follows Wiratmaja, 1995; Ariasna, 1999; Yasasusastra, 2011: 1 Indra Brata Indra is the synonym of Apah , that is, the God’s nature which takes care of everything. Lord WisnuLord Indra is the King of Water, who waters the hot and exhausted world. What is meant is that a leader who implements Indra Brata does hisher best to fulfill the food and clothing needed by hisher subordinates, as what Lord Indra, who gives rain and water, does, allowing the plants and creatures on earth to be alive. 2 Yama Brata In the mythology Lord Yama is the manifestation of the God’s power which takes life, and in Asta Brata he symbolizes a leader who should punish those who have made mistakes. Based on the karmic law, punishment should be educative; it should be intended to repair mistakes, making a subordinator do what heshe is supposed to do. 3 Surya Brata A leader should have the natures which the sun has Sûrya; heshe should be able to motivate and give strength to life which extraordinarily fluctuates and to be the source of energy. From Surya Brata it can be inferred that a leader should give enlightenment and strength to hisher subordinates. As the sun which rises to el iminate the world’s darkness, subordinates should be made to be really aware of their responsibilities, meaning that they do what they are supposed to do without many instructions. 4 Casi Brata 11 Casi or Candra is the moon which gives cool and comfortable illumination at night to the universe and all creatures. A leader should have the natures which the moon has, namely, heshe should give illumination to hisher subordinators who are in darkness through a cool and sympathetic appearance to make them feel comfortable and safe. Someone will be happy and faithful if what heshe needs materially and spiritually can be fulfilled. 5 Bayu Brata A leader should be like the wind; heshe should always be among the members of hisher organization; heshe should give freshness and always know the problems which the society he leads faces. Heshe should be able to identity everything which hisher subordinators have in mind; heshe should be able to understand the difficulties which hisher subordinates have in regard to their lives and what they are supposed to do. Bayu the wind shows strong opinions which cannot be disturbed by egoism. Heshe should pay attention to the graph describing how the initiatives of hisher subordinators are and how active they are when they do their activities. 6 Dhanaba Brata Dhanaba Brata is usually referred to as Kuwera Brata. Kuwera is Lord of Wealth. A leader should have the natures which the earth mainly have, that is, heshe should be the basis where hisher subordinators step on; heshe should give everything heshe has for the prosperity of hisher subordinators. The meaning which such a teaching contains is that a leader should satisfy hisher subordinators physically and spiritually; heshe should always pay attention to the prosperity of hisher subordinators. Heshe should organize that everything is neatly done, and should be a model for hisher subordinators. 7 Paça Brata Paça refers to Lord Baruna or Lord of Sea who has a highly powerful weapon called Nagapasa. What makes a leader powerful is the wide knowledge heshe has. Heshe should have the nature which the ocean has; heshe should have a wide insight; he should be able to cope with every fluctuation wisely and properly. Heshe should be wise. Having wide knowledge and being friendly are required in order to be wise. Heshe should be wise, listen to the conscience or opinion of hisher subordinators, and should be able to make accurate inferences; as a result, hisher subordinators will feel satisfied. In addition, they will be easily made to complete what they are supposed to do. 12 8 Agni Brata Agni Brata means that a leader should always be motivated and should also be able to motivate hisher subordinators in such a way that they are easily made to do what they are responsible for. Heshe should have the nature with the fire has, that is, heshe should be able to motivate hisher subordinators to participate in everything; heshe should maintain hisher principles strongly and punish those who make mistakes objectively. If further contemplated, it is no exaggeration to say that Asta Brata should be used as guidance by a leader. It greatly affects management. By observing again the concepts of leadership, especially the concept of the transformational leadership, as stated by Bass in Luthans 2006, it seems that such a concept of leadership is identical with the basic natures which a leader should have in Asta Brata. Robbins and Judge 2015: 262 describe a model leadership which shows which leadership is effective and which one is not. From such a model, it is explained that a transformational leader is more effective as heshe is creative; in addition, heshe also motivates hisher subordinators to do what they are supposed to do. In this relation, it can be understood that a leader should at least have the following characteristics: a heshe should be a model for hisher subordinators, b heshe should be honest and fair, and c heshe should side with hisher subordinators. This indicates that the concepts of leadership which Asta Brata contains are not created as a scientific-academic theory, but it is strongly rooted in the societal and human relationship and in the transcendental relationship with God. In relation to innovation, Reuvers et al. 2008 analyzed the relationship between the transformational leadership with the innovative working behavior. The result of the study they conducted showed that there was a significant and positive relationship between the transformational leadership and the innovative working behavior. Garcia-Morales et al. 2008 proved through their study that the transformational leadership positively contributed to the innovative behavior. Furthermore, it was stated that through the intellectual stimulation, the transformational leader contributes to the intrinsic motivation and stimulates creativity. Creativity and knowledge are two highly important aspects of innovation, and innovation is the implementation of what is creatively produced Alves et al., 2007. The leader of an organization can contribute to the creativity of hisher employees and the company innovation Jung et al., 2003. 13 Based on what was described above, hypothesis 6 and 7 can be formulated as follows: Hypothesis 6: The better the implementation of the Asta Brata leadership, the better the employee creativity will be. Hypothesis 7: The better the implementation of the Asta Brata leadership, the better the employee innovation will be. 3. Research Method 3.1 Research Variables and Their Measurements