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6 Ways to Improve Your Leadership Skills for Research

by Jamie Vernon | Jul 16, 2019

High school and undergraduate students: You are a leader of your own time, and need to take responsibility for completing the steps necessary to finish projects.

Graduate students: You are managing research projects, working in teams, sharing your results, and seeking research mentors. Some of you will teach and lead lesson plans for students.

Postdocs: You must take ownership of projects, establish collaborations, seek funding opportunities, and lead teams.

Professors and More Professional Career Paths: You are leading projects, teams, and labs; motivating and educating your team members; and communicating your research findings.

Picking one or two of the following leadership skills to develop will be a solid start in making you a more competitive and productive researcher.

Communication: One of the most important things I’ve learned about leadership is that communication is key. Leaders must be able to clearly articulate their goals and expectations to their teams and stakeholders, be open to feedback, recognize the team for successes, and reassure them in failure.

Check out: 7 Secrets for Effective Team Communication from Project Manager

Building relationships: Relationships are about building trust with others so that you have a network that you can use to give and receive support and knowledge. Strong relationships help you work better in teams and find opportunities such as jobs, funding, and mentorship. The biggest challenge for me in developing leadership skills was not having a mentor who had followed a similar career path to mine—exiting academia, taking a fellowship in government, and ultimately joining the nonprofit sector. Try to find a mentor who can help you.

Check out: Transitioning from a Technical Mindset to a Technical Leader Mindset , a two-part workshop at the Sigma Xi Annual Meeting

Strategic thinking: I don’t recall anyone offering training in strategic thinking when I was working in academia, but having a plan in place that defines goals; approaches that you will take to reach those goals; time-bound, measurable objectives that define the desired outcomes; and the tools that you will use to do it all ensures that your team knows your expectations and the plan to get where you need to go.

Check out: Strategic Planning in Research Organizations , from RSM McGladrey, Inc.

Project management: I was inspired to read articles about how to be a more effective project manager when I took a fellowship position in the federal government as a policy analyst. I realized how inefficiently I had managed my research projects the day that I learned about Gantt charts . I’ve also learned that delegation is a necessary part of good project management. To not delegate elicits frustration and self-doubt in team members with specialized skills. Thankfully, new tools abound for keeping our projects on track. I’m currently testing a digital platform called Basecamp . Other platforms are specifically designed for research projects. I recommend that all researchers acquire some formal project management training and I am planning to offer leadership training opportunities to Sigma Xi members.

Check out: 7 Habits of Highly Effective Project Managers from TeamGantt

Project Management for Research from Ohio State University

Project Management Online Training from Coursera

Time management: In academia, I had very little formal training on time management but it’s a critical skill to being efficient and effective in any workplace.

Check out: Time Management Strategies for Research Productivity , from the Western Journal of Nursing Research

Financial discipline: Knowing where to find funding, how to stay within restrictive budgets, and what is required for reporting will help you get the next budget approved.

Check out: Managing Your Lab Budget for Improved Efficiency , from Lab Manager

What helped you develop your leadership skills? Please share your resources, struggles, and successes in the comments below. Sincerely, Jamie L. Vernon, PhD Executive Director and CEO, Sigma Xi Publisher, American Scientist

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Leadership Strategies for the Researcher

Course focusing on best practices in leading and managing a team

For more information:

Course goals.

Understand the different factors that contribute to managing, leading, and maintaining a successful research team.
Understand the roles that each member of a team contributes to the overall success and advancement of a project.
Understand the overarching concepts that contribute to a researcher’s success within their career.
Understand how being an effective leader will contribute to future success.

Leadership Strategies for the Researcher helps prepare clinical and translational investigators as they face the challenges inherent in establishing a research program. This one-day, in-person course features both interactive and didactic sessions, with a focus on best practices in leading and managing a team, and navigating a career path in research.

Session topics include:

Developing a personal strategy
Negotiation
Communication styles and strategies
Developing and managing team members

Session dates

April 25, 2024 | 8:00am – 5:00pm

Time commitment

This is a one-day course that will take place in person at Harvard Medical School.

Emerging clinician-researchers and principal investigators interested in building their leadership and management skills.

We believe that the research community is strengthened by understanding how a number of factors including gender identity, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, culture, religion, national origin, language, disability, and age shape the environment in which we live and work, affect each of our personal identities, and impacts all areas of human health.

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MD and/or PhD involved in clinical research
Instructors or assistant professors currently leading research teams with established funding and direct reports
Priority will be given to individuals affiliated with Harvard schools and institutions

Free for Harvard-affiliated schools and institutions .

Accreditation Statement

The Harvard Catalyst Postgraduate Education program is accredited by the Massachusetts Medical Society to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Harvard Catalyst Postgraduate Education program’s policy requires full participation and the completion of all activity surveys to be eligible for CME credit; no partial credit is allowed.

The application form has closed. Please check back for future opportunities.

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Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior

Volume 9, 2022, review article, the science of leadership: a theoretical model and research agenda.

Andrew M. Carton 1
View Affiliations Hide Affiliations Affiliations: Management Department, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; email: [email protected]
Vol. 9:61-93 (Volume publication date January 2022) https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012420-091227
First published as a Review in Advance on November 10, 2021
Copyright © 2022 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved

I review the empirical literature on leadership, focusing on papers published since 2010. To do so, I introduce a framework composed of two features: whether theories ( a ) involve the study of leaders or leading (i.e., the person versus the process) and ( b ) conceptualize leadership as a cause or a consequence (i.e., an independent versus dependent variable). This framework can enable future research to accumulate in a more programmatic fashion and help scholars determine where their own studies are located within the landscape of leadership research. I end the review by critically evaluating existing work, arguing that the most popular subcategory of leadership research—lumped conceptualizations of leading, in which scholars examine multiple leader behaviors within a single construct—has significant limitations and may need to be replaced by a greater focus on split conceptualizations of leading, wherein scholars isolate single leader behaviors.

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Strategic Leadership: The Essential Skills

Paul J. H. Schoemaker,
Steve Krupp,
Samantha Howland

Reprint: R1301L

The more uncertain your environment, the greater the opportunity—if you have the leadership skills to capitalize on it. Research at the Wharton School and at the authors’ consulting firm, involving more than 20,000 executives to date, has identified six skills that, when mastered and used in concert, allow leaders to think strategically and navigate the unknown effectively. They are the abilities to anticipate, challenge, interpret, decide, align, and learn. This article describes the six skills in detail and includes a self-assessment that will enable you to identify the ones that most need your attention. The authors have found that strength in one skill cannot easily compensate for a deficit in another. An adaptive strategic leader has learned to apply all six at once.

The storied British banker and financier Nathan Rothschild noted that great fortunes are made when cannonballs fall in the harbor, not when violins play in the ballroom. Rothschild understood that the more unpredictable the environment, the greater the opportunity—if you have the leadership skills to capitalize on it. Through research at the Wharton School and at our consulting firm involving more than 20,000 executives to date, we have identified six skills that, when mastered and used in concert, allow leaders to think strategically and navigate the unknown effectively: the abilities to anticipate, challenge, interpret, decide, align, and learn. Each has received attention in the leadership literature, but usually in isolation and seldom in the special context of high stakes and deep uncertainty that can make or break both companies and careers. This article describes the six skills in detail. An adaptive strategic leader—someone who is both resolute and flexible, persistent in the face of setbacks but also able to react strategically to environmental shifts—has learned to apply all six at once.

PS Paul J. H. Schoemaker is the former research director of the Wharton School’s Mack Institute and a coauthor of Peripheral Vision (Harvard Business Review Press, 2006). He served as an adviser to the Good Judgment Project.
SK Steve Krupp is Senior Managing Partner at Decision Strategies International, Inc.
SH Samantha Howland , a senior managing partner at DSI, leads its Executive and Leadership Development Practice.

Article Contents

The difference between a good leader and a great leader, seven learned leadership skills.

< Previous

Follow the Leader: Developing Great Leadership Skills

Mr. Kurec is Clinical Associate Professor, Emeritus, SUNY Upstate Medical University .

Article contents
Figures & tables
Supplementary Data

Anthony Kurec, Follow the Leader: Developing Great Leadership Skills, Critical Values , Volume 9, Issue 4, October 2016, Pages 24–27, https://doi.org/10.1093/crival/vaw024

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Leadership. Scanning the Internet, one finds thousands of articles, blogs, books, and webinars on how to be a leader or, more importantly, how to be a better leader. While each person may define leadership differently, he or she will likely hold a number of concepts in common. Much of what is written is based on practical and logical tactics, yet for many, these fall short of implementation, and thus become a source of failure. Great leaders, however, apply these tactics in conjunction with other innate skills to provide appropriate guidance for themselves and those around them.

Early theories claimed that great leaders were born and not made. 1 This may have had some validity, especially when one considers that, prior to the twentieth century, most of the population was uneducated, poor, and/or of low social status. Only those born into royalty, high-ranking military clans, or rich families had the opportunity to take leadership roles. It was, in fact, expected for a son to follow in his father’s footsteps, thus often pushing him into assuming certain leadership responsibilities.

No doubt there are those who appear to have natural talent in leading others, but for most, it is a learned skill.

Experts take a formulaic approach by offering guidelines to achieving leadership proficiency ( Table 1 ), yet learning these skills alone does not necessarily make someone a great leader. Great leaders have demonstrated certain personal characteristics not learned from a textbook, but learned in childhood or otherwise instilled in them at an early age ( Table 2 ). 2 Some might argue that they were born with some of these characteristics.

Leadership Skills to Develop

Critical thinking	Networking	Problem solving	Coaching/mentoring	Delegation
Communication	Collaboration	Time management	Change management	Crisis management
Motivation	Negotiation	Technical competency	Facilitation techniques	Recruiting skills

Critical thinking	Networking	Problem solving	Coaching/mentoring	Delegation
Communication	Collaboration	Time management	Change management	Crisis management
Motivation	Negotiation	Technical competency	Facilitation techniques	Recruiting skills

Innate Leadership Skills

Honesty	Visionary	Inspiration	Creativity	Ethical	Courageous
Fair-mindedness	Kindness	Empathy	Energy	Thoughtfulness	Responsible
Loyalty	Self-control	Imagination	Commitment	Balanced	Grace

Honesty	Visionary	Inspiration	Creativity	Ethical	Courageous
Fair-mindedness	Kindness	Empathy	Energy	Thoughtfulness	Responsible
Loyalty	Self-control	Imagination	Commitment	Balanced	Grace

To some degree, we are all leaders. At one time or another, we have influenced others directly or indirectly. We lead by example when dealing with our families, children, friends, coworkers, and even strangers. Though one may not have a title that denotes him or her a leader, one does, through learned skills, innate characteristics, and experiences, influence others, hopefully in a positive way.

Good leaders demonstrate many learned leadership skills. Great leaders demonstrate both learned skills and innate characteristics that enable them to lead well.

Leading by Example

Great leaders must develop self-confidence and self-empowerment. To do so, he or she should perform a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis on him- or herself. This requires an honest, yet critical assessment of what learned skills must be improved and what innate characteristics he or she may or may not possess. Understanding which abilities one already has and which need improvement is the first step to self-empowerment. By empowering yourself, you become a catalyst, which allows you to empower others. This is leading by example.

Decision Making

Great leaders must be able to make reasonable and effective decisions with confidence and clarity. Indecisiveness and poor decision making leads to loss of credibility and lack of acceptance as a leader. While one may not possess the wisdom of Solomon, learning techniques for facilitation are useful in this process. 3

A clear understanding of the problem is key to decision making. Once the problem is apparent, goals may be set using the mnemonic SMART: identify Specific goals, ensure they are Measurable and Attainable, establish Accountability, and set an appropriate Timeline). 4 Various facilitation techniques can then be applied to create new ideas (eg, brainstorming), collect supporting data (eg, forcefield analysis), and collate them (eg, SWOT analysis) into a workable process. These facilitation techniques can be applied in many instances in the laboratory where critical decision making is required; addressing quality assurance concerns, implementing new technologies, building a new laboratory section, adding additional staff, and creating or expanding outpatient/outreach services.

