Past studies have demonstrated the power of humor in strengthening relationships between leaders and followers. In the early stages of these relationships, the power position of leaders requires them be the ones to reach out to followers. Humor is an effective strategy for making these early connections. Humor positively impacts early-stage relationships in three ways. […]
Read More… from Leadership Humour Not Always Appreciated in Different Cultures
Meritocracy is an ideal that today’s organizations strive for. However, the practice of meritocracy doesn’t often live up to the aspiration. For example, studies continue to show that women and minorities are paid less than their white male counterparts. A study from MIT and Berkeley offers one explanation for why companies and organizations are not […]
Read More… from Divergent Views of Merit Complicate Merit-Based Corporate Practices
In 2008, a study led by Prof. Ashleigh Shelby Rosette of Duke showed that for Americans, Whiteness was one of the prototypical attributes of leaders. As a result, Whites, seen as more leaderly, were more likely to be promoted or recruited for leadership positions. In 2022, researchers replicated the 2008 research and found that attitudes […]
CEOs and corporate leaders come from diverse backgrounds, with a broad range of childhood experiences. While some CEOs were raised in affluent families, with all the privileges and opportunities that such an upbringing offers, other CEOs had difficult childhoods marked by poverty and challenging family situations. A team of researchers studying the impact of different […]
Read More… from Are Working Class CEOs Less Worried about Employee Welfare?
Companies recognize today that helping employees find meaning and purpose in their work will maximize employee satisfaction, motivation, engagement, and performance. The challenge for leaders is how to increase meaning at work. A team of researchers from five leading U.S. business schools (Virginia Darden, UNC Kenan-Flagler, Berkeley Haas, Chicago Booth, and Harvard) make the case […]
Empathy entails making the effort to understand others’ perspectives and emotions, and demonstrating that understanding through care and concern. In the workplace, leadership empathy is manifested through actions ranging from flexible work-at-home options to a concerted effort to create an inclusive environment for workers of all races, genders and sexual orientations. A study from Catalyst, […]
A new study of employee misconduct in the financial services field reveals that supervisors have the most significant impact—negative or positive—on employee misconduct in their firms. Based on 10 years of data from broker-dealer investment firms, the study by Zachary Kowaleski of University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, Andrew Sutherland of the MIT Sloan School […]
Read More… from Why Supervisors Are the Keys to Preventing Employee Misconduct
Craft was long seen as a primitive form of work organization rendered obsolete by the Industrial Age. However, the concept of craft is making an energetic resurgence, influencing the making of products, services and even decisions. A new paper from a team of researchers led by Jochem Kroezen of the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business […]
Read More… from Why Craft Is Relevant (and Needed) in Today’s Workplace
What is charisma? Much of past research focuses on the outcomes of charisma and often within the context of leaders in an organizational setting—e.g., charismatic leaders generate emotions that inspire others to follow them. However, leaders are not the only people in our lives who exhibit charisma, argues a team of researchers from the University […]
Read More… from Charisma beyond Leadership: Influence + Affability
Research on power in organizations often treats power as unidirectional—how subordinates deal with superiors or how superiors deal with subordinates. Two researchers challenge this static, unidirectional perspective with a new theory of power framework built on the concept of a continuum of a sense of power. In their interactions with others, individuals are not always […]
Read More… from The Unique Psychology of Being a Middle Manager
