Working across hierarchy: sungkan without silence

What is happening

Sungkan, the reluctance to impose on or contradict someone senior, is often described as a weakness to unlearn. That misreads it. In most teams it functions as a courtesy that keeps meetings civil and lets juniors defer on matters they do not yet understand. The problem is narrower: sungkan becomes expensive at exactly the moments when a junior holds information the senior does not. A number that looks wrong, a client remark overheard, a deadline that has quietly become impossible. Deference in those moments is not politeness; it is a decision to let the senior person fail uninformed.

Experienced Indonesian managers describe a workable middle path. The junior does not challenge the decision; they add an observation and leave the decision where it belongs. “Pak, satu hal yang mungkin perlu dicek” followed by a fact does not contradict anyone. It gives the senior person a chance to decide with the full picture, and it is almost always received as care rather than challenge.

Why it matters

What this means for you

What to do

1. Separate facts from opinions before you speak. Facts (a date, a figure, something a client said) can be offered to anyone; opinions wait until they are asked for.
2. Use the additive form: “one thing that might be worth checking” or “satu hal yang mungkin perlu dicek”, then the fact, then stop. Do not propose the decision.
3. Pick the channel by the stakes. Small corrections go in a private message after the meeting; anything that changes a deadline or a client promise goes to the senior person directly and immediately.
4. When you are the senior, say it out loud once a month: “If you see something off, tell me; I would rather know.” Then thank the first person who does, in front of others.

Do it with the pillars

Sources & provenance

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