Team Building

Great leaders must build a reliable team that can function with minimal direction and are willing to be held accountable for their actions. Building a functional team requires a diverse mix of skills, personalities, and demographics. As author and management expert Kenneth Blanchard said, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” A team that is essentially made up of clones of the team leader limits opportunities to develop new ideas and results in failure. 5

Strategic Planning

Great leaders must be good strategic planners. Without direction, they have little hope of growth and advancement, both personally and professionally. Leaders must be willing challenge the status quo, ask how and why, and be forward thinking. A leader with a strategic plan establishes the path and then ensures that it is followed. Great leaders also look for opportunities that may be the genesis of a strategic plan through creative, critical thinking. In the laboratory, these opportunities may come by way of involving coworkers, networking with other laboratory leaders, attending professional meetings, and staying abreast of current healthcare affairs.

Communication

Great leaders must cultivate excellent communication skills, both oral and writing. As much as 85 percent of a leader’s success is reflected in communication skills. 6 Poorly written documents show lack of effort or education. Similarly, a speaker whose presentation is unfocused, unorganized, and, worse, inaccurate, will exude a lack of leadership skills. Learning how to communicate well will instill trust and credibility, and create a successful work environment.

Professional Development

Great leaders never stop learning. To ignore continuing education opportunities results in stale ideas, outdated practices, and the loss of respect from those who follow you. The skills listed in Table 1 generally can be learned. Great leaders must be proficient in leadership, managerial, and technical skills, in addition to certain less didactic and more intrinsic leadership skills ( Table 2 ). These are the characteristics that people want to see in their leaders. 5

Key to this process is recognizing one’s own abilities and skills, as well as those that make a leader great, rather than good. To find an example of the kind of leadership qualities one wants to emulate, one should reflect on experiences in which another person’s intervention made a positive impact on his or her life. Learning from mentors, attending continuing education programs, and reviewing the current literature are ways to find examples of good leadership.

Coaching/Mentoring

Great leaders will find opportunities to coach and mentor others. Coaching helps others to solve problems for themselves, a tactic that is often situational, as it includes providing assistance in situations in real time. Mentoring, on the other hand, is more of a strategic partnership developed over time, during which the mentor offers advice in advancing one’s career or education to contribute to the individual’s professional growth. A coaching or mentoring relationship should not be limited to just the inexperienced, but should be part of everyone’s lifelong professional development.

Those who master these seven key areas are in a position to enhance their effectiveness as a leader both in and out of the laboratory. But to become a great leader requires certain basic characteristics; a lack of these would limit whether others assess him or her as competent. By recognizing which characteristics are lacking, one can work towards embracing his or her weaknesses and develop them into assets.

Becoming a great leader is an evolutionary process, not a revolutionary one. It is a lifetime process of learning certain skills and enhancing innate characteristics that define a great leader. Understanding and becoming the kind of leader you would want to follow is the goal.

Changing Minds . Leadership theories . http:/changing-minds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/leadership_theories.htm . Accessed June 2016 .

Kouzes JM Posner BZ . Credibility. How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It . John Wiley & Sons ; 2011 .

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Doran GT . There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives . Manage Rev 1981 ; 70 ( 11 ): 35 – 36 .

Tuckman BW . Developmental sequence in small groups . Psychol Bull 1965 ; 63 ( 6 ): 384 – 399 .

Tracy B . How the Best Leaders Lead, Proven Secrets to Getting the Most Out of Yourself and Others . Amacom Books ; 2010 .

Author notes

decision making
team building
strategic planning
professional development

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More From Forbes

The changing face of leadership: 10 new research findings all leaders need to understand.

now more than ever, they need to be able to identify and develop other digitally-savvy leaders.
Organizations with more women in leadership are 1.4 times more likely to have sustained, profitable growth.
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Part of the series “Today’s True Leadership”

Diversity and collaboration in leadership are needed today

One of the questions I hear frequently from emerging and current leaders is this: “How has leadership changed from 10 years ago and what do I need to understand about running a successful enterprise that I don’t know today?

A recent study attempts to address this question in a fuller way than ever before. Jointly published by DDI , The Conference Board , and EY , the Global Leadership Forecast 2018 is one of the most expansive leadership research projects ever conducted. Integrating data from more than 28,000 leaders and HR professionals at 2,488 organizations around the world, the report offers insight into the state of global leadership and provides evidence-based recommendations for organizations to change their people strategies to meet upcoming challenges.

Evan Sinar, Ph.D., Chief Scientist and Vice President at DDI, leads the company’s global research on leadership and people strategies, and shares with us below the key findings from this latest study. DDI is a global leadership company that helps organizations transform the way they hire, promote, and develop leaders at every level.

Here’s what Dr. Sinar shares on the key findings about leadership today:

Kathy Caprino: From this study, what are you seeing as the ways in which leadership overall has changed in the past 10 years?

Evan Sinar: The Global Leadership Forecast 2018 is the eighth edition of the study, which we’ve published every few years going back to 1999. As a general trend, we’ve seen a continued slippage in leadership bench strength (ready-now leaders who can step in to replace those who retire or move on) – in 2018, only 14% of companies have a strong bench, the lowest number we’ve ever seen. More specifically, we’ve seen digital transformation and the constant threat of disruption having a profound impact on leadership at every level.

While not every leader needs to be a technical expert, leaders do need to be able to understand the impact of digital tech on their business and more importantly, predict the impact of technology in the future. They also need to be highly adaptable, hyper-collaborative, and able to leverage data to make better decisions. And now more than ever, they need to be able to identify and develop other digitally-savvy leaders.

Caprino : What are the 10 most critical findings of this study?

Sinar: In brief, here were 10 of the most important data points that came out of the study:

#1: CEO concerns about talent

CEOs are incredibly worried about the leaders they’ll need to drive enterprise success. Only 14% of CEOs say they have the talent they need to execute their business strategies.

#2: Need for digital leadership skill

Digital leadership skills are becoming increasingly critical. Companies who have the most digitally-capable leaders financially outperform the average by 50%.

#3: Why gender diversity improves profitability

The value of gender diversity continues to be proven. Organizations with more women in leadership are 1.4 times more likely to have sustained, profitable growth.

#4: Develop leadership potential earlier

Organizations need to take a broader view of what it means to have “leadership potential,” and start developing leadership potential earlier in careers. Organizations that extend development of high-potential talent below senior levels are 4.2 times more likely to financially outperform those that don’t.

#5: Value Gen X more

Most companies are overlooking the value of Gen X . As the first generation to grow up with video games, they are nearly as digitally savvy as millennials, but also excel in more conventional leadership skills associated with Baby Boomers, such as building talent and driving execution.

#6: Tech leaders are failing

Four out of ten tech leaders are failing, which is the highest leadership failure rate of any industry. The high failure rate is likely due to the fact that the industry puts little effort into developing its leaders. In fact, 32 percent of tech leaders reported that they never meet with their manager to have performance discussions.

#7: Senior leaders need greater alignment

Leadership is being redefined as a team sport. As companies increasingly rely on teams, we found three areas where it’s critical for senior leaders to be aligned : energy and development passion, future-focused leader skills, and views on company culture. A lack of alignment in these three areas quickly derails a senior team.

#8: HR needs developed skill in “people analytics”

Using data to make decisions about people—known as “people analytics”—is becoming an incredibly important skill for HR. However, only 18% of organizations are managing to implement advanced people analytics.

#9: The 3 cultural shifts needed most

Organizations need to focus on three cultural factors to improve their leaders’ ability to respond to disruption :

Inform decisions through data and analytics
Integrate multiple and diverse perspectives to drive change
Embrace failure in pursuit of innovation

#10: Do-it-yourself leadership growth doesn’t cut it

Too many organizations are taking a “do it yourself” approach to leadership development , which usually begins and ends with giving leaders access to a generic self-study resources. But what leaders really want is a personalized experience and the opportunity to learn from internal and external mentors and their fellow-leaders.

Caprino: What finding was the biggest surprise and the most controversial (going against what many believe about leadership success today)?

Sinar: One of the most controversial subjects we studied is the impact of performance ratings . Many people dread the annual performance review discussion, which are often focused on ratings. We found that when performance ratings were eliminated, there was a small boost in effectiveness. However, eliminating performance ratings was tied to a sizeable increase in leader quality and bench strength, and also led to more gender diversity in leadership.

It’s somewhat surprising, because eliminating ratings seems to go against the wisdom of making data-driven decisions. But what’s important is not the ratings themselves, but the fact that many organizations replaced ratings with a conversation focused on future development and growth. So regardless of whether you eliminate ratings, leaders should be having more conversations about development.

Caprino: Tell us more about the findings regarding the impact of women in leadership?

Sinar: As we have found in the past, our research showed that having more women in leadership is linked to better financial performance. Organizations that fill at least 20% of senior leadership roles with women and have at least 30% women overall are 1.4 times more likely to experience sustained, profitable growth.

Furthermore, the data showed about why having more women leads to better profitability. It’s not because women necessarily have superior skills. Instead, the key is that the organizations have built inclusive cultures that enable everyone to thrive. Organizations with greater gender diversity reported higher levels of collaboration, higher quality leadership, greater agility, and more likely to experiment in pursuit of innovative approaches.

C aprino : What about the decline in reputation of HR and the changes needed within that field?

Sinar: The biggest reason HR’s reputation is worsening is that HR professionals are struggling to keep up with digital transformation. HR leaders lagged far behind leaders in every other functional area on skills that are key in a digital environment, such as using data to guide decisions and anticipating high-speed change.

Conversely, those HR professionals who are succeeding at applying analytics to their jobs are bringing a lot of value to their employers, and are 6.3 times more likely to report having new advancement opportunities.

The lesson is clear for HR: Gain digital and analytics skills now to boost your own career and be seen as a more strategic and valuable business partner in your organization.

Caprino: According to the study, the impact of mentorship on success for employees and leaders has been significant - what do we need to know about that?

Sinar: The most important lesson about mentoring is that it’s a mistake to leave mentoring to chance. Organizations that have a formal mentoring culture have 20% lower turnover, 46% higher leader quality, and can immediately fill 23% more roles immediately. Formal mentoring programs were also associated with greater financial success. They also enable organizations to capture significantly more of their vital knowledge before it gets lost as senior employees retire or leave the organization, a major and growing problem for many companies.

Despite the benefits, only about a third of organizations offer formal mentoring. In fact, six in 10 leaders say they’ve never had a mentor, and a third of senior leaders say they’ve never mentored anyone. The good news, however, is that mentoring is growing among Millennials, with nearly 50% saying they’ve had a mentor. Interestingly, Gen X seems to particularly crave mentorship from outside their organization, which they aren’t getting enough of.

Caprino: What is the impact of having a purpose-driven culture on the success of the organization?

Sinar: In today’s disruptive business environment, people need purpose to drive their work and focus more than ever. In fact, our partner organization EY found in a 2017 study that 96% of leaders said that purpose was important to their job satisfaction. In the Global Leadership Forecast 2018, we found that organizations that operated without a purpose-driven culture , or even a purpose statement, financially underperformed the average by 42%.

In organizations that at least have a purpose statement, twice as many leaders say they get meaning from work, and their energy levels are 60% higher. In truly purpose-driven cultures beyond simply having a statement, leaders weave purpose into the fabric of work.These companies financially outperform the market average by 42%, and a strong culture build on trust, loyalty, and a sense of working toward a common goal.

Caprino: What should every leader and emerging leader take away from this study that will help them succeed at a higher level?

Sinar: No matter what business function you work in, leaders today need to understand the impact of technology on their business. You don’t have to be a technical expert, but you do need to be able to predict both opportunities and potential negative effects of technology.

Part of being a great leader in the digital era also depends on developing other leaders. Success in today’s world depends on how leaders perform as a team. The unpredictable and rapidly changing business landscape means you need to have people with a variety of skillsets and mindsets who can quickly step in to show leadership in response to a variety of challenges. It’s become more important than ever that part of your job as a leader is to be a talent scout and a mentor who develops other leaders.

