Leadership Roles
Leadership roles at Kyndof set strategic direction, make high-stakes decisions, ensure effective execution, and maintain organizational alignment. These roles carry the Accountable responsibility in RABSIC frameworks—they own outcomes, approve decisions, and resolve conflicts.
Why Leadership Roles Matter
Organizations need clear decision-making authority to move quickly and execute effectively. Leadership roles provide:
- Strategic Direction: Setting long-term vision and priorities
- Decision Authority: Making choices when consensus isn't possible
- Conflict Resolution: Breaking deadlocks and resolving cross-team disputes
- Resource Allocation: Deciding how to invest time, money, and people
- Accountability: Owning outcomes when things go right or wrong
Without clear leadership roles, organizations suffer from diffused responsibility, slow decision-making, and misaligned teams.
Core Leadership Philosophy
At Kyndof, leadership follows several principles:
Position Over Person: Leadership authority comes from the role, not personal charisma or seniority. When someone steps into a leadership role, they inherit its authorities and responsibilities.
Accountable, Not Just Responsible: Leaders don't do all the work themselves—they own outcomes by ensuring the right people do the right work. In RABSIC terms, leaders are often Accountable while others are Responsible for execution.
Enable, Don't Control: Leadership isn't about micromanagement. Leaders set direction, provide resources, remove blockers, and let teams execute.
Escalation as Last Resort: Leaders intervene when teams can't resolve issues themselves, not as a first step.
Executive Leadership Roles
CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
Location: Seoul Team: CEO Office Reports to: Board of Directors
The CEO owns company-wide strategy, vision, and ultimate organizational outcomes. This is the single highest authority role in the organization.
Core Responsibilities:
- Set company vision and long-term strategic direction
- Make top-level decisions affecting the entire organization
- Approve major resource allocations (budget, headcount, capital investments)
- Represent Kyndof to external stakeholders (investors, partners, media)
- Resolve cross-team conflicts that can't be settled at lower levels
- Ensure organizational alignment around shared goals
Decision Authority:
- Final approval on all strategic initiatives
- Hire/fire department heads and executives
- Approve budgets and financial plans
- Authorize partnerships and major contracts
RABSIC Context:
- Accountable for: Company-wide strategic goals, board-level commitments, organizational performance
- Consulted on: Most major decisions before execution
- Informed on: All significant organizational activities
When to escalate to CEO:
- Strategic decisions with company-wide impact
- Cross-team deadlocks requiring executive arbitration
- Major pivots or directional changes
- External partnerships requiring executive commitment
- Resource allocation disputes between departments
Key Relationships:
- Direct reports: COO, CMO, Department Heads
- Board of Directors (governance)
- Executive team (strategic alignment)
- All departments (indirect oversight)
Success Metrics:
- Company performance against strategic goals
- Revenue, growth, and profitability
- Organizational health (retention, engagement, culture)
- Board and investor satisfaction
COO (Chief Operating Officer)
Location: Seoul Team: Corp Ops Reports to: CEO
The COO owns operational excellence across the organization. While the CEO sets strategy, the COO ensures effective execution through systems, processes, and operational infrastructure.
Core Responsibilities:
- Design and maintain organizational systems and processes
- Ensure cross-team coordination and workflow efficiency
- Manage operational infrastructure (tools, platforms, data)
- Monitor execution quality and operational performance
- Scale operations as the company grows
Decision Authority:
- Approve process changes affecting multiple teams
- Select operational tools and platforms
- Allocate operational budgets
- Design organizational workflows and systems
RABSIC Context:
- Accountable for: Operational excellence, system-level processes, cross-team coordination
- Responsible for: Implementing operational systems
- Consulted on: Strategic decisions with operational implications
When to escalate to COO:
- System-level process breakdowns
- Cross-team workflow conflicts
- Tool or platform decisions affecting multiple teams
- Operational efficiency improvements
- Data and reporting infrastructure needs
Key Relationships:
- Reports to: CEO
- Collaborates with: All department heads
- Manages: Corp Ops team
- Enables: All operational teams
Success Metrics:
- Operational efficiency (cycle times, process quality)
- Cross-team coordination effectiveness
- System uptime and reliability
- Team satisfaction with operational tools
CMO (Chief Marketing Officer)
Location: Seoul Team: Brand Ops (also oversees 2000Atelier) Reports to: CEO
The CMO owns brand strategy, market positioning, and growth through marketing and customer engagement. The CMO leads both Brand Ops and 2000Atelier, connecting brand strategy with creative execution.
Core Responsibilities:
- Define brand strategy and market positioning
- Drive customer acquisition and retention
- Lead marketing campaigns and brand communications
- Manage brand identity and creative direction
- Oversee customer success and satisfaction
- Lead Brand Ops and 2000Atelier teams
Decision Authority:
- Approve brand messaging and positioning
- Allocate marketing budgets
- Authorize campaigns and creative initiatives
- Make partnership decisions in brand/marketing domain
- Approve customer-facing communications
RABSIC Context:
- Accountable for: Brand strategy, marketing performance, customer satisfaction, creative output
- Responsible for: Leading brand and creative teams
- Consulted on: Product decisions, strategic initiatives with brand implications
When to escalate to CMO:
- Brand positioning or messaging questions
- Major marketing campaigns or launches
- Customer satisfaction issues requiring leadership intervention
- Partnership opportunities in marketing/brand domain
- Creative direction disputes
- Resource conflicts between Brand Ops and creative teams
Key Relationships:
- Reports to: CEO
- Manages: Brand Ops team, 2000Atelier team
- Collaborates with: Product development, Operations, External partners
Success Metrics:
- Brand awareness and perception
- Customer acquisition cost and lifetime value
- Marketing ROI
- Customer satisfaction scores
- Creative output quality
Department Leadership Roles
Brand Lead (2000Archives)
Location: Seoul Team: 2000Archives Reports to: CEO
The Brand Lead owns the 2000Archives team—responsible for archival operations, product development, and maintaining brand heritage through core product lines.
