POSCO Group on the 31st announced a new leadership framework for organizational culture innovation, the "Executive Leadership Manifesto."
The leadership manifesto is the first official document that clearly sets out what leadership standards and ways of working to pursue in a rapidly changing business environment.
Starting in May, more than 200 group executives reexamined leadership through 10 sessions of the "executive ways of working innovation workshop," and the manifesto was created based on the results.
The manifesto is composed of three chapters: Intro, Action, and Story. The Intro addresses "safety" as the starting point of all leadership principles.
By defining safety not as a simple work item but as an absolute precondition that must be secured before all performance and discussion, it signaled a commitment to building a safety-centered management culture.
The following Action section presents 14 specific practice standards derived from the workshop. It consists of five areas: safety, performance-driving leadership, ways of working, communication, and talent development.
POSCO Group said the guideline clearly shows what actions leaders should take in daily work to change the organization.
In the performance-driving leadership chapter, it centers on three elements—setting direction, delegation, and challenge—and includes guidance that executives should set direction, trust and empower members, and create a culture where growth comes through challenge.
In the ways of working area, it proposed shifting routine work processes such as instructions, reporting, and meetings from formality and procedure to substantive communication and execution.
In the communication area, it carries the message that true leadership communication means saying what must be said clearly, willingly listening to what should be heard, and not hiding information that should be shared.
In the talent development area, it emphasized "interest"-based leadership focused on coaching, evaluation, and growth, which understands members' strengths and characteristics and supports their development.
In addition, POSCO Group separately defined the area of "leadership in the age of artificial intelligence (AI)," meaning AI is an essential capability that must be applied to current work.
It specifies that executives should understand AI technology, use it directly, and set the direction for the organization's digital innovation.
This aligns with POSCO Group's mid- to long-term digital innovation strategy grounded in the manufacturing, energy, and materials industries.
The Story section vividly captures the concerns and reflections executives shared in the process of creating the manifesto.
It also emphasized that organizational culture change does not come from declarations alone, and that real change appears only through leaders' daily practice.
With the announcement of this manifesto, POSCO Group systematically established standards leaders must have, spanning safety, performance creation, communication, talent development, and AI capabilities.
POSCO Group plans to continue strengthening leadership development programs and on-site execution review systems to ensure the declared principles lead to actual organizational culture change.