For more information, visit www.ddiworld.com/glf2018 .

To expand your leadership capability and career success, join Kathy Caprino’s Amazing Career Project online course , and tune into her Finding Brave podcast.

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6 Leadership Skills You Need for Business Success

Business professional using leadership skills during a team meeting

16 Sep 2021

Many believe great leaders are born, not made. Those who subscribe to this worldview feel that if you don’t exhibit strong leadership ability from a young age, there’s little chance you ever will. Yet, the truth is that great leaders are made.

Effective leaders invest time and energy, whether consciously or subconsciously, to develop key skills that empower them to mobilize others and make informed decisions. That’s good news because it means anyone can become a successful leader as long as they’re serious about developing their skills .

If you’d like to become a more effective leader in your organization or industry, here are the most important skills you should develop to reach that goal.

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What Are the Top Leadership Skills for Business?

1. emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is an individual’s ability to recognize and manage emotions in themselves and others. It’s typically broken into four areas:

Self-awareness: The ability to recognize your own strengths, weaknesses, and emotions.
Self-management: The ability to regulate your emotions, especially during periods of high stress.
Social awareness: The ability to recognize others’ emotions. This is also often referred to as the ability to exhibit empathy.
Relationship management: The ability to manage relationships with others through influencing, coaching, mentoring, and resolving conflict.

4 Core Competencies of Emotional Intelligence: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, and Relationship Management

2. Communication

A leader's communication abilities are critical to a team's success. To understand why, you need to think about the role leaders fill: They motivate others to follow them and work toward shared goals.

The ability to effectively communicate with others also affects the efficiency of the group and determines how tasks are accomplished. To ensure these tasks are done correctly, you must determine if you’re exhibiting the effective communication skills required to inform your team of your goals and plan to achieve them.

Communication is made up of several discrete skills. Some of the most important communication skills for leaders include:

Adaptability: The ability to adapt your communication style to different situations and audiences.
Active listening: The ability to remain engaged and attentive during conversation, paying attention to verbal and non-verbal forms of communication.
Transparency: The ability to communicate your company’s goals, opportunities, challenges, and strategy in an open and transparent way.
Clarity: The ability to simplify a message by providing the right level of detail for a given audience to motivate them to act.
Inquisitiveness: The ability to ask open-ended questions that spark thoughtful discussion.
Empathy: As mentioned above, the ability to recognize the emotions of those you communicate with and using that understanding to adjust your communication style.
Body language: Presenting open and comforting body language that builds rapport and makes others feel comfortable sharing opinions.

3. The Ability to Bring Out the Best Performance

An effective leader doesn’t simply tell others what to do or micromanage how tasks are completed. Instead, they empower employees to do what they were hired for. This not only improves team performance but frees up time to perform essential leadership tasks, which can greatly improve time management. All of these elements affect overall team performance—a clear indicator of whether you demonstrate effective leadership.

How you choose to empower your employees depends on several factors, including the type of work being done and the goals you’re working toward. There's a wide range of strategies you can use as a leader, including:

Building a culture of trust in your organization
Delivering honest feedback
Showing empathy
Fostering open communication
Being purpose-driven
Supporting growth opportunities

As a bonus, research has shown that organizations with highly empowered employees enjoy additional benefits, such as greater job satisfaction, which leads to lower levels of turnover and higher levels of engagement.

Leadership Principles | Unlock your leadership potential | Learn More

4. Self-Awareness

To capably lead your team, it’s important to continuously reflect on your leadership abilities. This enables you to recognize and control your emotions as you perform your duties, helping you remain effective during particularly stressful situations.

One way to do so is by leveraging the Reflective Leadership Model outlined by Harvard Business School Professor Nien-hê Hsieh in the online course Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . The framework consists of three objectives—awareness, judgment, and action—to facilitate continuous reflection on your leadership abilities and decision-making skills.

Self-awareness can also empower you to identify your leadership style .

What Are the Different Leadership Styles?

Approachability: A leadership style embodied by warmth and authenticity that builds deep connections with team members.
Credibility: A leadership style embodied by humility, competence, and resolve, in which the team views the leader as deserving of their trust and commitment.
Aspiration: A leadership style embodied by a clear vision and high expectations, which motivates team members to perform to their fullest potential.

Once you understand the leadership style you default to, you can leverage its strengths while avoiding its potential pitfalls. You can also be positioned to develop a unique leadership style .

As with several of the other skills in this list, your ability to be self-aware ties back to emotional intelligence.

5. Resilience

In business, things rarely go exactly as intended. No matter how well you account for known risks in your business strategy or product launch, there will always be variables that can throw a wrench in your plans. As a leader, you must remain flexible and resilient under pressure and possess critical problem-solving skills that will help you adjust to changing scenarios and guide your team to new courses of action.

There are many ways to build resilience in your leadership style . Some effective strategies include:

Reflecting on a situation and assessing options before acting
Striving to continuously learn and improve yourself and your team
Remaining purpose-driven at all times, even during stressful situations
Cultivating strong relationships with friends, colleagues, and mentors you can leverage during times of crisis

Related: Leadership Under Pressure: 3 Strategies for Keeping Calm During a Crisis

6. Financial Literacy

Finally, it’s important to recognize that much of a leader’s time is dedicated to business strategy: selecting organizational goals and striving to reach them. By necessity, these goals will largely be tied to questions of financial performance: profitability, cash flow, and other key metrics. With this in mind, all business leaders should maintain financial literacy.

In addition to basic financial literacy, financial skills all leaders need include:

Financial statement analysis , which encompasses balance sheets , income statements , and cash flow statements .
Ratio analysis, which allows for a more meaningful understanding of a company’s performance.
Cash flow management, which is crucial to keeping a business running and growing at a consistent rate.
Forecasting, which refers to the ability to predict future sales, cash flows, and profits.

While financial literacy can benefit all professionals, it’s crucial for anyone currently in, or aspiring to fill, a leadership position.

Who Needs Leadership Skills?

Virtually everyone—regardless of their professional role—can benefit from developing effective leadership skills.

Populations likely to benefit most include:

Early and mid-career professionals: Developing leadership skills early in your career can allow you to demonstrate leadership potential and be positioned for a promotion into a more senior role.
Newly appointed leaders: If you’ve primarily worked as an independent contributor but now find yourself in leadership roles, developing your skills can enable you to perform your duties more effectively.
New or aspiring entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurs are, by default, the leaders of their venture. Your startup’s success requires you to get as much value as possible from your team to free yourself up for critical strategic work.

Which HBS Online Leadership and Management Course is Right for You? | Download Your Free Flowchart

How to Improve Your Leadership Skills

The first step to becoming a better leader is to understand your current strengths and weaknesses. With this in mind, it can be helpful to start by conducting a leadership self-assessment . In addition to recognizing areas where you need to improve, it can help you practice self-awareness and emotional intelligence.

Once you have a firm sense of where you’re beginning, choose goals to work toward. Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely—otherwise known as SMART goals. Armed with these goals, you can look for the right strategy to develop your skills.

While some can improve their leadership skills by reading books, researching, and putting lessons into practice on their own, others require a more structured learning approach. If the latter sounds like you, an online course or workshop can be an effective means of bolstering your leadership skills while having the flexibility to work and live your life.

Leadership Principles is an online course designed to help you build strong leadership skills. The course begins with a two-week self-assessment and peer review period that offers insight into your leadership style, strengths, and weaknesses. You then immerse yourself in four weeks of coursework, which provides an actionable framework you can use to become a more effective leader.

Do you want to enhance your leadership skills? Explore Leadership Principles and our other online leadership and management courses to discover how you can become a more effective leader and unleash the potential in yourself and others. To find the right HBS Online leadership and management course for you, download our free flowchart .

This post was updated on August 7, 2023. It was originally published on September 16, 2021.

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Front Psychol

Improved Leadership Skills and Aptitudes in an Excellence EMBA Program: Creating Synergies With Dialogic Leadership to Achieve Social Impact

José antonio campos.

1 Department of Marketing, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain

Adriana Aubert

2 Department of Sociology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

Mar Joanpere

3 Department of Business Management, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain

Associated Data

All datasets generated for this study are included in the article/supplementary material.

Psychological research on leadership has demonstrated that it achieves social impact, particularly in the improvement of working environments and organizational performance. The understanding of the organizational context of leader behavior and its different components is crucial to analyzing the impact of leadership in organizations. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the transformation and change of leadership skills and aptitudes before and after the implementation of an excellence EMBA program, particularly in relation to two components of the organizational context: (1) goals and purposes, and (2) people and groups. Data were collected from open-ended questionnaires completed by alumni and current participants in an Executive MBA program (EMBA) and enrolled in leadership courses. The emerging issues identified in the responses include themes linked to dialogic leadership and show that participants improve their leadership skills and aptitudes, advancing toward effective leadership and potential social impact in their organizations. The article concludes with a discussion identifying synergies with current developments of psychological research in leadership and the social impact of science.

Introduction

Since the beginning of the 20th century, psychological research on leadership has contributed to generating improvements in business organizations that positively influence their performance and working environments, thus achieving social impact. Some of the most relevant scientific contributions analyze the effects of leadership on the improvement of interpersonal skills and the ability to reach personal and organizational objectives. In higher education studies, the research includes how to provide students with the necessary psychological competencies, skills, and abilities required to deal with a constantly evolving business climate ( Thompson et al., 2019 ). Thus, a growing number of studies are focusing on the competencies required to generate an impact on business organizations, such as self-efficacy, leadership, and locus of control. In fact, leadership plays a key role in these studies in terms of the actions developed through leadership, their reception among organizational groups, and the impact generated on business organizations ( Mumford et al., 2007 ; Thompson et al., 2019 ).

Among the contributions to classic psychological studies linked to leadership, Lewin et al. (1939) analyzed groups of children who experienced three leadership styles, demonstrating the effect of each one on the groups’ atmosphere and productivity. The initial psychological studies on the different types of leadership produced innovative contributions in the business context, showing how scientific research can generate social and economic improvements in business organizations. Moving forward to 2007, a special issue of “American Psychologist” introduced the latest theories and cutting-edge research on leadership, providing information that may motivate researchers to advance in leadership studies using a psychological perspective ( Sternberg, 2007 ). The underlying questions in the special issue included aspects linked to the conditions in which leadership matters, the personal attributes of leaders that interact with situational properties to shape outcomes, and the reformulation of leadership models to treat all system members as both leaders and followers ( Hackman and Wageman, 2007 ). The contribution by Bennis (2007) links leadership to the improvement of society and major world challenges. Furthermore, Avolio and Walumbwa (2006) advanced the knowledge related to building an integrative proposal of the developments and impact of psychological research to better understand leadership, paying special attention to cognitive elements and to the relationship between individual-follower behavior, among others. In this line, recent studies ( Alase, 2017 ; Cai et al., 2018 ) analyze the inclusion of creativity into leadership. According to these contributions, the achievement of impact by leadership is related to motivating workers to develop objectives, enhance their perseverance, and generate different spaces to solve the same problem. Similarly, Chen (2007) suggests that teams are a key resource of new companies when these realize the potential for growth of the team’s creative ability and that business leaders can inspire employes to work together.

Toward a Social Impact for Leadership and Psychological Research

Psychological research raises concerns about the well-being of citizens, including in the workplace, and how to develop research that has an impact on society. As in other disciplines, the impact of psychological research can occur in real or potential terms. Real impact implies that the research results have led to current improvements for society, whereas potential impact indicates some evidence of the effectiveness of research but that the results are not yet transferred ( Pulido et al., 2018 ). Taking this into consideration, advancements in the field of leadership and psychology that address the decent work and economic growth of Goal 8 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals ( United Nations, 2019 ) can contribute to real or potential impacts. Several authors and contributions have followed these approaches. House (2008) published a study focused on a historical analysis of social psychology, social sciences, and economics stating that economic power has grown exponentially during the last century thanks to the contributions of social sciences and psychology. Such developments are related to the promotion of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for all as assessed in the “Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019” ( United Nations, 2019 ). Psychological research on leadership in organizations has had a relevant impact on management and economics studies. The 6th International Conference on Management, Leadership, and Governance ( Riviere, 2018 ) focused on leadership knowledge in the context of three research dimensions: psychology, business economics, and project management. Some contributions highlighted the role of psychological training on leadership to achieve a social impact, particularly an economic impact. The impact of psychological research includes an improvement in the competencies and skills of undergraduate and MBA students, which also supports the advancement of international objectives focused on improving the economy and decent work.

