The Effect of Agile Leadership and Digital Competence on Employee Performance Through Critical Thinking in the Use of the MySIMKARI Application at the North Sumatra High Prosecutor's Office

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Agile Leadership and Digital Competence Enhance Prosecutor Office Staff Performance Through Critical Thinking

A new study reveals that agile leadership and digital competence significantly enhance employee performance in utilizing the MySIMKARI application at the North Sumatra High Prosecutor's Office, with critical thinking serving as a key mediating factor. Conducted by Debora Viliana, Prof. Prihatin Lumbanraja, and Dr. Yeni Absah from Universitas Sumatera Utara, the research was published in June 2026. These findings provide vital strategic insights for public sector management, where effective digital system utilization directly influences electronic government efficiency and public service quality.

Background and Practical Relevance

Employee performance evaluation in the public sector has expanded beyond administrative compliance to focus on effective digital system usage, technological adaptability, and timely decision-making. Within the Indonesian Prosecutor's Office, digital transformation centers on the MySIMKARI application, an integrated system designed for performance reporting, personnel administration, and organizational monitoring.

Preliminary observations at the North Sumatra High Prosecutor's Office indicated sub-optimal application utilization, with staff experiencing technical challenges, relying on direct supervisory instructions, and treating the platform as a routine reporting tool rather than an analytical asset. Understanding how adaptive leadership, digital skills, and critical thinking interact is essential for overcoming operational bottlenecks in public administration.

Research Methodology

The research team from Universitas Sumatera Utara employed an explanatory quantitative design to investigate direct and indirect structural relationships. The study was conducted from March to June 2026 at the North Sumatra High Prosecutor's Office in Medan, targeting a population of 464 active MySIMKARI users.

Using Slovin's formula with a 5% margin of error, the authors selected a sample of 215 employees through proportionate stratified random sampling based on gender and age groups. Data were collected via structured five-point Likert scale questionnaires and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) on SmartPLS version 4.0.

Key Research Findings

Statistical modeling confirmed that critical thinking functions as a partial mediator that significantly strengthens the direct contributions of leadership and competence to performance:

• Impact of Agile Leadership: Agile leadership generated positive and statistically significant effects on both employee performance (path coefficient 0.289; t-statistic 6.483) and critical thinking skills (path coefficient 0.473; t-statistic 9.927).
• Impact of Digital Competence: Digital competence positively and significantly influenced employee performance (path coefficient 0.280; t-statistic 5.327) and critical thinking (path coefficient 0.463; t-statistic 10.129).
• Dominant Role of Critical Thinking: Critical thinking exerted a strong direct impact on performance in utilizing the MySIMKARI platform (path coefficient 0.448; t-statistic 8.155).
• Significant Indirect Mediation: Critical thinking successfully mediated the relationship between agile leadership and performance (indirect coefficient 0.212; p-value 0.000) as well as between digital competence and performance (indirect coefficient 0.208; p-value 0.000).
• Model Explanatory Power: The combination of agile leadership, digital competence, and critical thinking accounted for 81.5% of the variance in employee performance (R-squared = 0.815), while 67.2% of the variance in critical thinking was explained by leadership and competence (R-squared = 0.672).

Real-World Impact and Industry Implications

The study offers practical guidance for judicial administrators and public sector human resource professionals. Implementing adaptive, collaborative, and empowering leadership practices creates a supportive environment that encourages analytical thinking among government personnel. Furthermore, combining digital skills training with critical thinking instruction ensures that personnel use internal applications like MySIMKARI for evidence-based decision-making rather than basic administrative compliance.

Emphasizing the connection between leadership, technology, and cognitive capability, the research team highlighted the structural dynamic driving public sector performance. "Agile leadership and digital competence become substantially more effective in elevating employee performance when both elements work together to foster critical thinking skills in utilizing digital management tools," stated Debora Viliana alongside Prof. Prihatin Lumbanraja and Dr. Yeni Absah from Universitas Sumatera Utara.

Author Profiles

1. Debora Viliana, S.E., M.M.: Lead researcher and Master of Management graduate from Universitas Sumatera Utara, specializing in Human Resource Management and Public Sector Digitalization.
2. Prof. Dr. Prihatin Lumbanraja, S.E., M.Si.: Senior professor and researcher at Universitas Sumatera Utara, with expertise in Human Resource Management, Leadership, and Organizational Behavior.
3. Dr. Yeni Absah, S.E., M.Si.: Senior lecturer and researcher at Universitas Sumatera Utara, specializing in Strategic Management, Organizational Development, and Knowledge Management.

Source Information

• Article Title: The Effect of Agile Leadership and Digital Competence on Employee Performance Through Critical Thinking in the Use of the MySIMKARI Application at the North Sumatra High Prosecutor's Office
• Journal: Indonesian Journal of Economic & Management Sciences (IJEMS), Vol. 4, No. 3, 2026, Pages 1609–1626
• Publication Year: 2026
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/ijems.v4i3.79
• Official URL: https://journalijems.my.id/index.php/ijems/index