The Role of Leadership in Improving Performance in Public Service Organisations (Case Study on PT KAI)

Yellow Tram in Vienna Introduction This essay focuses on the role of leadership in improving performance in public service organisation. This essay uses the improvement of the Indonesian state-owned railway company under a new leader as the case study. The aim of the essay is to analyse the role of leadership in improving performance in the company. The essay is structured into four sections. The first section is introduction. It contains aim and the structure of the essay. The second section is theory. It describes the concept of leadership, the comparison with private sector leadership, integrated leadership. The section also describes the features of leadership that are very crucial to the improvement of public service organisation. The third section is the case study. It tells the improvement of the company under a new CEO. The fourth section is the analyse. It relates the concepts with the actual implementation. The last section is the conclusion. The essay concludes that having a leader that shows strong leadership character brings significant impact to the improvement of the organisation performance. The Concepts of Public Leadership Leadership is translating core values and beliefs of the organisation into a clear vision. In doing this role, leaders are expected to have an ability to empower followers to achieve the vision. Leaders must be assertive in facing problems and avoid any falter in encountering difficulties. They must have strength to prevent failure and disappointment and focus on making an improvement on toward success (Pilkington, n.d., taken from Broussine, 2003, p180). From this perspective, a leader must be a person that has more abilities than others in an organisation. On the other hand, Rosenbloom, et al., wrote that leadership “is a process, not a position, and can take place throughout an organisation” (2009, p150). It implies that leadership is not only related to top position but how it can influence the organisation to reach the goals. Leadership has several differences with management. One of them is based on its function, “leadership shapes the future, management delivers it” (Broussine, 2003, p180). Based on the performer, leadership is performed by leaders while managers implement management. Leaders empower their organisation to cope with change. In here, leaders set direction on how to face the change. On the other hand, managers give orders and stay attempt to maintain consistency. In implementing this role, managers control by monitoring the achievement of the plan. Managers and leaders also have differences in the way they treat people. Managers organise people and design organisation whereas leaders communicate with people and give them direction to achieve the goals of the organisation (Milner and Joyce, 2005, p18). In addition, Gabriel (in Broussine, 2003, p180) distinguished differences between management and leadership based on what they do. Managers give more focus on the situation that is happening while leaders give more focus on the future of the organisation. Managers organise current resources so that the organisation can maximise their resources in achieving goals. On the other hand, leaders articulate their future vision and persuade their followers to give their efforts, time and resources to realise the vision. According to Van Mart (in Orazi, et al., 2013, p490) leadership in the public sector is defined as the procedure to provide results that are mandated. In here, the leaders give supports to the followers so the results can be achieved effectively. Also, the leaders direct their followers to provide services without neglecting their environtment. On the other hand, leadership in private sector has a connection with the responsibility for achieving ‘financial’ goals (Andersen, 2010, p132). From the comparison, leadership in private sector has fewer and clearer goals than that in the public sector. However, recent studies indicate that public sector leaders think that they have clear tasks as those in private sector (Saz-Caranza and Ospina, 2010, taken from Orazi, et al. 2013, p491).  Public leadership is challenging because it relates the internal organisation with external stakeholders and the public (Broussine, 2006, p175). Instead of only managing their organisation, they also comply with several stakeholders that demand accountability. The leaders in public sector must deal with high levels of formalisation. Compared to private sector, leaders in public sector are facing more stakeholders (Orazi, et al., 2013, p492) such as the government, the service users, politicians and pressure groups. Public leaders, therefore, need a leadership ability in meeting organisation needs and public demands (Broussine, 2006, p175). Leadership can be divided into two models, transformational and transactional leadership model (Jung and Avolio, 2000, p950-951). Transformational leadership according to Bass (in Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe, 2005, P51) is the ability of leaders to empower their followers so that they can optimising their effort more than that is expected. Burns (taken from Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe, 2005, P51) argued that in transformational leadership, leaders transform their followers to be leaders, first, by fulfilling their higher needs. Then the leaders change followers’ paradigm, from self-interest to the greater common interest. Work for the