Approaching Leadership and Dialogic Leadership

Various fields of research have approached the study of leadership. On the one hand, studies in the fields of organizational behavior and industrial psychology focus on the negative features of leadership, such as abusive behaviors, toxic relationships, and bullying tactics ( Harris and Jones, 2018 ). On the other hand, in the field of psychology, Vroom and Jago (2007) proposed that leadership is “a process of motivating people to work together collaboratively to accomplish great things” (p. 18). Chatman and Kennedy (2010) pointed out the need to study the theoretical approaches from psychology that allow leaders to develop skills and interact with small groups and large corporations. In this way, psychological studies in the field of business leadership can help inspire members of organizations to achieve organizational goals. According to Mumford et al. (2007) , there is a need for in-depth psychological analysis to understand how leaders are able to influence others.

The conceptualization of diverse types of leadership has increased in recent years. Jardon and Martínez-Cobas (2019) developed a study based on the primary contributions of different types of leadership, such as ethical leadership, authentic leadership, spiritual leadership, and transformational leadership. Other authors ( Bryant, 2003 ) relate the latter with transactional leadership, while Hitt and Duane (2002) study strategic leadership. Padrós and Flecha (2014) developed the conceptualization of dialogic leadership, defined as the process of creation, development, and consolidation of the leadership practices of diverse community members. The authors believe that one cannot reduce leadership to attributing a role to a person and not to the rest; rather, it has a human dimension. Leaders, in their dialogic responsibility, discover the required mechanisms for working together to support and promote actions that enhance changes in the organization and beyond. The conceptualization of dialogic leadership relates to entrepreneurial leadership, understood as a mechanism aimed at taking advantage of the creative potential of workers, supporting trust-building in the creative processes of organizations ( Cai et al., 2018 ).

Creativity and Heterogeneity: Toward Effective Leadership

In business, leaders drive or influence workers as role models ( Más-Machuca, 2014 ; Renko, 2017 ). Some studies indicate the need for leadership to motivate workers with support and perseverance, facilitating the emergence of creative proposals from workers on their own ( Gupta et al., 2004 ; Chen, 2007 ). In this sense, Cai et al. (2018) explain that entrepreneurial leaders should motivate team members to support benefits for both the team and its members. Furthermore, the authors state that the daily management of the company generates a specific type of leadership aimed at driving people toward creativity and new opportunities. On the basis of common objectives and a shared vision of the organization, the achievements of a group will generate a specific type of leadership. In this sense, leadership with a strong influence on business and able to thrive and work in a creative and innovative way supports successful business ( Gupta et al., 2004 ).

Several studies approach the analysis of heterogeneity as comprising dimensions influencing effectiveness in organizations. Workforce diversity–defined as similarities and differences among employes in terms of age, cultural background, physical abilities and disabilities, race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation–is a key to improving productivity ( Saxena, 2014 ) and makes the workforce heterogeneous. It is accompany the development of population mobility, fierce competition, and the expansion of the global market ( Jackson et al., 2003 ). Scholars are trying to prove the relationship between heterogeneity and team performance through research. Hoch (2014) , in examining diversity, sharing leadership, and information sharing, emphasized diversity as one of the conditions that influence the relationship between shared leadership and performance. In a similar vein, Kearney and Gebert (2009) highlighted the importance of transformational leadership, that is, when levels of transformational leadership are high, nationality and educational diversity are positively related to team leaders’ longitudinal ratings of team performance. Saxena (2014) emphasized the role of proper management, affirming that hiring a diversified workforce will definitely lead to improved productivity.

Leadership Components of the Organizational Context

The scientific literature in the field of psychology includes analyses of very diverse components of leadership development in organizational contexts. Several studies have arrived at a possible agreement on the most relevant ones. According to Porter and McLaughlin (2006) , the most relevant components identified in a review of leadership from 1990 to 2005 were culture/climate, goals/purposes, people/composition, processes, status/condition, structure, and time. Given that this study focuses on the leadership components of goals/purposes and people/composition, a more detailed description is provided.

Several scientific contributions introduce the relevant organizational context for the creation of leadership in relation to organizational goals and purposes. For instance, in the nursing field, a recent study identifies the essential components of nursing leadership as envisioning goals on the basis of what occurs in a specific context. In this respect, according to Miles and Scott (2019) , “the context includes the follower’s commitment to leaders, socio-cultural realities, gender bias, situational realities, as well as the social, legal and political environment” (p. 9). A similar approach in tourism research notes that when leaders use empowering behaviors such as enhancing meaningful work or fostering autonomy, they develop supportive organizational structures that empower employes in a way that creates positive attitudes and promotes organizational goals ( Amor et al., 2019 ).

The people/composition component is based on individual potential and its impact on leadership or performance ( Porter and McLaughlin, 2006 ) and appears in the scientific literature in diverse forms. Miles and Scott (2019) studied the leadership curriculum framework to select skills capable of demonstrating a positive influence on others, identifying appropriate and inappropriate leadership and management behaviors, attitudes, and styles, or assessing personal strengths and weaknesses related to management and leadership in nursing, among other professions. The proposed skills show the relationship between individual and collective factors, which determines the group’s interactions and the possibilities of developing the proposed goals. In a similar vein, other studies ( Salas-Vallina et al., 2018 ) advocate for leadership that enhances aspects such as happiness and well-being at work, focusing on interactions and reciprocal links.

The Present Study and the Context of the EMBA

The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the transformation of and changes in leadership skills and aptitudes before and after the implementation of an excellence EMBA program, specifically in relation to two components of the organizational context: (1) goals and purposes and (2) people and groups. The EMBA program at the core of this study is an advanced interdisciplinary course for senior managers who must hold responsible positions in companies. The primary purpose of the program is to improve the knowledge and abilities of the participants, making them directly confront professional challenges. The content of the EMBA program includes analyzing the influence of external factors on company performance, cultivating one’s leadership and decision-making capacity, exchanging rich experience among different managers in various industries, and supporting participants to create an interpersonal connection.

The program is divided into three horizons to respond to globalization challenges, leadership, and the integration of the various elements comprising a company. The first horizon pursues the idea that company executives must continue to understand the changing trends of the business environment and control the latest business operations rules. The second horizon is 21st-century company strategic thinking, as the traditional view based on pre-established patterns is no longer sufficient to respond to changes in business trends. The third horizon is a strategic vision centered on decision-makers. Training executives show them how to use leadership, motivation, and negotiation to guide others to follow their thinking. This particular horizon highlights research into personality, including how to solve difficulties through behavioral analysis and communication skills.

Developmental psychological research in leadership includes topics such as building individual capacities to lead change, improving a shared vision among people, and heterogeneity in working groups, among others. However, less is known about the development of these topics in excellence EMBA programs addressed to leaders in business organizations. This article focuses on the organizational components of goals/purposes and people/composition to analyze to what extent their development has an impact on the leadership skills and aptitudes of participants.

Materials and Methods

Study design.

We conducted this study using open-ended questionnaires filled out by alumni and current participants of an EMBA at the University of Deusto (Bilbao, Spain) whose syllabus offers several leadership courses. The open-ended questionnaire was sent via an email providing a link to obtain qualitative data on interpretations of, reflections on, and self-evaluation of the improvements resulting from the EMBA in the development of leadership skills and attitudes. This approach considers that the improvement in leadership skills and aptitudes may have a potential social impact on organizations.

Participants

The EMBA involving the participants in this study targets professionals in managerial positions (such as commercial directors, technical and financial managers, etc.) in specific areas of business organizations, the idea being that they can assume new challenges and make the leap to top management. Participants in the EMBA come from different industries and sectors, resulting in a heterogeneous group. Including the 2018–2019 academic course, there have been ten offerings of the EMBA, producing approximately 250 alumni, and another is underway. All alumni and current participants were given information about the study and invited to participate.

The open-ended questionnaire was completed by 28 alumni and seven current participants in the EMBA. Of the 28 alumni, 69% were male and 31% female. Their ages ranged from 34 to 59 years old. Among them, six alumni were 44 years old, accounting for 21.43% of all alumni, followed by those 34 years old, accounting for 10.71% of past respondents. Five alumni were 35, 36, 38, 41, and 49, accounting for 7.14%. The number of 2019 graduates was the highest, five, accounting for 5% of all alumni, followed by students who graduated in 2013, 2015, and 2018, with four alumni of each year participating in the open-ended questionnaire in this study ( Table 1 ).

EMBA Alumni profiles (Alumni = A).

Questionnaire number	Age	Gender	Bachelor’s degree	EMBA graduation year	Responsibility in the company	Main activity of the company
A1	44	Female	BMA	1999	Senior manager/director	Strategic consulting
A2	47	Man	Business and marketing	2010–2011	Corporate and operations director	Insurance
A3	42	Man	Industrial organization engineering	2011	Manufacturing directorate	Operations
A4	36	Man	Industrial engineering	2011	Directorate general	Cold-stamping metals
A5	49	Man	Sociology; law	2013	Incubator manager	Education
A6	48	Female	Engineering	2013	Functional direction	Building
A7	38	Man	Telecommunications engineering	2013	Department manager	Railway signaling
A8	41	Man	Chemical sciences	2013	Direction	Transport paint marketer
A9	36	Man	Industrial electronics and automatic engineering	2014	General address	Manufacture and design of electronic boards
A10	41	Female	Engineering	2014	Functional address	Building
A11	50	Man	Engineering	2015	Managing director	Industrial
A12	44	Man	Engineering	2015	Head of area in project management	Rail transport systems
A13	44	Female	Doctor of informatics	2015	Entrepreneur and intermediate management	Telemedicine
A14	37	Female	Bachelor’s degree	2015	Freelance/entrepreneur	Business consulting
A15	59	Female	Telecommunication engineering	2016	General-partner address	Consultancy
A16	43	Man	Tourism	2016	CEO subsidiary United States	Data analytics
A17	39	Man	Telecommunications engineering	2017	Middle management	New business development (security + Big data)
A18	35	Female	Humanities: communication	2017	Middle management	Sanitary
A19	34	Female	Telecommunications engineering	2018	Middle management	Industrial equipment electrical sector
A20	44	Man	Law	2018	Directorate general	Public administration
A21	44	Female	Electronics engineering	2018	Department director	Train manufacturing
A22	38	Man	Engineering	2018	Partner	Consultancy
A23	35	Man	Industrial engineering	2019	Project manager	Manufacture of flexible packaging for all types of markets
A24	40	Man	Industrial engineering	2019	Department address	Rail services
A25	34	Man	Computer engineering	2019	Business unit director	Engineering
A26	49	Man	Industrial engineer	2019	Directorate general	Cold-rolled steel
A27	34	Man	Engineering	2019	Systems technician	Railway industry
A28	44	Man	Postgraduate	2019	Intermediate business	Banking

In the case of current EMBA participants, seven males were involved in this study, two of whom were 31 years old, two were 35, one was 36, one was 38, and one was 44. Overall, current EMBA participants range in age from 31 to 44 ( Table 2 ).

Profiles of participants currently involved in the EMBA (current participants = CP).

