Most cooperatives with successful innovations usually have great leaders. Many cooperative leaders have devoted to develop their cooperatives in their home counties since the launch of agricultural cooperative in 1958.
This report was planned to search the stories of agricultural cooperative leaders who had led successfully their cooperatives, and to find the suggestions for practical leadership of following leaders. In addition, this report was purposed to record the performance and contributions of the leaders, so that it is expected that this study would be used as a basic report of agricultural cooperative studies.
Eleven agricultural cooperative leaders who are, or were the presidents of primary cooperatives, were selected as the sample. They are classified by 4 types according to their economical and regional characteristics: the leader model of small cooperative in a remote area, of take-off stage of primary cooperative, of commodity specialized cooperatives, and of urban agricultural cooperative.
The leaders of agricultural cooperatives have shown credibility, creativity, consistent policy, and communication as the virtues of leaders. To get credibility from cooperative personnel and members, the leaders should conduct respectable behavior, take the initiative and set an example, show sincerity, honesty. Especially, all leaders emphasized the importance of incorruption as a key virtue of respectability. In addition, understanding his/her job and the drive are also important factors to get credibility.
Leaders' creativity substantially worked to solve the problems of cooperatives at risk of bankrupt. Some leaders saved the cooperatives by creative idea of business and its strong drive. Success in business is regarded as the most important factor to receive much recognition, because the cooperative is an entrepreneur. All leaders of the sample took consecutive terms of their offices in the long run, which affected them to bring about the successes.
Communication was a top priority of leader's virtue the leaders emphasized, but the method was not so effective as much as they stressed. Most leaders stressed the importance of communication with cooperative members but that with their staff.
Peter. Drucker emphasized that virtues are important to be a good leader rather than his/ her talent or ability, and suggested eight virtues to be conducted. Most virtues of Drucker were consistent with those of agricutural cooperative leaders. However some are mentioned by all leaders, while some are not. The virtues commonly emphasized by Drucker and all Korean agricultural cooperative leaders are that a leader knows what to do for his cooperative, works along the planned schedule, readily take responsibility, and to construct effective communication channels. The other virtues, not missing chances, constructing productive meeting system, and saying 'we' always, were also most leaders recognized. However, there is a subtle distintion between the leaders and Drucker with respect to what is the first one for cooperative. The cooperative leaders of Korea consider it members, but Drucker stressed the entrepreneur itself. This difference will be no matter in the long run, because two thoughts must be equivalent in cooperative regime.
This study suggests five. First, the agricultural cooperatives should establish its leadership that leads and guides its members where to go and what to do. Second, it needs to find out success cases of cooperative leadership that are usually recognized as a shortcomings of Agricultural Cooperatives in Korea. Furthermore, the Agricultural Cooperatives should make efforts for members and staffs understand and recognize the importance of cooperative leadership. Third, we should think of cooperative leadership as separate a leader's leadership. Even a successful leader may not guarantee carrying out successful cooperative leadership, because he/ she may concerns individual achievement rather than his/ her cooperative. Fourth, the Agricultural Cooperatives should prepare the institutional system to educate and train leaders. Five, the innovations within cooperative operation should be internalized and systemized. We remind that many successful innovations during the growth of agricultural cooperatives have been disappeared as the leaders to lead innovations retired, and should not repeat those mistakes again.