'Leaders must find and solve problems on their own,' Hankook & chairman tells junior staff

"Corporate culture is not built through slogans. It takes root naturally in an organization through the process of employees identifying problems themselves and working to solve them."

Hankook & Group Chairman Cho Hyun-bum delivered that message to young employees, stressing the importance of a bottom-up approach in which staff discover problems on the ground and carry out solutions themselves.

Hankook & Group said Wednesday it held the third-quarter workshop of its future-leader development project, the Junior Board, from Monday to Tuesday. Chairman Cho and other senior executives attended and urged participants to grow into "proactive leaders."

Launched in 2022, the Junior Board is a talent development and innovation program in which employees with six or fewer years of tenure identify areas for improvement in company systems, organizational culture and work processes, and develop solutions. The program's core aim is to help participants grow into leaders who can drive the organization forward by gaining hands-on experience in spotting problems and devising concrete alternatives.

The fifth cohort, launched this year, comprises 40 members. Hanon Systems joined the program this year, broadening the group's talent development base. This year's annual keywords — Discovery, Solution, Influence and Ownership, in that order — guide participants through a step-by-step process covering task identification, idea development, feasibility review and impact assessment, building the capabilities needed to turn member proposals into tangible results.

The third-quarter workshop centered on the theme of "Influence." Junior Board members held a marathon debate in a "conclave" format, discussing the feasibility and direction of ideas they had previously proposed. Participants focused closely on what conditions would be needed to apply those ideas within the organization and what factors to consider during implementation, refining their proposals into concrete action plans.

At a subsequent executive roundtable, Junior Board members exchanged views with senior management on a range of topics, including proactive culture, the group's strengths, experiences that had shaped their ways of working, and the group's philosophy on talent development.

At the workshop, Cho said employees who identify problems on their own — rather than simply solving problems handed down from above — develop a stronger drive to find solutions and are more likely to follow through on them.

He went on to say that employees should not remain confined to what they already know, but instead approach unfamiliar territory with curiosity. He added that cultivating one's own perspective through experience across diverse fields is also a capability future leaders will need.

Cho also said the group must preserve and carry forward the good traditions and strengths it has built over many years, while continuously modernizing them to keep pace with the times. He stressed that the organization can only sustain its development if a culture takes hold in which employees freely identify problems on the ground, voice their opinions and implement solutions.

Beyond the Junior Board, Hankook & Group plans to continue reflecting frontline voices in management and operational innovation through a range of participation programs — including Proactive Concert, a group-wide communication initiative, and the Proactive Award, which recognizes teams and individuals for outstanding performance — while expanding opportunities for young talent to demonstrate their capabilities.

Meanwhile, Hankook & Group recently wrapped up the second season of "Together, Further and Higher Challenge," a teamwork program designed to foster communication and collaboration among employees, as part of its broader efforts to promote a culture of open communication.