Questionnaire number	Age	Gender	Bachelor’s degree	Responsibility in the company	Main activity of the company
CP1	35	Man	Ph.D.	Directorate general	Biosanitary
CP1	31	Man	Industrial engineering	Functional direction	Automotive
CP3	31	Man	Industrial engineering	Functional direction	Development and production of consumer electronics
CP4	35	Man	Industrial engineering	Engineering coordination and project management	Turnkey energy projects
CP5	36	Man	Science and food technology	General address	Production, distribution, marketing, and sale of bakery products and pastry
CP6	44	Man	Industrial engineering	Head of engineering and general services	Management of investments, energy, works, large projects, and warehouses; member of the steering committee
CP7	38	Man	Bachelor’s degree	Intermediate control	Industrial

Design of the Open-Ended Questionnaire

The design of the core sections of the open-ended questionnaire follows three stages: a literature review to identify relevant components, the definition of synergies with leadership components of the EMBA, and the incorporation of the dialogic dimension of leadership.

First, we reviewed which potential leadership components to include in the questionnaire according to the literature review. The selection was based on literature linked to leadership and psychology that is relevant in the organizational context of leadership behavior. According to Porter and McLaughlin (2006) , there is no universally agreed-upon set of components or other types of behavior occurring within an organizational setting, but there is a fair degree of consensus about seven components: culture/climate, goals/purposes, people/composition, processes, status/condition, structure, and time.

Second, we defined the synergies between the components identified in stage one and the leadership contents of the EMBA courses “Organizational Behavior” and “High-performing teams.” “Organizational Behavior” provides knowledge of the fundamental aspects involved in leading people in organizations, including understanding human behavior and motivation in the workplace, self-leadership, obtaining trust and commitment, establishing authority, developing talent via coaching skills, and creating a sense of mission and purpose. We identified the components of goals/purposes and people/composition as being the most suited to this approach. The “High-performing teams” course involves analyzing the characteristics of successful leaders, situational leadership, and the most important aspects of the results that a leader must have. Here we also identified goals/purposes and people/composition as being the most suitable for the questionnaire.

Third, we included the dialogic dimension in the open-ended questions, considering, in particular, the components of goals/purposes and people/composition identified in stage one and the contents of the EMBA courses highlighted in stage two. In this way, we specifically focused on the skills and aptitudes required to facilitate leading a diverse group and to promote a shared vision that leads to improving organizations, an approach that puts people at the center of changes.

As a result of these stages, we defined two core sections in the open-ended questionnaire: the leadership, objectives, and mission of the organization and people-oriented leadership ( Tables 3 , ,4). 4 ). Furthermore, we incorporated two other sections: individual data and a section introducing the major issues of the EMBA.

Open-ended questionnaire of the core section: leadership, objectives, and mission of the organization.

For alumni		For current students
1.	Lead people and/or teams in your organization; have you reverted to generating and consolidating a shared vision of what the organization is and what its purpose is? Why?	1.	Lead people and/or teams in your organization; do you invest in generating and consolidating a shared vision of what the organization is and what its purpose is? Why?
2.	Do you think that creating a sense of mission and purpose in your organization comes down to the effectiveness of groups and people? Why?	2.	Do you think that creating a sense of mission and purpose in your organization comes down to the effectiveness of groups and people? Why?
3.	What knowledge of leadership do you consider most useful in consolidating the objectives of the organization in working groups?	3.	What knowledge of leadership do you think can be more useful in consolidating the objectives of the organization in working groups?
4.	After taking your master’s degree, have you changed your perception of how people in your organization understand its objectives? In what sense?

Open-ended questionnaire of the core section: people-oriented leadership.

For alumni		For current participants
(1)	What improvements do you identify from what you learned in the EMBA in relation to the development of successful leadership?	(1)	Are you able to identify weaknesses and strengths in members of your team? In what sense and/or aspects?
(2)	Are you now more able to identify weaknesses and strengths in members of your team? In what sense and/or in what aspects?	(2)	To what extent do you think the heterogeneity of individuals favors greater effectiveness in the performance of your work?
(3)	To what extent do you think the heterogeneity of individuals favors greater effectiveness in the performance of your work?	(3)	Do you think that the context can be improved so that different people in your organization can develop leadership? Why?
(4)	Do you think that, after taking your master’s degree, you have been able to improve the context for various individuals in your organization to develop leadership? Why?

Contents of the Open-Ended Questionnaires

We formulated two questionnaires with four sections each. One open-ended questionnaire was addressed to current participants of the EMBA and another to the alumni that had finished their EMBA. The underlying sections and questions were coherent between the two questionnaires.

Open-ended questionnaire for current participants. The first section of the questionnaire collects personal data on the participant, including their age, gender, grade degree, responsibility in the organization, and principal activity. The purpose of the second section is to identify the participants’ background of leadership prior to the EMBA, addressing whether they had leadership training and what their existing knowledge of leadership roles was. The third section identifies the participants’ perspectives on leadership and the objectives and mission of the organization: investment in a shared vision, the relationship between effectiveness and creating a sense of mission and purpose, and the consolidation of organizational goals. Finally, the objective of the fourth section is to determine participants’ perceptions of people-oriented leadership by asking them to identifying team members’ weaknesses and strengths, their views of the relationship between the degree of membership heterogeneity and job performance, and their views of the effect of improving the context in developing people’s leadership skills.

Open-ended questionnaire for alumni. The first section includes personal information and adds a question about “Graduation Year.” The second section adds a question about the EMBA’s assessment of leadership knowledge. The goal of the third section is to understand participants’ perceptions of leadership and the objectives and mission of the organization and identifies changes in their perceptions of how people in the organization understand its objectives after completing the EMBA. The fourth section asks for participants’ views on people-oriented leadership. In addition, it includes a question about the improvement in participants’ people-oriented leadership capabilities after completing the EMBA.

Data Collection

The EMBA-DBS Director emailed the current participants and alumni with an invitation to complete the open-ended questionnaire via a link with the questions. The responses were automatically collected and shared with the research team in order to identify themes and subthemes appearing in the core sections.

Data Analysis

The analysis involved identifying preliminary categories across responses, with particular attention to the core sections, 2 and 3. The preliminary categories were refined with a second and third round to review all responses, implicating different team members and linking categories and subcategories until the final list of themes was agreed upon. The names of the categories and subcategories were defined according to their presence and relevance in the responses.

All categories and subcategories were established inductively after a thorough reading of all responses from alumni and current participants. The categories of the current participants are heterogeneity in teams, dialogue and communication, goals and consensus, and group membership. The categories and subcategories of alumni are heterogeneity in teams (with a subcategory of cohesion), dialogue and communication (with subcategories of self-leadership, ability to listen and empathy), leadership of different profiles, confidence (with subcategories of efficiency), and goals (with subcategories of transmission capacity and identification with the group) ( Table 5 ).

Comparative categories and subcategories and illustrative quotes for current participants and alumni.

Alumni		Illustrative quotes
Categories	Subcategories
Heterogeneity in teams		To a large extent, heterogeneity is the mother of big teams. The combined talent of the team is greater than the sum of talents. However, alone, it is not worth it.
	Cohesion	I have understood that each individual is different and that we have different needs. The way we talk and address each other should vary if we want these messages to reach a deeper level. It is not the ability we have to attract people but the ability we have to adapt to them.
Dialogue and communication		Increasing communication to realize that different types of people have different needs has led me to generate environments where new voices, ideas, and concepts arise.
	Self-leadership, ability to listen, and empathy	Among other things, I have adopted the ability to understand different types of profiles, and this has helped me to understand their personal goals reflected in their daily actions within the organization.
Leadership of different profiles, confidence		Yes, one must first gain the ability to detect people who wish to develop leadership, and who are aligned with the leader profile required by the rest of the team and the company itself, in order to allow them to lead projects and teams of people, which in turn allows them to demonstrate their strengths as leaders.
	Efficiency	People are more effective and efficient when they have a purpose.
Goals		Yes. When people participate in defining the values and strategy of the company (it is not something exclusive to management), we manage to create a climate of confidence and a shared project.
	Transmission and identification with the group	The alignment of one’s personal purpose with that of the company is fundamental. That is why a shared vision is very relevant to making team leadership successful.



Heterogeneity in teams		A heterogeneous group is richer in ideas and allows each person to be located where the best performance is obtained.
Dialogue and communication		Communicate in order to transmit the objectives in the best possible way and thus “convince” your team.
Goals and consensus		When an objective is based on consensus, it is more likely to succeed. Having a clear company mission and transmitting it properly to the entire organization aligns the objectives of its members and motivates them to work together, thus greatly increasing the chances of success.
Group membership		The leader must transmit passion and enthusiasm, spreading them to everyone within the organization, and exhibit an empathy that makes workers identify with the project.

Although alumni participants are present in some subcategories, the responses to the open-ended questionnaires are analyzed and divided into five main categories: heterogeneity in teams, dialogue and communication, goals and consensus, role of leadership and different profiles, and confidence in following.

Heterogeneity in Teams

Responses by current participants indicate that they believe that heterogeneity makes teams more competitive and richer in ideas, as illustrated in the following quotation: “A homogeneous group may be easy to lead, but I think it is not valid for competitiveness. A heterogeneous group is richer in ideas and allows each person to be located in the area where the best performance is obtained.”

Meanwhile, the responses by alumni participants are more numerous. They highlight the role of heterogeneity in identifying possible challenges and enriching decision-making, the wealth generated by heterogeneity, and aspects that should be accompanied by heterogeneity, such as a common purpose and a high degree of confidence:

“To a large degree, heterogeneity is the mother of big teams. The combined talent of the team is greater than the sum of its talents. But alone, it is not worth it. It must be accompanied by a common purpose and a high degree of confidence among its members.”

Heterogeneity has been directly linked with success, not only in terms of economic success but also in relation to the wealth and enrichment of decision-making processes within the company. A well-applied diversity strategy enables the creation of well-balanced teams, which is in fact connected to efficiency. One of the participants highlighted this diversity as follows: “Success lies in diversity, since it helps one understand and address the possible challenges that exist from different angles, and that always enriches decision-making and even execution.”

“Diversity brings a lot of wealth, not only in technical capabilities but in everything else. And you have to take into account the characteristics of each one when creating the equipment.”

Dialogue and Communication

Current participants believe that communication is crucial in order to “transmit the objectives in the best possible way and thus ‘convince’ your team.” Compared with current participants, alumni participants believe that after their EMBA, they have changed their perceptions of how people understand the objectives in an organization in the sense of “objectives and missions.” In this regard, one of the participants said, “by increasing communication, by realizing that different types of people have different needs, this has led me to generate environments where new voices, ideas, and concepts come up.”

Some participants link the importance of communication to the ability of leaders to listen and empathize. To transmit objectives within a company, it is necessary to demonstrate this empathy with all members. If you can handle the great diversity of members and manage their abilities, your work may have a greater impact. This is illustrated by one participant as follows:

“I have adopted the ability to understand the different types of profiles, and it has helped me to understand their personal goals reflected in their daily actions within the organization. This has allowed me, through team management learned in the Master’s, to build their strengths and focus them as far as possible in order to align these needs and personal preferences within the organization, thus maximizing their efficiency and motivation.”

The Role of Leadership in Relation to Different Profiles and Confidence

The role of leadership was linked to the notions of passion, enthusiasm, and empathy by one of the current participants: “transmit passion and enthusiasm, spreading them to everyone within the organization, in addition to showing empathy that makes workers identify with the project.”

The leader’s role was highlighted as a basic pillar for the effective development of a company. The difference between a good and a bad leader is fundamental for achieving success or, conversely, failing:

“Good leadership can make a difference between the success and failure of an organization. The figure of the leader is important in making a difference, since it provides the differential point when making strategies, defining objectives, etc. Similarly, bad leadership can condemn an organization to failure.”

Alumni, after studying for their master’s, connected the role of leadership to motivating people’s participation, getting the best out of each member, and situational and shared leadership, as follows:

“I understand leadership in my company as a situational and shared leadership in which sometimes one leads a project and, on another occasion, leads another with the support and help of others (…); it is the ability to connect with your team, to motivate and get the best out of each member.”

In addition, after obtaining his master’s degree, one alumnus believes that he has been able to improve the context for different people in his organization to develop leadership. This is clearly stated as follows:

“First, obtaining the ability to detect people who wish to develop leadership, and who are aligned with the leader profile required by the rest of the team and the company itself, in order to allow them to lead projects and teams of people, which in turn allows them to demonstrate their strengths as leaders.”