greater good can lead the followers to show self-actualisation and finally show an ability to be leaders. Transformational leaders have certain behaviours. First, ‘inspirational motivation’. It means that the leaders can translate their vision into purposes and then set the goals. Secondly ‘Idealised influence’. It improves followers’ pride and loyalty. Thirdly, ‘intellectual simulation’. In here, leaders give their new perspective of the environment and promote followers’ participation in work structure design. Finally, ’modelling pro-social behaviours’ (Orazi, et al., 2013, p494). Theoretically, transformational leadership results in followers that admire, trust and commit to realising the organisation vision (Jung and Avolio, 2000, p950). The transformational leadership can improve employees’ motivation in public service provision. It can happen if the leaders successfully empower their followers to take the initiative and to be involved in decision-making processes (Park and Rainey, 2008; Bass and Avolio, 1990; taken from Paarlberg and Lavigna, 2010, p715). Compared to the transformational leadership, transactional leadership is related to a contractual mechanism between leaders and followers. In this concept, leaders set expectations from the followers and give rewards if the followers meet the expectations (Jung and Avolio, 2000, p951). There are several features that show the transactional leadership in public service organisation. First, ‘performance monitoring’. It is a tool for the leader to observe followers. Secondly, the leaders intervene and take actions if they found errors in organisation performance. Thirdly, they give rewards to followers based on their services. Finally, the leaders must be able to identify the demands of their followers (Orazi, et al., 2013, p494). More recent development in leadership introduces ‘integrated’ leadership term. It combines the transactional and transformational leadership behaviours. In here, leaders implemented several features, such as: set clear outcomes, improving employees’ motivation, assessing achievements and performance, and applying sufficient transactional interaction (Orazi, et al., 2013, p494). By using ‘integrated’ leadership approach, Fernandez explained features that affect performance such as: ‘task-oriented leadership’; ‘relation-oriented leadership’; ‘change-oriented leadership’; ‘diversity-oriented leadership’; and integrity-oriented leadership’ (taken from Orazi, et al., 2013, p495). ‘Integrated’ approach still has minor weaknesses, but those are insignificant. Many researchers, therefore, believe that this approach will be adopted in the future (Orazi, et al., 2013, p495). A feature that important in effective leadership is problem-solving skills. The skill shows the competency of a leader to solve organisational problems (Northouse, 2012, p48). In here a leader must have the ability to define, collect information, formulate the articulation of the problems. Then the leaders are expected to propose several problem solutions. Ability to construct solution is the key in problem-solving skill (Mumford, et al., 2000, in Northouse, 2012, p49). Hartley and Allina (2010, p37) argued that the skill is the conventional view of leadership. In here, to complement the problem-solving skill, leaders must have an ability to take risks and make decisions in their organisation. Being decisive or risk taker means that leaders have the courage to make a decision especially in difficult situations (Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe, 2005, p61). It will be crucial for a public service organisation to have a leader that is not in doubt in making decisions. Being decisive also means that the leader needs to show their determination to reach the aims (Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe, 2005, p61). A determination is shown by the willingness of the leader to assert themselves to achieve organisation goals (Northouse, 2012, p25). In addition, the leader with determination also shows proactive and can face obstacles in achieving the goals. A determination is crucial for the organisation because a leader in some situations needs to show dominance and give direction to the followers. Finally, to be a decisive leader, someone must have a confidence (Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe, 2005, p61). Self-confidence is the belief about self-competencies and skills, and the ability to influence others. In here a leader must show a confidence that they influence their followers in appropriate manners (Northouse, 2012, p24). Public Sector Performance The performance of the public sector is related to the using of resources to provide the services (Flynn, 2007, p126). It compares the cost of provision and the action of the public sector in providing service. Performance in public sector is “a key component of the competitive advantage of national economies and a contributory factor in overall societal performance” (Bouckaert and Dooren, 2006, p128). From the statement, it can be inferred that performance in public sector is related to the attempts of public sector in affecting public performance. It is also related to how the public sector using resources to achieve the targets. Before, performance was measured by the efficiency of the public sector in using public money. Recently, performance is measured by the quality of life indicators and the quality of governance (Bouckaert and Dooren, 2006, p128). The performance of public sector can be measured using several