Core Responsibilities:
- Lead 2000Archives team (6 positions)
- Oversee product development and innovation
- Ensure quality standards across production
- Manage archival brand aesthetic and consistency
- Coordinate design, production, and logistics functions
Decision Authority:
- Approve 2000Archives product designs and releases
- Allocate team resources and priorities
- Make production planning decisions
- Approve vendor relationships for 2000Archives
RABSIC Context:
- Accountable for: 2000Archives team performance, product quality, archival brand consistency
- Responsible for: Team leadership, design oversight
- Consulted on: Brand strategy, cross-team initiatives involving Archives
When to escalate to Brand Lead:
- 2000Archives product decisions
- Quality issues requiring leadership intervention
- Resource allocation within Archives team
- Design direction for archival products
- Cross-team conflicts involving Archives
Key Relationships:
- Reports to: CEO
- Manages: 6 positions (Product Developer, Graphics Designer, Production Manager, Logistics, QA)
- Collaborates with: CMO (brand alignment), 2000Atelier (creative coordination)
Success Metrics:
- Product launch success and quality
- Team productivity and satisfaction
- Brand consistency across Archives products
- Production efficiency
Chief of Staff (CEO Office)
Location: Seoul Team: CEO Office Reports to: CEO
The Chief of Staff extends the CEO's reach by managing special projects, coordinating executive initiatives, and ensuring CEO decisions translate into organizational action.
Core Responsibilities:
- Manage CEO's strategic projects and initiatives
- Coordinate cross-team executive initiatives
- Represent CEO in meetings and discussions when delegated
- Track progress on CEO priorities
- Prepare materials and analysis for CEO decisions
Decision Authority:
- Prioritize CEO's time and meeting requests
- Make tactical decisions on CEO's behalf (when delegated)
- Coordinate resources for executive initiatives
- Represent CEO in specific contexts (when authorized)
RABSIC Context:
- Responsible for: Executing CEO initiatives
- Support for: CEO decision-making and coordination
- Accountable for: Specific projects delegated by CEO
When to reach out to Chief of Staff:
- Requests requiring CEO attention (Chief of Staff triages)
- Executive initiative coordination
- Cross-team projects with executive sponsorship
- CEO decision follow-through and tracking
Key Relationships:
- Reports to: CEO
- Collaborates with: All departments (coordination role)
- Represents: CEO in delegated contexts
Success Metrics:
- CEO initiative completion rate
- Executive project success
- Cross-team coordination effectiveness
- CEO time optimization
Leadership Decision-Making
When Leaders Get Involved
Leaders escalate involvement based on decision scope and impact:
Strategic Decisions: Affect long-term direction → CEO/Executive team Cross-Team Decisions: Affect multiple teams → Department Heads or COO Team Decisions: Affect single team → Department Head Operational Decisions: Affect daily work → Individual contributors (no leadership needed)
RABSIC and Leadership
Leadership roles frequently serve as Accountable in RABSIC matrices:
- CEO: Accountable for strategic, company-wide decisions
- COO: Accountable for operational, cross-team decisions
- CMO: Accountable for brand, marketing, creative decisions
- Department Heads: Accountable for team-level decisions
But leaders are Consulted (not Accountable) on decisions outside their domain. The CEO might be Consulted on technical infrastructure but not Accountable—that's the COO's domain.
Escalation Paths
Standard escalation:
- Team member → Team Lead → Department Head → Executive → CEO
Cross-team conflicts:
- Team leads attempt resolution → Department Heads negotiate → COO or CEO arbitrates
Strategic questions:
- Any role can raise strategic questions → Executive team reviews → CEO decides
Working With Leadership
Preparing for Leadership Decisions
When bringing a decision to leadership:
- Summarize the context: What's the situation and why does it matter?
- Present options: What are the viable choices (not just your preferred option)?
- Recommend an approach: What do you think is best, and why?
- Highlight trade-offs: What are the pros/cons of each option?
- Specify what you need: Approval? Input? Arbitration?
Leadership time is scarce. Clear, concise framing helps leaders make better decisions faster.
Understanding Leadership Constraints
Leaders balance competing priorities:
- Short-term execution vs. long-term strategy: Immediate wins vs. future positioning
- Team autonomy vs. organizational alignment: Letting teams own decisions vs. ensuring consistency
- Speed vs. quality: Moving quickly vs. getting decisions right
- Resource constraints: Limited budget, time, and people
When leaders make decisions that surprise you, these trade-offs often explain why.
Related:
- Design Roles → - Creative and design leadership within leadership roles
- Operations Roles → - Operational leaders and managers
- By Team → - See leadership within each team
- RABSIC Framework → - Understanding accountability
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Last Updated: 2026-02-03