Although confidence is an important element for alumni, it is not mentioned by current participants. One alumnus links the idea of confidence with the notion of identifying different qualities in a great diversity of members. In other words, you need confidence if you want to be successful within the organization. “Each person is a treasure different from the rest of the team. It is part of my job and my responsibility to identify those qualities and give them a value for the organization.”

“To manage teams, it is essential to know each of the people and whether they have enough confidence and motivation to express their thoughts, feelings, and particular perspectives on their work and the company’s global aims to manage teams and to identify each of their profiles.”

Some alumni link the notion of confidence with common goals and efficiency. One of them replied that “people are more effective and efficient when they have a purpose.” It is also important to highlight that alumni not only think about the members of their organizations but also about how they can improve their role as leaders in the company. Along these lines, one alumnus said that

“Not only has it covered the initial needs and expectations, but it has also allowed me to know myself as a leader and thus build up my strengths and turn my weaknesses into opportunities for improvement, facilitating the daily management of the teams.”

Goals and Consensus

Current participants noted the importance of consensus to reach success within the company. Effective leadership must seek consensus in all undertakings. A current participant commented: “When an objective is based on consensus, it is more likely to succeed.”

Another current participant discussed the need to have the goals of the company clarified in order to achieve success. Having a clear company mission is fundamental. In the words of one current participant, “Having a clear company mission and transmitting it properly to the entire organization aligns the objectives of its members and motivates them to work together, greatly increasing the chances of success.”

One alumnus introduced an important element regarding the goals of a company. In this case, the participant focuses on the way in which the goals are specified within a company. If you encourage the participation of all members, independently of their status in the company, you will reach common goals and achieve a better environment within the company. “When people participate in defining the values and strategy of the company (it is not something exclusive to Management), we manage to create a climate of confidence and a shared project.”

Directly related to goals and consensus, one alumnus mentioned transmission capacity and identification with the group as two key elements. “The alignment of one’s personal purpose with that of the company is fundamental. That is why a shared vision is very relevant to making team leadership a success.”

Lastly, one alumnus noted another key element related to the importance of working as a large team within the company. To do so, one must look for common goals within the company’s great diversity and heterogeneity:

“In organizations, it is customary to promote teamwork within each of the teams, but this can also encourage the isolation of teams among themselves and the loss of a common goal. Within our organization, work among teams is encouraged through different methods toward a common vision and purpose and so that all people are able to recognize the work of others.”

The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the improvement in leadership skills and aptitudes before and after the implementation of an excellence EMBA program, particularly in relation to two components linked to leader behavior: goals/purposes and people/composition. Understanding these components, which are analyzed in depth throughout this study, becomes crucial to exploring the impact of leadership on organizations.

Using data analysis, we have identified that the leadership skills and aptitudes resulting from the implementation of the EMBA have had a positive impact on alumni compared with current EMBA participants. The leadership courses included in the EMBA have clear relationships with the components identified in the scientific literature, and some aspects may create synergies with a dialogic dimension of leadership addressed to achieve social impact. Such improvements in leadership skills and aptitudes indicate the potential for achieving social impact in their organizations, which is coherent with recent developments in the field of social impact research ( Reale et al., 2017 ; European Commission, 2018 ; Pulido et al., 2018 ).

After finalizing the EMBA, Alumni highlighted heterogeneity and cohesion as key elements in advancing toward a better-performing and more competitive organization. Professional performance is clearly linked with a multidisciplinary team structure. Both heterogeneity and cohesion have been addressed in the leadership literature, highlighting diversity as a key pillar of reaching optimum performance ( Hoch, 2014 ) and linking educational diversity to effective team performance ( Kearney and Gebert, 2009 ).

Dialogue and communication have been linked by participants to self-leadership, the ability to listen, and to empathy ( Berkovich, 2014 ). This is covered in more detail and in more numerous contributions by alumni than by current EMBA participants. The scientific literature explains that this occurs because the capacity for dialogue maximizes efficiency and motivation in organizations ( Chen and Kanfer, 2006 ). This explains why the EMBA has helped alumni maximize their work in their respective companies through team management, with dialogue and communication as their two key pillars, in line with dialogic leadership ( Padrós and Flecha, 2014 ). Furthermore, according to the literature, dialogue and communication may influence the promotion of creativity linked to leadership ( Cai et al., 2018 ) because it motivates team members to develop company objectives, thus favoring potential social impact. Along with this aspect, it is also important to mention that motivation has been highlighted by psychological research and studies on leadership in organizations. Chen (2007) corroborated the need for leadership to motivate members, thus facilitating the emergence of creative proposals directly related to higher performance and impact.

Effective leadership has been linked with the notion of a good manager, thus maximizing the efficiency and performance in the company. To move in this direction, one must identify the company’s main goals and base actions on consensus, sharing the company’s mission and purpose. That mission must be transmitted properly to all members and, to do so, an effective leadership approach is crucial, one that motivates all members and increases an organization’s potential social impact.

Limitations and Future Research

This is an exploratory study of the improvement in leadership skills and aptitudes in an excellence EMBA program, comparing insights from alumni who completed the program and current EMBA participants. The study is limited by the wide period covered, as it includes alumni from the 10 completed offerings of the EMBA, although most respondents belong to the most recent offering. Another limitation is that no previous studies have been carried out on this specific EMBA concerning leadership, which made it difficult for us to create synergies with similar studies.

Despite these limitations, the study illustrates the improvement in the leadership skills and aptitudes of alumni, the synergies with dialogic leadership, and the potential social impact in their organizations. Future research analyzing the social impact achieved could not only provide evidence of advancements toward Goal 8 of the Sustainable Development Goals but also provide ways of improving the excellence of the EMBA.

The results demonstrate an improvement in leadership skills and aptitudes as a result of the development of an excellence EMBA program, which contributes to the potential social impact of organizations. There are several areas in particular in which alumni have increased their effective leadership compared with current EMBA participants: heterogeneity in teams (with subcategories of cohesion), dialogue and communication (with subcategories of self-leadership, ability to listen, and empathy), leadership of different profiles, confidence (with subcategories of efficiency), and goals (with subcategories of transmission capacity and identification with the group). These features, linked to more effective leadership, arise as a result of having completed the EMBA program. Our findings contribute to improving the EMBA itself, as our results will be shared with the academic staff of the program responsible for the content concerning leadership.

Data Availability Statement

Ethics statement.

Alumni were invited to participate in order to obtain a better understanding of their professional development after completing the EMBA and for EMBA accreditation. Current participants of the EMBA were invited, by email and personally, to participate in the context of EMBA accreditation. In both cases, participants were informed about the potential publication of the results in order to enhance the prestige of the EMBA. All participants were informed that their participation was anonymous and voluntary and that data would be treated with confidentiality and used solely for research purposes. Ethical requirements were addressed following the Ethics Review Procedure established by the European Commission (2013) for EU research, the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000/C 364/01). The above procedure was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Community of Research on Excellence for All.

Author Contributions

JC was responsible for data collection and contributed to the discussion and conclusions. AA conceptualized and designed the article and revised and approved the manuscript. MJ and MG collaborated in data analysis and in elaborating the article.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge the University of Deusto and the Deusto Business School Executive MBA program for facilitating this study. We also wish to thank all the participants who generously dedicated their time to sharing their past and present experiences in the EMBA.

Funding. This study was supported by the AGAUR - Agency for Management of University and Research Grants under their support to the Research Group on Sociological Theory and Social Impact of Research (ref. 2017SGR1589).

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Improved leadership skills and aptitudes in an excellence emba program: creating synergies with dialogic leadership to achieve social impact.

$\r\nJos Antonio Campos$

1 Department of Marketing, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain
2 Department of Sociology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
3 Department of Business Management, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain

Introduction

Toward a Social Impact for Leadership and Psychological Research

Approaching Leadership and Dialogic Leadership

Creativity and Heterogeneity: Toward Effective Leadership

Leadership Components of the Organizational Context

The Present Study and the Context of the EMBA

Materials and Methods

Study design.

Participants

Table 1. EMBA Alumni profiles (Alumni = A).

Table 2. Profiles of participants currently involved in the EMBA (current participants = CP).

Design of the Open-Ended Questionnaire

As a result of these stages, we defined two core sections in the open-ended questionnaire: the leadership, objectives, and mission of the organization and people-oriented leadership ( Tables 3 , 4 ). Furthermore, we incorporated two other sections: individual data and a section introducing the major issues of the EMBA.

Table 3. Open-ended questionnaire of the core section: leadership, objectives, and mission of the organization.

Table 4. Open-ended questionnaire of the core section: people-oriented leadership.

Contents of the Open-Ended Questionnaires

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Table 5. Comparative categories and subcategories and illustrative quotes for current participants and alumni.

Heterogeneity in Teams

“To a large degree, heterogeneity is the mother of big teams. The combined talent of the team is greater than the sum of its talents. But alone, it is not worth it. It must be accompanied by a common purpose and a high degree of confidence among its members.”

“Diversity brings a lot of wealth, not only in technical capabilities but in everything else. And you have to take into account the characteristics of each one when creating the equipment.”

Dialogue and Communication

“I have adopted the ability to understand the different types of profiles, and it has helped me to understand their personal goals reflected in their daily actions within the organization. This has allowed me, through team management learned in the Master’s, to build their strengths and focus them as far as possible in order to align these needs and personal preferences within the organization, thus maximizing their efficiency and motivation.”

The Role of Leadership in Relation to Different Profiles and Confidence

“Good leadership can make a difference between the success and failure of an organization. The figure of the leader is important in making a difference, since it provides the differential point when making strategies, defining objectives, etc. Similarly, bad leadership can condemn an organization to failure.”

“I understand leadership in my company as a situational and shared leadership in which sometimes one leads a project and, on another occasion, leads another with the support and help of others (…); it is the ability to connect with your team, to motivate and get the best out of each member.”

“First, obtaining the ability to detect people who wish to develop leadership, and who are aligned with the leader profile required by the rest of the team and the company itself, in order to allow them to lead projects and teams of people, which in turn allows them to demonstrate their strengths as leaders.”

“To manage teams, it is essential to know each of the people and whether they have enough confidence and motivation to express their thoughts, feelings, and particular perspectives on their work and the company’s global aims to manage teams and to identify each of their profiles.”

“Not only has it covered the initial needs and expectations, but it has also allowed me to know myself as a leader and thus build up my strengths and turn my weaknesses into opportunities for improvement, facilitating the daily management of the teams.”

Goals and Consensus

“In organizations, it is customary to promote teamwork within each of the teams, but this can also encourage the isolation of teams among themselves and the loss of a common goal. Within our organization, work among teams is encouraged through different methods toward a common vision and purpose and so that all people are able to recognize the work of others.”

Limitations and Future Research

Data Availability Statement

All datasets generated for this study are included in the article/supplementary material.

Ethics Statement

Author Contributions

This study was supported by the AGAUR - Agency for Management of University and Research Grants under their support to the Research Group on Sociological Theory and Social Impact of Research (ref. 2017SGR1589).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Keywords : social impact, business leadership, dialogic leadership, EMBA, organizational context

Citation: Campos JA, Aubert A, Guo M and Joanpere M (2020) Improved Leadership Skills and Aptitudes in an Excellence EMBA Program: Creating Synergies With Dialogic Leadership to Achieve Social Impact. Front. Psychol. 11:17. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00017

Received: 21 October 2019; Accepted: 07 January 2020; Published: 31 January 2020.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2020 Campos, Aubert, Guo and Joanpere. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Adriana Aubert, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Professional Skills for Research Leaders (PSRL) Programme

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Leading research

Want to enhance your research leadership, management and engagement skills? Expand your professional research network?

DCU's Professional Skills for Research Leaders (PSRL) is a blended-learning programme for researchers designed by researchers, academics and learning and development professionals.