indicators. First, economy indicator. Economy is related to the cost to produce inputs. It is also related to the implementation of economic in using them. Secondly, productivity. It measures output divided by a specific input. For example, train hours per train driver. The third indicator is efficiency which is measured by the average cost of producing goods and services. The next indicator is effectiveness. It calculates outcome divided by output. Finally, the indicator is cost-effectiveness which calculates the ratio of cost to the outcome (Bouckaert and Dooren, 2006, p131; Flynn, 2007, p130-131). Case Study: The Improvement of PT KAI Under New CEO Indonesia has a state-owned railway company namely PT Kereta Api Indonesia (PT KAI). It is the only company that operates all train transportation in Indonesia. The history of the company began in 1864 under the initiative of the Dutch government. After Indonesia gain the independence in 1945, the management of the company was under the Ministry of Transportation. The status of the company was changed in 1998 from a public company to a limited liability company (PT KAI, n.d.). By changing the status, the company modify their management into a more private model company which also gain profit while providing service. The status changing did not bring any improvement to the service delivery. PT KAI still regarded as a company that had a very low performance (Djuraid in Saragih, 2014, p34). There were several problems that were identic with the PT KAI (Najiyah, 2016, p3). First, the quality of the railways and signals were poor. It declined the level of the safety and comfort. Secondly, the quality and the quantity of locomotive, trains and stations were poor and declined each year. All train stations were dirty, cramped and messy. Thirdly, the time management was so poor that led many delays in the services. Employees’ orientation was not to give service. They prioritised to maximise their benefits. On the other hand, the company had a poor remuneration system that led to the corruption. Moreover, the competency of the employees was low. It delayed the improvement of the performance of the organisation (Supriatna, et al., 2015, p1). The other problem was that the company did not maximise the use of the technology in ticketing service. It often made long queuing in train stations (Supriatna, et al., 2015, p4). It also caused many ticket brokers operates both in the train and the stations. Facing the problems, in 2009 the government appointed Ignasius Jonan as the new CEO of the company. He was appointed because he was successfully improved another state-owned company management. Also, he is an accountant that has many experiences in monetary business. To improve the performance of the company, Jonan changed the mindset of the workers, from ‘product oriented’ to ‘customer oriented’ (Saragih, 2014, p35). Jonan also consistently and transparently applied ‘rewards and punishment’ mechanism to improve the workers’ welfare. He also trained the workers in order to improve the quality of the human resource by sending them abroad. Leadership was also his focus. He ordered and gave an example to his branch office operational managers to not only sit behind desk but actively inspecting the real situation (Saragih, 2014, p38). Jonan implemented reforms in all divisions inside PT KAI. It aimed to optimise the performance of the organisation and make a good profit while serving the public. As a result, PT KAI under Jonan had experienced successes. Among the successes were: first, the company experienced rising in their profit. Jonan raised prices, especially for executive long distance travel services. Jonan also maximised opportunities that could bring profit to the company. He invited foods tenants to open their franchise in railways stations (Najiyah, 2016, p17).        Table 1. Gain/Loss of PT KAI from 2008 to 2012 (in Rupiah) Year Gain/Loss 2008 Loss 83 Billion 2009 Gain 154 Billion 2010 Gain 210 Billion 2011 Gain 210 Billion 2012 Gain 425 Billion                           Source: Najiyah, 2016, p10 From the table above, PT KAI successfully raised profit. The table also shows that in the Jonan’s first year as the CEO, he made the company recorded gain. Jonan retained the achievement by obtaining higher gains in the next years. Secondly, the number of accident declined. It is one of the results of the safety maintenance under Jonan. PT KAI under Jonan implemented a new system that prevents accidents by informing the actual speed limits of the train.                                                  Table 2. The Train Accident between 2005 - 2012 Types of Accident Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Collision 9 5 3 4 7 4 1 3 Plummet 99 75 114 79 79 70 53 54 Others 32 15 16 7 14 2 0 0 Total 140 95 133 113 100 76 54 57            Source: Najiyah, 2016, p15. The table shows that the trend of accidents from 2005 to 2012 declined. Although there was a rise from 2011 to 2012, it was still an improvement compare to the increase on total train departure (Najiyah, 2016, p15). Thirdly, related to human resource management, Jonan implementing several policies. First, in recruiting employees, PT KAI focused on performance, dedication, integrity and readiness. Jonan did not give a privilege to the title but give more attention to the competency and willingness to work (Najiyah, 2016, p9). Secondly, the employees’ salary was raised in order to fulfil employees’ basic needs (Saragih, 2014, p39). Thirdly, Jonan applied strict ‘rewards