On November 22, 2024, the Leadership & Coaching Conference 2024, hosted by the Leadership and Coaching Major of the Graduate School of Business Administration at Kookmin University, was successfully held. The conference explored the challenges facing modern leadership and discussed the importance of psychological safety, with around 150 people in attendance. In particular, the conference added academic and practical significance in commemoration of the 12th anniversary of the establishment of the major.

Opening and lecture: Humility in leadership and practical insights

At the opening ceremony, Professor Najung Kim emphasized that “leaders must accept the fact that they cannot know everything, and the humility to bring out the potential of their members is the beginning of true leadership.” This message reminded us that the Department of Leadership and Coaching at Kookmin University is a solid foundation for training future leaders.

In his keynote speech, Professor Kwon Soo-young of Yonsei University said, “Emotions are divided into centripetal and centrifugal forces, and leaders must understand centripetal emotions and build trust with their members.” He emphasized the key role that leaders must play in creating psychological safety and presented the importance of introspection.

Lecture 1: Leadership by Chang-Jun Lee

Chang-Jun Lee (AgmaK, Guru People Co., Ltd.) diagnosed the problems faced by modern organizations under the theme of “Leadership for the Abandoned: On Inclusion and Psychological Safety.” He emphasized that “when the purpose of the organization and the purpose of the members are aligned, a true field of inclusion and safety is formed,” and pointed out the limitations of the neoliberal paradigm of performance. He shed light on the essence of leadership through the process of compassion, which reveals and heals the most vulnerable point of the organization.

Lecture 2: Coach Yeo-soon Yoon's Coaching Strategy

Coach Yeo-soon Yoon (Coaching Management Institute) emphasized that the core of coaching is not simply solving problems, but compassion, which is understanding and embracing the pain and wounds of the client. She explained that coaching should be a human-centered approach that supports organizational performance and emotional recovery through psychological safety.

Practical cases and panel discussion

The conference shared examples of psychological safety from global companies such as Samsung Electronics, Meta, and LG, and explored in detail how leaders and organizations can implement it. LG's Lee Dong-hoon, Executive Director, emphasized the need for a mental care program to increase the psychological safety of leaders, while Meta's Jung Da-jung, Head of PR, introduced a global strategy based on diversity and inclusion. These discussions provided participants with insights that combined academic and practical knowledge.

Significance of the Conference

The Leadership & Coaching Conference 2024 was more than just an academic event, impressing on organizations and leaders the essence of leadership and the importance of psychological safety. In particular, the conference broke down the boundaries between practice and academia and created a venue for synergy by embracing not only speakers but also participants, including HR practitioners, start-ups, mid-sized companies, HR managers of large companies, and academic giants, while not losing the foundation of theory and research.

Professor Najung Kim, the organizer, said, “The strongest leader is the most humble learner,” and vowed to continue to lead academic and practical innovation.

Kookmin University plans to become a center for leadership research by providing a forum for more leaders and organizations to grow through regular conferences.