Leadership development inKorea: aDelphi study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the leadership competencies most required for leaders operating in Korean organizations and to examine the characteristics of leadership development practices used for developing those competencies. The Delphi method was used to obtain the consensus of a group of leadership development experts in Korea and, ultimately, to identify and prioritize issues relevant to this study. The findings revealed that some universal leadership competencies commonly identified in the global leadership literature are important for contemporary leaders in Korea; at the same time, there are idiosyncratic competencies required that reflect the characteristics of Korean society. In addition, Korean organizations have adopted many leadership development methods developed in western countries, and the relatively new methods such as coaching and 360‐degree feedback are considered to be more effective than the traditional methods. Finally, strong support from the CEO and top management is the most critical factor affecting the success of leadership development practices in Korea.

Global leaders’ perceptions of elements required for effective leadership development in the twenty-first century

“…What becomes difficult is to know how and when to engage leaders in learning the skills listed above. Given that the leaders themselves are often dispersed across the country (if not the globe) and bring with them unique experiences based on culture, organizational knowledge, and natural leadership talent, we can see why leadership development becomes overwhelming in and of itself (Choi et al , 2012; Dorfman and House, 2004; Olivares, 2011; Pinnington, 2011; Plowman et al , 2007; Quatro et al , 2007).…”

Employee perceptions of HRM practices and their turnover intentions: evidence from South Korea

“…This finding is interesting when considered alongside the cultural values of Korean organizations. Korea is defined as a representative collectivist country wherein group harmony based on company loyalty and commitment is highly valued; as a result, collective achievement is often more important than individual achievement (Bae and Lawler, 2000;Choi et al, 2012). Therefore, it is possible that employees in this study's dataset were less prone than employees in Western countries to value job autonomy and were more likely to cooperate with coworkers and leaders.…”

Perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness in a Korean context: An indigenous qualitative study

“…Inspiration is identified from local values or classical beliefs, and it builds new local context-specific theories to complement those from a Western perspective. For example, Choi, Yoon, and Jeung (2012) inductively derived two sets of leadership competencies at the executive and manager levels using the Delphi method. Multiple competencies were identified in their findings, such as managing performance, demonstrating enthusiasm for goal achievement, communicating effectively, coaching followers, and building teamwork.…”

“…Our emergent overarching indigenous themes of Korean managerial behavior based on Confucianism lend some support to the findings of other Stage 3 (emic-as-emic) indigenous studies of Korean management. For example, the indigenous themes were similar in meaning to the leadership competencies developed by Choi et al (2012). However, these researchers did not capture the indigenous contexts where those competencies were exercised and applied.…”