When Optics Rule
Lessons in leadership: why substance matters more than perception
As an Indonesian, watching the recent protests back home has been painful. The images of tear gas, burning tires, and crowds filling the streets are not just headlines. They carry a weight for anyone who knows what it feels like to be unseen by those in power. Channel News Asia described the government’s early response as focused more on optics than on listening, more on control than on care.
Of course, what is happening in the streets is about lives, not management theory. This post isn’t meant to diminish the weight and reality of what happens in Indonesia. But it shows a truth that applies across all forms of leadership.
I feel that as president, Prabowo Subianto is highly focused on optics. In just his first nine months in office, he traveled to 26 countries in his first year, a whirlwind global tour that commentators described as a deliberate ef…