and punishments’ principles. It led to raising the discipline of the employees. Before Jonan came, many believed that the problem in PT KAI was too difficult to be solved. Many were pessimistic on the improvement in PT KAI was impossible so that no one cannot solve the problems (Najiyah, 2016, p15). However, Jonan proved that under a good leadership the performance of an organisation could be improved. The improvement of the company is proven by several achievements got from several institutions. For instance: the most innovative state-owner company in 2012; Runner up best ‘user interface & marketing communication’; the second best state-owned company in website management. As the CEO, Jonan also won the most innovative CEO of the state-owned company in 2012 (Najiyah, 2016, p16). Analysis Based on the case study, leadership has a crucial role in the improvement in an organisation. It can be seen from the indicators and progress achieved by PT KAI. In addition, leadership is the key factor in implementing change. Without leadership, the change is likely difficult to be achieved even though the change is well managed (Gill, 2002, p307). Related to the change process, poor management is believed as one of the key factors that lead the process fails. On the other hand, well-managed changes sometimes do not meet the target. It can be caused by the lack of expertise and resources (Gill, 2002, p308). The statement implies that well-managed changes still needs a good leadership. It directs the followers towards the improvement. Problem solving Related to the leadership features, Jonan has shown his problem-solving skills during his dedication as the CEO of PT KAI. PT KAI before Jonan faced many problems regarding the performance of the organisation. PT KAI as the only railway company in the country did not give the best service to the customers. It made the transportation experts felt pessimistic about the future of the company (Najiyah, 2016, p15). Jonan has improved the performance organisation. The improvement can be achieved in several aspects such as business, security and safety and organisational cultures. One problem that became a serious concern of Jonan was security problems. Before 2009, passengers complained the security level. There were many pickpocket cases. But recently, the transportation using train is secure (Wahyuni, 2015, n.p.). Jonan introduced several policies to improve the service by concerning to security issues. First, ‘one seat one passenger’ policy. In here, long distance passengers cannot buy a ticket if there is no longer seat available. Secondly, ‘boarding pass’ policy. Every passenger must show a valid ticket and an ID before entering the check-in area (Najiyah, 2016, p10). Thirdly, PT KAI placed internal security in every train travel. Finally, Jonan also involves The Police Department in security process (PT KAI, 2013, n.p.). Those policies are believed as the main factor in reducing the number of criminal cases in train transportation. By improving security level, PT KAI is also improving its performance to provide better services to its users. For this achievement, Jonan as the top manager showed his leadership skill by showing his ability in solving the problem.         The improvement in security, although it becomes an improvement for the organisation, needs a big amount of resources. On the one hand, it will bring users trust. It can be a crucial factor for service users to choose train as a mean of transportation. On the other hand, PT KAI must provide several things to implement the policy. First, PT KAI must place many employees in security check counter. It means that PT KAI must pay more employees. Secondly, PT KAI must provide boarding pass machines in every station. The machines and the system are not cheap. Therefore PT KAI must spend many resources to provide them. Thirdly, PT KAI must provide a good mechanism so passengers can print the boarding pass and pass security checking without feels distracted. In here, PT KAI places many employees to assist passengers in printing the boarding pass because many passengers still do not know how to print it.                              In implementing problem-solving agenda, a leader also must consider that drastic change in an organisation can be disruptive if the organisation is not ready. The innovation or change can improve the performance of the organisation or even destabilise the organisation (Bovaird, 2003, p71). The implementation of strict rules, on the one hand, can improve employees’ discipline. It can be achieved if the organisation has clear rules and assessment mechanisms related to the employment. A leader, therefore, must be able to give a good example in implementing organisations rules. On the other hand, it can make the employees feel depressed and stress. Monitoring and target achievement are factors that can make employees feel insecure especially when they do not meet targets given. Monitoring and target achievement as part of performance indicator also can lead to ossification to the employees (Thieel & Lieew, 2002, p269). A leader, therefore, must calculate the benefits and drawbacks of the changing. The next problem that needs to be solved was ticket broker practices. It affected the financial condition that led PT KAI loss. They operated in many places, in the station and on the train. Although the train was full of passengers, the income was not fully received by the company (Najiyah, 2016, p10). Many passengers paid lower prices to the officers before or