This is a story from the latest version of UNC Business magazine. To read the entire issue, download the iPad app. By Heather Harreld Empowering leadership — the practice of sharing power with subordinates and allowing them to collectively make decisions — has long been touted as better for performance than a more directive approach. But is an empowering leadership style always better when managing teams? It depends on the nature and timeline of the project, according to new research from Matthew Pearsall, assistant professor of organizational behavior at UNC Kenan-Flagler. While researchers have looked at the effects of both empowering and directive leadership styles separately, Pearsall wanted to directly compare the approaches at the same time. He studied 60 Read More
Tag Archives: leadership
Fours ways to bolster your onboarding program
“Just be yourself” may sound cliché, but for managers looking to train more effective employees, it’s a piece of advice worth incorporating into the orientation process. UNC Kenan-Flagler assistant professor Bradley Staats studies the onboarding process, the period of orientation and socialization that occurs during a new hire’s first few days on the job. During this time companies typically focus on skills training and building pride in the organization. However, Staats’ latest research has revealed that emphasizing self-expression and personal, rather than organizational, identities may create more beneficial outcomes for firms. Orientation programs with a more individualized approach result in lower turnover rates, greater job satisfaction and improved operational performance down the road. “By following these four principles of personal Read More
Insights Into Innovation: Why Organizations Must Innovate
Sridhar Balasubramanian – also known as “Dr. B.” – is associate dean of the MBA Program, the Roy & Alice H. Richards Bicentennial Distinguished Scholar and professor of marketing at UNC Kenan-Flagler. He is a widely published and cited researcher. Below, read his insight into innovation, the first in a five-part series with UNC Kenan-Flagler professors. Why is it important for an organization to master innovation? There are multiple reasons why it is important for organizations to master innovation. First of all, the world is becoming increasingly competitive. Fifty years back you only talked about competition from your local region. Today, you produce a product, you try to patent it, but within about six months somebody … some company in Read More
How leaders can succeed in an increasingly volatile, complex landscape
The below is an excerpt of a white paper by Kirk Lawrence, program director at UNC Executive Development. In The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman notes that the rate of change today is much different than in the past. “Whenever civilization has gone through one of these disruptive, dislocating technical revolutions—like Gutenberg’s introduction of the printing press—the whole world has changed in profound ways,” he writes. “But there is something different about the flattening of the world that is going to be qualitatively different from other such profound changes: the speed and breadth with which it is taking hold….This flattening process is happening at warp speed and directly or indirectly touching a lot more people on the planet at once. The Read More
Knowledge & Leadership: Alum launches burn center from business school plan
Scott Hultman (MD, FACS, MBA ’08) graduated from UNC Kenan-Flagler with a ready-to-implement business plan that served as the foundation for the new UNC Burn Reconstruction and Aesthetic Center. The center, which opened in the fall of 2012, has created a space for UNC Health Care to conduct cutting-edge burn reconstruction research and develop new burn scar treatments that are giving patients life-changing results. Hultman, who has been a practicing plastic surgeon at UNC for 13 years, said that there was a strong interest in creating an aesthetic surgery center at the university as early as 2001. However, an original marketing analysis for the project predicted a whopping $20-million price tag that neither the UNC School of Medicine nor UNC Read More
How to build talent faster and better than the competition
Listen to UNC Executive Development’s podcast interview of Jim Shanley or read the interview below. Shanley, partner of The Shanley Group and one of the most recognized global talent Management Practitioners, had a 20 year career with Bank of America where he led a team of over 1,500 professionals. Under Jim’s leadership, Bank of America earned a reputation as a benchmark company for their leadership development and talent management programs and processes. Many of Jim’s former teammates are now chief talent officers in large global companies. Patrick Cahill: Alright let’s jump into the first question here, Jim. How can companies build talent faster and better than the competition? Jim Shanley: Great! Thanks for having me. I have been looking forward Read More
How to influence others and sell your ideas
(Editor’s Note: In today’s post, UNC Kenan-Flagler professor Dave Roberts shares his insight on identifying influence in the workplace and pushing forward new ideas with those who matter.) Ditch the formal org chart and find the real influencers in your own company so that you can successfully sell your ideas If you have a great idea but you can’t persuade and influence the right people about its merits, your idea is very likely to languish. Knowing how to sell your ideas can help you persuade others at your company to implement initiatives that you create, or better guarantee a successful outcome with an external customer. You can take several concrete steps to improve your skills of persuasion and communicate in Read More
How to Quit Your “Have To Have” Job and Pursue Your Dream
One of the first steps to being an impactful leader is self-awareness of your strengths, vulnerabilities, and passions. From there, you are better equipped to lead yourself. Mark McNeilly, adjunct professor at UNC Kenan-Flagler and author of “George Washington & the Art of Business: Leadership Principles of America’s First Commander-in-Chief”, offers concrete steps you can take if your current job is not your dream job. It’s based on his personal experience moving from an executive position in a high-tech company into academia, writing and speaking. Have you dreamed of leaving your current job to do what you really want to do? If so, here are some concrete steps you can take to make your move. Make time for your passion. Read More
How to Close the Gaps in Leadership Development
“Simply put, successful organizations have strong leaders,” says Brigitta Theleman, director for UNC Kenan-Flagler’s OneMBA program. Organizations with strong leaders outperform other organizations in workforce retention, employee engagement, and organizational performance (including financial performance, customer satisfaction, service quality and productivity). Unfortunately, identifying the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) needed in strong leaders and creating corporate cultures that encourage the development of these is a challenge for which many organizations struggle; only about two-fifths of respondents to a recent American Management Association survey agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that their “leadership development program is highly effective.” The Knowledge, Skills and Abilities of Strong Leaders Strong leaders, according to various studies, possess the following KSAs: The ability to drive and Read More
Executive Coach Insight: Techniques to Influence Others
Active listening and speaking assertively are critical factors to influencing others, yet successful communication can be one of the most significant challenges leaders face. People judge others on how they communicate. Failure to communicate effectively can create significant obstacles for a leader despite other strengths they might possess, notes executive coach G. Peter Morris. Morris has worked with more than 2,000 executives during the past 19 years and has worked as an executive coach with UNC Kenan-Flagler students. He notes that many leaders mistakenly identify effective leadership as solely making things happen in organizations. “So often we think of influencing as what I can do to convince another person to do something,” he says. “But the secret is, to be Read More