Leadership philosophy
By Kim Jong-nam
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As a leadership facilitator, I visit a lot of companies that are interested in creating their own training programs. Every spring in particular, many organizations show a keen interest in how to grow leadership in their organizations. Because everyone knows the importance of leadership and its effect on an organization, most organizations are primarily concerned with the end results of their leadership programs. However, more important than the specific form of the program ― which, after all, might be identical to that of other organizations' programs ― is an organization's leadership philosophy. A leadership philosophy is the essence of a leadership program, and it should be created, shared and internalized before the program is even designed.
Many thriving companies have their own leadership development programs to which their success is often attributed. Nevertheless, many HR professionals in Korea think that their leadership development programs are similar or very similar to those of other industry-leading companies. One HR professional that I know even commented that although his company has a well-structured and beautifully-designed leadership program, there is no philosophy that lays down the foundation of what's important to the company, why it's important, and any implicit messages that accompany these values.
How often have you witnessed excellent leadership? For what reason do you think having excellent leadership is so crucial to your organization? I am asking these questions because a lot of leaders in organizations still demonstrate a lot of problems in spite of numerous training and coaching programs. I also would like to ask why it is so difficult for a corporation to become a financially sustainable company if their leadership development programs are delivered successfully. I think that the answer to these sorts of questions lies in corporations not teaching leadership philosophy and simply teaching leadership skills to manage personnel more effectively and efficiently. Expanding further, can an organization without a philosophy exist perpetually? No, it can't. Neither can a leader ― and it is a leader's role to create a sustainable company whose goals extend beyond short-term financial performance.
In this context, there are several questions that should be posed to leaders before they participate and learn about leadership and its skills. What is important in your behavior as a leader and why? What are the guiding principles of your behaviors and from where do those behavioral principles derive? What meanings do your principles and beliefs that you have as a leader give to yourself, your employees, your department, and your organization? How important do you believe your leadership philosophy is, how important does your organization believe it is, and what impact do you believe it will bring to your organization? These questions are essential because what you believe should be the same as what you say and how you behave. If they are inconsistent, the misalignment between belief and behaviors will weaken your leadership and bring confusion about what is true and what is not true in your organization. This will eventually reduce the probability of your company's sustainability.
Nowadays, many Korean organizations have a desire to become more agile and responsive to market changes. However, if their managers have weak and wavering philosophies about leadership, this will inevitably show itself in their actions, which means they cannot maintain consistency. In addition, leadership philosophies are crucial because they contain ethics and values that are the core elements of leaders' behavior. Most organizations already emphasize the importance of their mission, vision and values as well as value-based behaviors; a leadership philosophy is a natural extension of this.
Leadership is different from management, and should bring bigger value to organizations than mere financial performance. This is the season in which many HR professionals begin thinking about what leadership trainings should be implemented in their organizations. Given this, I hope they do not forget that many leaders with great leadership skills end up leaving organizations due to ethical issues. What are the responsibilities and duties your leaders should perform in any corporate situation?
Kim Jong-nam is the founding CEO of META (www.imeta.co.kr) and the author of two books, "Organizations without Meetings" and "Breaking the Silent Rules."