Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

Behind the progress of a nation, there is extraordinary leadership. Being a leader means being able to face all the challenges that exist. Especially in this fast-paced era, everything requires adjustment. In this case, a leader figure becomes very crucial in directing a nation. However, nowadays adults are still often asked about the essence and figure of a true leader. To that end, the Master of Management (MM) Faculty of Economics and Buisness UGM held a Executive Series Webinar on Wednesday (15/12) with the topic "Spiritual Leadership."

This event was moderated by Rusdi Akbar, M.Sc., Ph.D., CMA., Ak., CA. as a Lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) UGM. The topic of spiritual leadership was presented by Prof. Dr. Komaruddin Hidayat, Chancellor of the International Islamic University of Indonesia and Independent Commissioner of PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk, as a speaker. This event was held online through the Zoom Meetings platform and was attended by more than 800 participants.

In this executive series, Prof. Komaruddin explains about the types of leadership. Some come from the power of connectivity, class, and some others come from within. This is called spiritual leadership. Confidence is something that a leader must have to determine their future direction. Like a tree, faith is an invisible root. The strength of the roots determines how strong and resistant the tree is, which, in this sense, symbolizes a leader.

In humans, there are three main sources of power that will affect life. First, the heart, which if always close to the Almighty, will be strong and not easily discouraged because humans believe that help will come to them. Humans themselves need to do mental cultivation to achieve mental wellness. The second source of strength is the head, which helps the heart to think about the methods and steps to use next. Third, the hand, which acts as the final executor of the heart and head.

Prof. Komarrudin also explained about humans who have three levels of existence. First, natural being by avoiding physical pain and seeking pleasure in life. Second, cultural being, which is when humans need other people in their lives so that there exists the presence of social and technological institutions to facilitate human life. Third, spiritual, namely the level of existence when humans build a meaningful life oriented to God and religious faith.

At the end of the event, there was a question and answer session between the speaker and the participants. Prof. Komaruddin emphasized that the environment surrounding Indonesian leaders highly uphold the value of spirituality. These values come in the form of shame, honesty, love, respect, and much more. Therefore, wherever a leader will develop, the spirituality of leadership that they get from their home environment will always lead him to the right path.

Reportage: Merisa Anggraini

Video: Webinar Spiritual Leadership