Research Article
Devoted Leadership: The Endless Love of Gil Ya Lee, Gachon Gil Foundation Chairperson
Gachon University
Published: January 2021 · Vol. 25 · pp. 279-297
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17287/kbr.2021.25.0.279
Full Text
Abstract
This study analyzed the leadership and management philosophies of Gil Ya Lee, Chairperson of the Gachon Gil Foundation, who is evaluated as “the most successful female CEO in Korea.” The Gachon Gil Foundation, a public interest corporation consisting of education, medical care, and news media, has high professionalism and publicity, so the leadership and management philosophies of a CEO who can motivate members are particularly important. Philanthropism, volunteerism, and patriotism, the management philosophies of which Chairperson Lee's life was condensed, have contributed to raising the organization’s social capital by influencing society’s perception of the Gachon Gil Foundation. However, the development of the Gachon Gil Foundation cannot be fully explained only with the management philosophy. This is because, for the management philosophy to appeal to the members, the values and goals emphasized by the top management must be implemented through leadership. Devoted leadership is defined as the process by which enthusiastic inclusiveness, wholehearted support, and unconditional self-sacrifice lead and inspire organizational commitment, work engagement, and innovation behavior of members. Chairperson Lee is enhancing sustainability, that is, the viability of the organization and the continuity of social value by matching the goals of the organization with the goals of individual members through the devoted leadership. Therefore, devoted leadership is the most important factor in explaining the development of the Gachon Gil Foundation. Furthermore, devoted leadership is the leadership that companies and managers should pay attention to. Because it is possible to create a common good for the community by understanding how leaders align goals between leaders and members and positively change the organization through devotion.
