Reverse Administration Committee, Reverse Mentoring, and More to Be Implemented Starting November
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Lee Kwang-hyung, President of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), who pursued anti-authoritarian and servant leadership by hanging the campus organizational chart upside down in his office during his time as a regular professor, has begun to actively apply this management philosophy to the overall operation of the school.
KAIST announced on the 29th that starting in November, it will launch the 'Upside-Down Administration Committee' and implement 'Upside-Down Mentoring' to create a new administrative culture based on participation and communication.
This initiative aims to form a unique KAIST culture by applying President Lee’s management philosophy?which emphasizes mutual understanding, participation and communication, and a flexible organizational culture through servant leadership by viewing the ‘upside-down organizational chart’?to the administrative sector.
The Upside-Down Administration Committee was planned starting in September this year as a communication channel to discuss major issues within the administration and staff community. It will perform functions such as discovering policies and systems aligned with social demands, gathering opinions, and building consensus.
Notably, the committee chairperson will be appointed from the youngest generation to naturally induce change and innovation from younger members. The committee will be composed of 50% junior staff, 20% senior staff, and 20% managerial staff, with the MZ generation leading the committee.
Park Hyo-eun, chairperson of the Upside-Down Administration Committee, stated, “I see this as an official opportunity for the voices of the new generation to be heard. I hope the young voices of the committee will be actively reflected in policies and systems.”
'Upside-Down Mentoring' is a program opposite to traditional mentoring where seniors teach juniors; instead, young junior employees act as mentors to senior officials such as department heads and managers. This was designed to freely exchange the culture and values of the MZ generation regardless of rank or age. Mentors, composed of MZ generation members under their 30s, take the lead in deciding the operation methods and locations, and meet with mentees once or twice a month to interact.
Bang Jin-seop, Director of Administration at KAIST, said, “Change and innovation are more important not only in content but also in recognizing members as ‘agents.’ We will create an environment where employees voluntarily form a consensus for change and promote innovation themselves,” adding, “We hope that administrative change and innovation will spread as a horizontal and dynamic administrative culture within the university community.”
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