during the trip. Another problem was the employees’ mindset in the organisation. Jonan identified the bad mindset of the employees that was only thinking about the benefits from the company and tried to change it into ‘company and customer first’ (Saragih, 2013, p35). To solve organisational problems, a leader must be consistent in performing their actions because it is a difficult process. The change is challenging because public sector tends to enjoy present situation and not so enthusiastic with innovation. It is by the statement from Kotter and Heskett (in Bovaird, 2003, p62) that implied that highly adaptable cultures are rarely seen in the public sector. Jonan with his effort has improved the performance of the organisation by showing consistency (Saragih, 2013, p40). A leader that shows consistency in his/her leadership can inspire his followers in changing organisational cultures. Leadership that shows consistency can be seen from the attempt of the leader in rule-making process and the implementation of punishment for any violation of the rules (Saragih, 2013, p40). By showing consistency, Jonan has shown his effort in solving some problems. His effort faced many obstacles because PT KAI is a public service organisation that has many stakeholders. Unlike the private sector that deals with fewer stakeholders, as a state-owned company, PT KAI also must deal with bureaucratical problems. It might potentially raise the scale, the number and the complexity of the problems (Broussine, 2006, p181). Related to the improvement of the organisation, Jonan also faced organisational cultural problems. Organisational culture covers ‘taken-for-granted assumptions and norms’ in an organisation (Bovaird, 2003, p61). To understand and change it, leaders can pick an approach to explore several aspects that are called ‘cultural web’. In here, the leader can explore “stories, routines and ritual, symbols, power base, structure, and control system” (Bovaird, 2003, p61-62). After exploring that aspects, leaders need to take actions to implement the changing, particularly to activities or cultures that are inappropriate (Bovaird, 2003, p62). As a part of problem-solving agenda, Jonan implemented strict reward and punishment systems. For employees that break work ethics and honesty, Jonan applied ‘no mercy’ punishment (Saragih, 2013, p39). In this case, Jonan shows integrity as part of the leadership skill where he was very strict in implementing rules. The implementation of ‘no mercy’ punishment is one of the ways to enforce the rule. It is good to make employees discipline. On the other hand, Jonan is considered too hard in treating his employees. He never gives second chance to his employees that break the rules in PT KAI (Najiyah, 2016, p17). In order to change organisation cultures, Jonan also empowered his followers. Empowering followers is one of the characters in transformational leadership model (Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe, 2005, p59). The ability to empower the followers is very important in improving performance. It is related to the challenge of the leader to give clear vision and empower his/her follower to do the instruction voluntarily. To empower the followers, leaders need to give instructions on how to do works given. Leaders also need to motivate his followers to achieve organisational goals. The motivation can make the followers believe that they are directed to get a better future (Avey, 2008 taken from Saragih, 2013, p38). Attempts of a leader to improve the performance of the organisation cannot be made by one man. It needs supports from lower managers and followers. In this case, a leader must gain a trust from the followers, so they desire voluntarily to be involved in the change process (Saragih, 2013, p38). Jonan not only gave orders but also give instructions and examples. He demanded daily report from Head of regional division. Jonan always analyses the report detail and give feedbacks for the reports (Saragih, 2013, p38). In here, Jonan shows his problem-solving skill by empowering his employees. Jonan also implemented a policy that orders the head of regional divisions to do extra duty on weekends. Instead of only monitoring the implementation of the policy, almost every weekend Jonan checked the operation of PT KAI (Saragih, 2013, p38). A leader that gives good examples can inspire the followers. Inspired followers, therefore, can be motivated to give their efforts to achieve the organisation goals. In addition, by inspiring the followers, the attempt to improve the performance of the organisation might be easier. Decisive Related to the decisive function/role in leadership, Jonan as the new CEO of PT KAI made several decisions In order to improve the performance of the organisation. These decisions are believed to change the performance of the organisation in providing service to the public. First, he implemented several innovations related to the service provision. One of the innovation is the introduction of ‘rail ticketing system’ (RTS) (Najiyah, 2016, p11). The system gives information and services to ease the customers to check schedules, book and pay tickets. To facilitate the RTS, PT KAI made ‘railbox’ or ticketing machines and ‘railcard’ or prepaid card. By using the facilities, the passengers do not need queuing in ticketing counter before take a journey using the train. Under Jonan, PT KAI also introduced ‘internet reservation’. The service eases the passenger in booking or buying a ticket online. The innovation