Business school teaches you about structure, strategy, frameworks, KPIs, and organisational charts. It gives you theories to navigate the world of work. Yet, some of the most meaningful leadership lessons do not come wrapped in academic language. They come quietly from unexpected places. In my case, sometimes from Netflix at midnight with snacks on the table, watching a K-Drama that was supposed to be “just for entertainment”.
But that is the thing about stories. When the writing is honest, when the characters are flawed yet determined, and when the narrative mirrors the complexities of real life, suddenly the lessons seep in. Not through whiteboards and textbooks, but through observation, emotions, and the messy humanity we rarely discuss in boardrooms.
Here are the leadership lessons I picked up from K-Dramas, the ones nobody teaches you in business school, yet everyone needs.
1. Power is useless if you do not know how to use it with grace
K-Dramas love characters who hold power but do not know how to wield it. The CEOs who bark orders. The directors who intimidate people. The politicians who use fear as currency. In every drama, these characters fall not because they lack authority, but because they lack grace.
Real leadership is not about volume or rank. It is about influence. It is about how people feel when you walk into a room. It is about whether your presence calms the storm or triggers another one.
As someone who has led teams, trained hundreds, and worked with communities across Malaysia, I learned this too. Power can move people, but grace transforms them. Power demands compliance. Grace earns commitment.
Business school teaches power structures. K-Dramas teach the emotional intelligence behind them.
2. Loyalty is earned through sincerity, not strategy
One thing I love about K-Drama characters is the way loyalty develops. It does not come from contracts or KPIs. It grows from sincerity. From moments of vulnerability. From leaders who show up, not leaders who show off.
You will never see loyalty forced. It always comes naturally when a character demonstrates consistency, integrity, and genuine care. The moment a leader in a drama shields a junior staff, steps in during crisis, or sacrifices personal comfort for the team, that is when loyalty begins.
In real life, I see the same pattern. People stay for leaders who see them, hear them, and value them. They give their best when they trust you are not there just to extract results, but to build something meaningful together.
Business school teaches team building.
K-Dramas teach the heart behind it.
3. Leadership is not glamour. It is sacrifice that nobody sees
A recurring theme in K-Dramas is the quiet suffering of leaders. The emotional burdens. The late nights thinking about people who are not even aware of it. The fear of disappointing others. The pressure of being strong even when you feel weak.
It is not glamorous. It is lonely. It is unspoken.
This is the part that resonates the most with me as someone who leads multiple circles at once. MyGalore, ALPH, training programs, family, community projects. Everyone sees the outcomes, the events, the decisions. But only very few see the emotional weight behind those decisions.
K-Dramas remind us that leadership is not the heroic music moment. It is the quiet pause at night where you sit with your thoughts and try to do what is right.
Business school teaches leadership methods.
K-Dramas reveal the emotional cost.
4. Even the strongest leaders need a support circle
In almost every drama, the leader has at least one trusted confidant. Someone who tells the truth when everyone else is afraid. Someone who holds them accountable. Someone who keeps them grounded.
The funny thing is, leadership in real life is the same. You need your circle. Your emotional architects. Your honest advisors. The people who remind you to rest. The ones who say, “You are not alone in this.”
As much as I drive things forward, I am also constantly learning to lean on my people. Family. Friends. Colleagues. And yes, even my closest buddy. Because leadership is never meant to be carried alone. Not in dramas, not in real life.
Business school teaches networking.
K-Dramas teach human connection.
5. Leadership is a story. Make yours one worth telling
In every K-Drama, the leader’s story arc matters. Growth matters. How they treat people matters. The choices they make define their legacy.
When I watched these dramas with my entrepreneur brain, I realised something important. We are all writing our own leadership stories. Chapter by chapter. Decision by decision. The people under us will remember how we made them feel. The communities we serve will remember how we showed up.
As a leader, the question is simple.
Is your story one that inspires.
Or one that intimidates.
Is it a story you are proud to tell.
Or one you quietly regret.
Business school teaches milestones.
K-Dramas teach meaning.
K-Dramas may be scripted, but the lessons are not. They reflect the realities we seldom talk about in leadership rooms. The fear of failing people. The courage to start again. The softness behind strength. The messy humanity behind every decision.
And in many ways, that is what leadership truly is. Not a position. Not a title. Not a theory. But a journey made of choices that test you, stretch you, and shape you.
Leadership is not taught. It is lived.
And sometimes, it grows from the most unexpected places, including a drama on a quiet night when you are just trying to escape reality for a little while.
