Blog Posts
The Power of Words
December 19, 2018
Leadership continues to be one of the most popular topics in business and has been heavily researched in the organizational sciences. The critical role of leaders cannot be understated: Excellent leaders can inspire, motivate, influence, and establish structure for followers, whereas terrible leaders can demotivate, stagnate or “derail” their organizations. However, our understanding of leadership is very fragmented…
The double-edged sword of leader behavior
April 22, 2020
A leader’s job is an extremely difficult one. They often need to make tough decisions, act when no one else will, and influence others to realize their vision. These actions can have unintended consequences…
The Leadership Qualities of Educators
June 15, 2020
…When we think of leaders, we often think of politicians, war heroes, executives, and other figures who bring their followers together to realize a vision. However, teachers, trainers, professors, and other educators alike fulfill important leadership roles…
Missing the Mark
September 20, 2018
Would it be very difficult to find a coach who underemphasizes teamwork, comradery and working toward “the good of the team”? Yes, it probably would be. Most inspirational, halftime locker room talk would include a lot about teamwork—even over individual players’ efforts. However, do professional teams actually reward teamwork? Alternatively, is it more likely that impressive individual scoring records matter the most for draft decisions and player compensation/raises?…
Know Your Followers: Who are the Most Engaged at Work
July 12, 2018
In this day and age, the notion that leaders should seek to develop engaged workplaces is nearly a cliché. But how are we doing on this front? It turns out that it is not going so well: According to Gallup, only 33 percent of U.S. employees on average have been actively engaged since the turn of the millennium…
The Bigs Project: Inspiring Students
March 15, 2018
There has been growing concern among managers and industry leaders that students are leaving their high schools unprepared for the working world. Ryan Smith, chief executive officer (CEO) of the research and experience management company Qualtrics, suggests that schools “teach students how to think, but they don’t provide real-world experience, so people leave school unprepared for the workplace.”…