Postdoctoral researchers and early-career academics

This programme will help you develop your career strategy in a broader research context. On successful completion of this programme, you will be able to:

Recognise steps to take to keep your careers on track
Advance your grant writing skills
Build your capabilities as a team leader
Navigate DCU's research support structure and funding landscape
Establish and maintain fruitful research collaborations
Develop your research communication skills

The programme comprises a blend of 6 Oxford University Press online modules complemented with attendance at the first workshop on Getting the Best from the PSRL and 4 out of the 6 remaining workshops lasting 1 to 3.5 hours each.

Application Process:

To register for the PSRL, please only sign up for the INTRODUCTION workshop below.

The 4 workshops are chosen after the Introduction workshop and you an also opt out then if you so wish.


Introduction to Professional Skills for Research Leaders	– Date TBC
Developing and Consolidating your Research Career	– Date TBC - You can choose between an AM session (9-12.30) or a PM session (1.30-5) in CORE \| Both sessions are the same \| One-to-ones timeslots TBD
Funding your Research	Funding your Research (2 workshops) – Date TBC - Date TBC
Managing a Research Team	– Date TBC
Research Collaborations	– Date TBC
Communicating your Research	- Date TBC

These interactive workshops extend and discuss the online content and present new and up-do-date material and research relevant to the theme of focus.

Contributors include Principal Investigators and experts on the topics. Participants must achieve a pass mark of 70% for the course by completing an online quiz for each of the on-line elements

Group mentoring (when available)

Group mentoring is a hugely beneficial approach of sharing knowledge with peers, exploring career paths and challenges, and receiving advice from seniors in the field of research.

All participants on the programme will be invited to take part in group mentoring, led by a Principal Investigator as mentor. The group will meet monthly to explore solutions to challenges that mentees face and potential areas for career development. Mentees will also benefit from peer to peer support and the opportunity to network and build relationships.

Fee: 100 euro charged to your school or research centre

If you have specific questions on the PSRL, please contact [email protected]

Key Contributors

After many years as an academic zoologist, Dr Steve Hutchinson moved to the field of training and development now working at the forefront of researcher development practice. He has led researcher development centres at the Universities of both York and Leeds, is a Vitae course director and tutor and an associate and programme director for the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. In 2006 Steve established his own company going on to design and deliver highly-acclaimed researcher development programmes across a range of institutions all over Europe.

Janet works as a career specialist teaching on the Birkbeck University of London Career Coaching and Management Masters programme and as Academic Supervisor at Kingston University. She works across the practitioner / academic boundary, connecting career research and theory into the world of career coaching. She runs her own Career Consultancy working with organisations to manage and develop careers and also coaches individuals in career transition. Janet consults to career agencies, trains and supervises experienced career coaches in the UK and Ireland and is a fellow of the National Institute of Career Education and Counselling.

Dr Robin Henderson is a higher education consultant with a strong track record in delivering leadership and management development, and in supporting change-management initiatives within research-intensive universities. He works with a wide spectrum of staff within HEIs, including academic staff (from PhD students to senior professors) and professional service staff. He has worked with over 20 research-intensive universities within the UK and Europe. Find out more .

Dr Ni Mhuirthile is Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Convenor, Associate Professor in Law in DCU. she contibutes to the PSRL session on Research Collaborations .

Dr. Tanya Ní Mhuirthile joined the School of Law and Government in September 2015, having previously held positions in both Griffith College and University College Cork. A graduate of University College Cork (BCL 2000, LLB 2005, PhD 2010) and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (MDra 2002), Tanya teaches undergraduate modules in the ares of Equity, Trusts, Irish Legal System and Law and Body Politics.

Dr O'Hanlon is the Research Development Officer (Institute of Education) in DCU. She supports on both the Grant Writing and the Developing your Research Funding Plan sessions.

Dr O'Hanlon works within the Research Development and Support team. The mission of this team is to provide professional support for research across all fields in a proactive, researcher-centric way, in order to facilitate the development and funding of research at DCU and assist in the implementation of DCU’s research strategy.

Go to Researcher Development Hub

Leading Growth: Build a Strong Leadership Pipeline to Boost Business

High-Resolution Leadership, DDI’s 2018 leadership skills research report, gives insights to help you predict leader success.

Deep insights into leaders

In High-Resolution Leadership, DDI’s powerful leadership skills research report, we set out to prove that strong leaders fuel bottom line growth. We also show how personality and skill patterns impact the success of leaders and their readiness to tackle future challenges. Finally, we look at how a leader’s background can give insights into strengths and weaknesses for the larger leader population.

However, this report goes beyond insights. We list out specific actions you can take today to boost the skills of your leaders. We also provide talking points to help you make the case for why the future of your business depends on the capability of your leaders.

A powerful collection of multi-level leadership data

We explored data from over 15,000 assessment participants ranging from managers to the C-suite. Why is our analysis reliable? It includes robust data from immersive “day in the life” simulations, and personality and leadership skills tests. The dataset includes more than 300 companies. It also spans more than 20 industries and 18 countries.

8 findings on how leaders affect your business

Here’s what you’ll learn (and more) in this leadership skills research report:

The leadership skills most closely related to growth and profit
Which leader skills have increased to meet today’s business challenges (and which skills have slipped)
The most common leadership challenges and how ready leaders are to overcome them

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Neuroscience major uses leadership skills to find research success

In the College of Arts and Sciences, you can get involved with research as early as your first year on campus. But for some students, seizing the opportunities that come their way before starting at USC can lay the groundwork for remarkable success.

That was the case for Ansley Martin, a neuroscience major and incoming sophomore.

For the past two summers, Martin has participated in a research internship called the Structured Neuroimaging-Intensive Research Program, or SNIRP.

Run by Dr. John Absher , a neurologist at Prisma Health and professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, SNIRP gave Martin the chance to work alongside college and medical students to analyze data on patients with brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases, like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Martin got involved with SNIRP the summer before her freshman year, and she returned this summer as the program’s teaching assistant – a role she originated and funded through a stipend from the South Carolina Internship Program .

“The opportunity kind of naturally fell into my lap,” Martin says. “Going in, I had a little bit of neuro-anatomy background, but what really carried me through is that I had organizational skills and the ability to delegate from my experiences in student government in high school and now at USC.”

The leadership skills Martin developed in these roles have served her well in her research endeavors, starting last summer with SNIRP. Martin took the initiative to organize regular meetings and set benchmarks for her team’s progress, and her efforts helped them to be more successful.

During the school year, Martin continued to work on SNIRP research with collaborators from the program. Together, they have produced three papers and counting on their findings, which they have presented at conferences and Discover USC.

“One of the most interesting things we’ve found is that Parkinson’s has differences in certain biomarkers between male versus female patients,” she says. “Additionally, we submitted these findings for publication in the journal NeuroImage: Clinical and are awaiting review.”

Martin also found a mentor in Dr. Absher, who is a clinical associate professor at USC in Columbia. Knowing she wanted to return to SNIRP for 2024, Martin asked Dr. Absher to give her more responsibility.

“I knew he wanted to hire an administrative assistant, so I asked if he would create a teaching assistantship for the program,” she says. “I would do the same things I did last year, but this time for all the teams. That was how I became the TA.”

What made me successful in research initially was not my science background. It was the fact that I have experience in leadership. That’s why having people from diverse backgrounds is so important in research. - Ansley Martin

Martin’s first job was to interview all 30 participants for this year’s program. She assigned them each to teams to take on three different research projects and appointed specific roles for each member.

She held regular meetings and prepared lectures on topics related to research and professional development in the sciences – topics like how to segment and analyze a brain MRI, how to write a review of scientific literature and how to seek mentors in scientific or medical fields.

Martin hopes her experience will inspire students to get involved with research even when trying something entirely new.

“It’s about assessing your skills and asking, ‘How can I apply those in a research setting?’” she says. “What made me successful in research initially was not my science background. It was the fact that I have experience in leadership. That’s why having people from diverse backgrounds is so important in research.”

After one year of college and two summers of research, Martin has found her stride as a premedical student and neuroscience researcher. In addition to her experience with SNIRP, she works with several other doctors and researchers, including USC’s Aging Brain Cohort and the McCausland Center at Prisma.

Next summer, she plans to pass the TA role on to a member of this year’s SNIRP cohort while she focuses on taking the MCAT and gets more experience in patient care settings.

Her biggest tip for other students: “Don’t be afraid of the no’s.” That outlook has driven Martin to take risks and ask for opportunities.

“It comes down to: what’s the worst that can happen? Someone can say ‘no.’ But the best-case scenario is that I make someone’s life a little bit easier and also do something I love, which is problem solving,” she says.

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Flipping the script on leader feedback: Why leaders need feedback too

Leaders don’t lack resources aimed at helping them deliver more meaningful employee feedback. Yet, candid and comprehensive feedback for leaders, particularly on leadership and management skills, receives far less attention.

According to Gallup research , less than half of U.S. employees (42%) report having the opportunity to formally provide feedback to their manager. Only one in four (24%) have formally rated their manager’s performance. Meanwhile, about a third (36%) of managers say they receive feedback from their peers as part of a formal feedback process.

This imbalance is a detriment to both leaders and their organizations. As the capabilities leaders are expected to master continue to evolve and escalate , it becomes critical for them to understand the impact and effectiveness of their actions and behaviors. This is especially true at a time when organizations are grappling with an inordinate amount of change, complexity, and ambiguity in both the workplace and the marketplace.

What leaders think

In a Big Think+ survey of full-time U.S. employees, 73% of the 288 managers and senior leaders polled say they wish their superiors would provide more frequent feedback on their leadership and management skills.

At the same time, 86% of those leaders agreed that regular and targeted feedback is essential for the growth of their teams. This incongruity — between the significance leaders place on offering feedback to their teams and the seeming lack of significance placed on offering those leaders equivalent guidance — illuminates a feedback gap.

A potential reason for such a feedback gap is the perception that such conversations are naturally uncomfortable and therefore tempting to avoid. Another is a narrow focus on a limited set of skills or metrics that fail to capture the full breadth of a leader’s developmental needs and accomplishments.

L&D has a critical role in addressing this twofold challenge: 1) helping to overcome the perception that feedback is focused on criticism more than praise , and 2) establishing systems that enable and promote robust, candid, and regular feedback to leaders on a comprehensive set of capabilities.

3 L&D strategies for flipping the script on leader feedback

Create a leadership framework .

Meaningful feedback is concrete, relevant, and timely. It also relies on a shared understanding of essential skills and behaviors. An essential resource for providing greater clarity and transparency is a leadership competency framework , a structured approach for establishing a long-term leadership strategy, and the development tools and communications to support it.

Why is a leadership framework important? Leaders are typically accustomed to tangible metrics such as revenue growth, productivity, and the like. However, expectations such as team-building, interpersonal skills, and decision quality tend to be less precise and open to interpretation. With a common leadership “language” in place, leaders and employees are more effectively equipped to give and receive compelling feedback.

A vibrant leadership framework can be invaluable, but it can also be difficult and time-intensive to create and sustain. L&D is uniquely equipped to provide the insight, expertise, and commitment to its success.

Establish formal and self-initiated assessment processes

Leaders want feedback on their leadership and management skills that goes well beyond what might be discussed during a year-end review. With a leadership framework in place to guide the process, systems can be established that promote and permit access to more frequent and varied feedback sources.

An accessible method is self-assessment . However, an essential supplement to self-assessment is structured dialogue with a senior leader, mentor, or another trusted advisor who can provide a “reality check,” pose thoughtful questions, and provide insights for future actions.

The most comprehensive approach is 360 feedback , which is designed to solicit input from direct reports, peers, and senior leaders. One of the primary benefits of this method is the breadth and diversity of feedback. However, the purpose and process must be well communicated, and care must be taken to set expectations for the quality and use of the feedback. As with a self-assessment, it is valuable to utilize an internal or external coach to help the recipient understand and realistically engage with the feedback provided.

L&D is essential for developing each component of a leadership assessment process and ensuring its quality, scope, and accessibility.

Prepare leaders for a productive feedback process

An often neglected issue is the openness and ability of leaders to engage with their feedback constructively. They may struggle with how to best process the feedback . In some instances, they may fall victim to self-sabotage or have concerns about psychological safety in feedback interactions. As such, leaders must learn to effectively receive, not just give, feedback.

