Leadership development in Korea: a Delphi study

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.