Korean-style leadership: a comparative perspective

Leadership is possibly the least understood aspect of managing people, because it is at the same time personal, institutional, and cultural. Martin Hemmert’s new volume illustrates this point by highlighting both similarities and differences in leadership patterns across Korean companies all operating in the same cultural environment. Comparing Korean leadership processes to those found in other countries, like Japan as illustrated here, adds additional clarity and depth to this anslysis. The lesson for foreign firms here is not to try to emulate Korean-style management, but rather to study Korean ways so we can be more astute when working with Korean companies and managers. The issue here is understanding, not imitation.