Training focused on interaction fundamentals such as interpersonal skills and ways to become a more effective communicator can build a foundation. Complementary just-in-time learning resources can feature topics such as emotional intelligence , the art of asking questions , and how to create an individual development plan .

The expertise, insights, and advocacy of L&D are essential to ensure that leaders sustain a positive approach to feedback and are equipped to take advantage of the full range of learning, coaching, and development options.

Final thoughts

Whether a leader is moving into a new role or seeking to continually improve in their current one, feedback from multiple sources is essential to their development. However, research reveals a significant discrepancy between the feedback that leaders desire and their ability to receive it from their employees and senior leaders. This is a significant area of opportunity for many organizations, with the rewards well worth the effort.

University of Tasmania, Australia

Courses & units, integrated speech pathology practice cxa766, introduction.

This capstone unit consolidates your clinical reasoning and requires you to integrate and apply the knowledge, skills, and professional attributes developed throughout the course. In this unit, you prepare to enter the speech pathology profession and respond to individual, family, and community level needs in complex and changing practice contexts. The unit adopts a case-based and lifespan focus to cases with co-existing and multi-faceted communication and/or swallowing needs. You will integrate the advocacy, leadership, research, and cultural responsiveness skills you have previously developed in the course, with competent evidence-based and client-centred clinical reasoning. You will apply different approaches to ethical reasoning (e.g. ethics of care, narrative approach, casuistry) to support quality and safety management. You will demonstrate your research skills in preparing a research proposal to apply for grant funding. Through the application of these professional frameworks and skills to complex case management, you will demonstrate integrated speech pathology professional competencies appropriate for entry to the profession.

Availability

Specific information on 2025 unit availbility will be available in August.

* The Final WW Date is the final date from which you can withdraw from the unit without academic penalty, however you will still incur a financial liability (refer to How do I withdraw from a unit? for more information).

Unit census dates currently displaying for 2025 are indicative and subject to change. Finalised census dates for 2025 will be available from the 1st October 2024. Note census date cutoff is 11.59pm AEST (AEDT during October to March).

About Census Dates

Learning Outcomes

Justify holistic, evidence-based, and culturally responsive management or service response plans to optimise communication and/or swallowing where there is complexity and co-existing needs.
Apply ethical decision-making frameworks to professional practice scenarios and justify responses to ethical situations.
Demonstrate professional communication, advocacy, leadership, research skills, and cultural responsiveness to evaluate quality and safety of service responses and professional development needs.
Formulate research questions and testable hypotheses that meet a clinical need by applying appropriate research methods, ethical considerations, and reporting requirements in a research proposal.

Fee Information

2025 fee information will be available in August.

Prerequisites

Concurrent prerequisites.

Unit name	Integrated Speech Pathology Practice
Unit code	CXA766
Credit points	12.5
College/School	College of Health and Medicine School of Health Sciences
Discipline	Health Sciences
Coordinator	Doctor Samuel Calder
Delivered By	University of Tasmania

Teaching Pattern	Webinar (1hr x 11 times), Independent Learning (9hrs x 11 times), Workshop (5hrs x 4 times)
Assessment	Simulation Assessment Practical – Crucial Conversations\|Simulation Assessment Written – Crucial Conversations (20%)\|Integrated Practice Management: Scope of Practice (30%)\|Research Grant Proposal (50%)
Timetable	\|

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Required	Required readings will be listed in the unit outline prior to the start of classes.

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IMAGES

Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills, 8th Edition
18 Key Leadership Competencies for 2024 Success
101 Leadership Skills Examples (Copy and Paste for Resume)
A framework of school leadership research.
How To Create A Leadership Competency Model
45 Key Leadership Skills for a Resume (All Industries)

COMMENTS

Analysis of Leader Effectiveness in Organization and Knowledge Sharing
The importance of leadership style and knowledge sharing for organizations is shown in Gary Hamel's (2006) research. In the research, only 10% of the 30,000 products marketed every year by the companies in the production sector are reported to be successful (Hamel, 2006).
8 Essential Qualities of Successful Leaders
8 Essential Qualities of Successful Leaders. Summary. Becoming a great leader is a journey of continuous learning and growth. It's a process — one that thrives on embracing challenges, seeking ...
6 Ways to Improve Your Leadership Skills for Research
Postdocs: You must take ownership of projects, establish collaborations, seek funding opportunities, and lead teams. Professors and More Professional Career Paths: You are leading projects, teams, and labs; motivating and educating your team members; and communicating your research findings. Picking one or two of the following leadership skills ...
Six ways of understanding leadership development: An exploration of
A review of adult development leadership research identified the need for more research with a wider use of contextual factors and how developmental ... Morgeson FP (2007) The leadership skills strataplex: Leadership skill requirements across organizational levels. The Leadership Quarterly 18: 154-166. Crossref. Web of Science. Google Scholar.
The Most Important Leadership Competencies, According to Leaders Around
Research over the past few decades has shown us that the most important leadership qualities are centered around soft skills and emotional intelligence. But do these skills point to deeper ...
Leadership Effectiveness in Healthcare Settings: A Systematic Review
Servant leadership style is a sharing leadership style in whose members can increase their skills and competences through steady leader support, and they have a role in an organization's goals. The transformational leadership style focuses on practical aspects such as new approaches for problem solving, new interventions to reach purposes ...
PDF GLOBAL RESEARCH REPORT Leadership Reframed for the Workplace of the Future
THIS RESEARCH REPORT OUTLINES: 10 vital capabilities for the leaders of today and tomorrow. Seven "leadership superpowers," core human traits that animate those capabilities, giving them direction and purpose. Eight notable insights from a worldwide survey on those capabilities and superpowers. Key findings on employees' perspectives and ...
Transformational leadership effectiveness: an evidence-based primer
Leadership models. Although almost every leadership researcher seems to propose a new or modified definition of the construct, leadership is generally operationalised in two ways: (1) leadership as a formal role or (2) leadership as a social influence (Yukl and Van Fleet Citation 1992).Most of the leadership research focuses on the latter, which it aims to understand through operationalisation ...
Leadership Strategies for the Researcher
Audience. Emerging clinician-researchers and principal investigators interested in building their leadership and management skills. We believe that the research community is strengthened by understanding how a number of factors including gender identity, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, culture, religion, national origin, language, disability, and age shape the ...
4 Core Leadership Skills Every Leader Needs
The "Fundamental 4" Leadership Skills. At CCL, we see the 4 core leadership skills as: Self-Awareness. Communication. Influence. Learning Agility. 1. Self-Awareness. Simply put, knowing and leading yourself is key to becoming as effective as possible at leading others.
The Science of Leadership: A Theoretical Model and Research Agenda
I review the empirical literature on leadership, focusing on papers published since 2010. To do so, I introduce a framework composed of two features: whether theories (a) involve the study of leaders or leading (i.e., the person versus the process) and (b) conceptualize leadership as a cause or a consequence (i.e., an independent versus dependent variable). This framework can enable future ...
Strategic Leadership: The Essential Skills
The more uncertain your environment, the greater the opportunity—if you have the leadership skills to capitalize on it. Research at the Wharton School and at the authors' consulting firm ...
(PDF) Leadership Skills: Fundamental in Leading to Effective
The different types of leadership skills are, communication, motivation, creativity, positivity, feedback, delegating, trustworthiness, work ethics, conscientiousness. and dispute settlement. The ...
Follow the Leader: Developing Great Leadership Skills
Great leaders must cultivate excellent communication skills, both oral and writing. As much as 85 percent of a leader's success is reflected in communication skills. 6 Poorly written documents show lack of effort or education. Similarly, a speaker whose presentation is unfocused, unorganized, and, worse, inaccurate, will exude a lack of ...
New Research Identifies Essential Leadership Skills For ...
According to new research, leadership skills can make or break an organization. Researchers have identified the management styles that build employee resilience and effectiveness and the company's ...
The Changing Face Of Leadership: 10 New Research Findings All ...
Only 14% of CEOs say they have the talent they need to execute their business strategies. #2: Need for digital leadership skill. Digital leadership skills are becoming increasingly critical ...
6 Leadership Skills Needed for Business Success
What Are the Top Leadership Skills for Business? 1. Emotional Intelligence. Emotional intelligence is an individual's ability to recognize and manage emotions in themselves and others. It's typically broken into four areas: Self-awareness: The ability to recognize your own strengths, weaknesses, and emotions. Self-management: The ability to regulate your emotions, especially during periods ...
8 Tips for Developing Your Leadership Skills
Research suggests that your genes can determine the personality traits that can help you be successful in leadership roles, but this research also supports the idea that leaders are made, not born [1]. This is good news if you see yourself working in a leadership position, as it means you can learn and develop practical leadership skills ...
Leadership Articles, Research, & Case Studies
Five Essential Elements to Build the Capital You Need to Lead. by Dina Gerdeman. The path to leadership can seem unclear in competitive organizations. In the book The Treasure You Seek, Archie L. Jones offers a roadmap to help aspiring leaders discover their strengths, communicate effectively, and build meaningful connections.
Improved Leadership Skills and Aptitudes in an Excellence EMBA Program
This particular horizon highlights research into personality, including how to solve difficulties through behavioral analysis and communication skills. Developmental psychological research in leadership includes topics such as building individual capacities to lead change, improving a shared vision among people, and heterogeneity in working ...
What Are Leadership Skills, and Why Are They Important?
Leadership skills include the abilities or strengths shown by people in management roles that aid in guiding and encouraging a group of people and their team toward achieving a common goal or set of goals. These skill sets include communication, negotiation, conflict resolution, decision-making, and more.
Frontiers
This particular horizon highlights research into personality, including how to solve difficulties through behavioral analysis and communication skills. Developmental psychological research in leadership includes topics such as building individual capacities to lead change, improving a shared vision among people, and heterogeneity in working ...
Professional Skills for Research Leaders (PSRL) Programme
Introduction to Professional Skills for Research Leaders . INTRODUCTION: Getting the Best From the PSRL - Date TBC. ... Dr Robin Henderson is a higher education consultant with a strong track record in delivering leadership and management development, and in supporting change-management initiatives within research-intensive universities. ...
Leadership Skills Research: insights to predict leader success
Deep insights into leaders. In High-Resolution Leadership, DDI's powerful leadership skills research report, we set out to prove that strong leaders fuel bottom line growth. We also show how personality and skill patterns impact the success of leaders and their readiness to tackle future challenges. Finally, we look at how a leader's ...
Neuroscience major taps leadership skills to find research success
The leadership skills Martin developed in these roles have served her well in her research endeavors, starting last summer with SNIRP. Martin took the initiative to organize regular meetings and set benchmarks for her team's progress, and her efforts helped them to be more successful.
Flipping the script on leader feedback: Why leaders need feedback too
New research from BigThink+ shows that leaders crave more feedback on their leadership and management skills.
Integrated Speech Pathology Practice (CXA766)
The unit adopts a case-based and lifespan focus to cases with co-existing and multi-faceted communication and/or swallowing needs. You will integrate the advocacy, leadership, research, and cultural responsiveness skills you have previously developed in the course, with competent evidence-based and client-centred clinical reasoning.

6 Ways to Improve Your Leadership Skills for Research

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Follow the Leader: Developing Great Leadership Skills

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Improved Leadership Skills and Aptitudes in an Excellence EMBA Program: Creating Synergies With Dialogic Leadership to Achieve Social Impact

Adriana Aubert

Mar Joanpere

Associated Data

Introduction

Toward a Social Impact for Leadership and Psychological Research

Approaching Leadership and Dialogic Leadership

Creativity and Heterogeneity: Toward Effective Leadership

Leadership Components of the Organizational Context

The Present Study and the Context of the EMBA

Materials and Methods

Participants

Design of the Open-Ended Questionnaire

Contents of the Open-Ended Questionnaires

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Heterogeneity in Teams

Dialogue and Communication

The Role of Leadership in Relation to Different Profiles and Confidence

Goals and Consensus