that aims to provide better service can be included into ‘new service’ term (Bovaird, 2003, p71). It brings benefits to the service users because they can enjoy better services. In this case, passengers are given a more practical way in ticketing mechanism. For the organisation, PT KAI can reduce the number of the employee who serves in ticketing division. By employing fewer workers in ticketing division, the organisation can spend operational cost less. The introduce and use of new technology consumes much organisation resources. It is caused by the needs to install the new system, buy new hard wares and the promotion of the system. Compared to the cost spent, PT KAI still gets more benefits in introducing the innovation. The next innovation is inviting ‘new customer’. PT KAI not only focusing on the passengers but also private companies as the ‘customer’. Private companies are invited to operate franchises in train stations. PT KAI provides land or area for private companies. Private companies can use the land or areas to sell their products or services. Before Jonan, there were many tenants that were not well organised and did not give significant income to the organisation. Recently, the arrangement of the stations is neater. It can attract passengers to visit the tenants. It also becomes a way for the organisation to maximising the profit (Najiyah, 2016, p17). The innovation which invites new customers brings consequences. On the one hand, it benefits the organisation by increasing profits. The profit comes from the utilisation of properties that were not maximised before. On the other hand, it caused many conflicts with previous tenants that illegally occupied the properties of PT KAI. The previous tenants refused to move because it would make them loss. In this situation, Jonan showed a strict policy by evicting tenants that were illegal (Najiyah, 2016, p16). He does not hesitate to call the police department to secure the eviction. The refuse shows that every policy brings consequences. In this case, the injured party is tenants that lose places to run their business. The way Jonan facing the illegal occupiers can be related to the implementation of ‘integrated leadership’ model. He applied transformational leadership model inside the organisation by realising his vision into strategic actions. The ability is very important for the organisation, so the followers can understand and do the instructions clearly. Jonan also implemented transactional leadership model. The model is shown by his action in giving punishment to the officers that did not achieve targets in ‘property clearance’ process (Najiyah, 2016, p16). As a result, tenants in train stations are neat. PT KAI also manages the tenants well (Najiyah, 2016, p12). From his several decisions made, Jonan is considered to direct PT KAI into a more business-like company. Under Jonan, many popular and rich-owned franchises such as Starbucks, KFC, McDonald, Alfamart and Indomart replaced local-owned stores and restaurants (Najiyah, 2016, p12). Although it leads the company to gain more income, PT KAI is less able to empower local economy. Instead of giving them the opportunity to open a business, PT KAI under Jonan prioritised big companies. Conclusion Having a leader that shows strong leadership character can bring significant impact imrpoving performance of public service organisation. It can transform the organisation to provide better services to the public. From the analyse, Jonan shows a strong leadership in his position as the CEO of PT KAI. Under his leadership, the performance of the company has improved. The improvement is shown by comparing the performance before and during Jonan. It compares several indicators such as profit business, safety and security and the users’ satisfaction. PT KAI as the organisation and Jonan as the leader also receive many achievements. The achievements prove two things. First, it shows the recognition of the improvement of the company. Secondly, it shows Jonan’s ability in implementing leadership principles. One character in leadership that gives significant impact to the organisation improvement is problem-solving. In here, leaders are challenged to solve organisational problems by analysing the causes, gaining information and propose several solutions. In this analyse, Jonan has shown problem-solving skills. He observed the operation of the company then analysed problems relating to the operation. Leaders need to execute the solutions to complete the problem-solving process. It is the situation where leaders show their leadership by being decisive. Decisive also means that the leaders are not afraid to take risks. Jonan is a risk-taker in his attempts to improve the performance of the organisation. One of them is his policy to eradicate ticket broker practices. It was very difficult because the ticket broker practices were the habit or culture in PT KAI before Jonan. Changing cultures that are inappropriate with the improvement of the public service organisation is difficult. It involves many parties. The changing will be more difficult or even faces rejection especially from those who got benefits from the inappropriate cultures. Also, PT KAI as public service organisation has many stakeholders that might make problem-solving process complicated. In here, a leader needs to show his leadership by giving a decision on problems and executes it. As a result, PT KAI under Jonan gains many successes in facing problems and improves the performance of the organisation.