Modern Global Leadership

The power of a simple “thank you”: New research from Darden Professor Ayana Younge shows how expressions of gratitude reap social and professional benefits — for the thanked, the thanker and those who witness a grateful exchange.

“Positive weird” needs to be another focus as we seek to understand how to create better organizations and communities that bring out the best in both marginal and dominant members.

Professor Dennie Kim lays out the key concepts that are shaping the future of the internet, from cryptocurrency to metaverses.

In these politically divided times, everyone seems to have an opinion. Is it a good idea for CEOs to express theirs? What happens to an organization when its CEO takes a public stance on a controversial issue? New research examines the net effect of CEO activism, how the effects differ for liberals and conservatives, and the effects’ duration.

In an examination of the role of character in leadership and decision-making, Darden Professor Jared Harris offers guidance on creating a personal vision, defining one’s values, preparing for the defining moments of a professional career, and how to actively pursue one’s best self.

Getting diversity, equity and inclusion right in any organization is a function of change, which is hard. Here Darden experts provide practical insights on leveraging deviance in ways that empower individuals, the benefits of unconscious-bias training, mentorship and sponsorship, and how to have constructive (if potentially tense) conversations.

Getting diversity and inclusion right in any organization is a function of change. It’s about overcoming barriers, getting people out of dominant paradigms about diversity, and empowering people to understand diversity and inclusion as part of the overall livelihood of their organizations. That means providing models and templates that get results.

Since the pandemic hit, there is more of an imperative than ever to build real organizational and personal resilience. The tools that prove most useful in doing so include purpose, engagement and leadership behaviors — like modeling interpersonal human relatedness and personal growth after adversity.

The argument in favor of diversity and inclusion is robust. The benefits are clear. As our populations change, diverse groups of talent are emerging, and they are emerging fast. However, corporations and businesses are still lagging hard behind the pace of this change. So what’s holding us back?

How do you spread your influence across an organization? How do you ensure that the right systems or processes are in place to hire the outstanding talent you need? And what if you’re not in the C-suite — what can you do to improve the structures, procedures or design mechanisms within your organization if you’re a midlevel leader?