Advisor

Enrique Castro Leon

As we explore in this Advisor, information technology can be leveraged to maintain real-time inventories of carbon assets and could be used to create a system designed to meet specific GHG-mitigation goals.

Article

Dusya Vera, Ana Ruiz Pardo

This Amplify issue portrays the various levels in which character resides — individuals, groups, and organizations — and the processes that show how character manifests in organizations. It crosses three themes: (1) well-being and stress management, proposing that character leadership development and mindfulness training help individuals navigate complex organizational environments more effectively; (2) the strategic embedding of character to advance DEI initiatives and foster a culture of inclusivity; and (3) character resides in strategic leadership teams and high-performance teams, which has important implications for decision-making, the pursuit of excellence, and performance. Our aim is to bring character to the forefront of what it takes for organizations to be prosperous and sustainable, by elevating character alongside competence and commitment in the practice of leadership.

Article

Natacha Prudent, Mary Crossan

Natacha Prudent and Mary Crossan propose embedding leader character into organizations, asserting that the sustainability of DEI efforts depends on leaders reaffirming their commitment to character, suggesting it as a foundational element for both organizations and DEI initiatives: “corporate DNA.” The authors underscore the financial benefits of gender and ethnic diversity in leadership roles and use the Ivey Leader Character Framework (ILCF) as a tool aimed to guide leaders in introspection and development, emphasizing the role of character in driving comprehensive, sustainable change in DEI.

Article

William Spangler

William Spangler delves into how CEOs’ humility and narcissism influence their behavior, focusing on dysfunctional behavior like fraud, crime, corruption, and bribery. With a sample of 190 CEOs and data collected from interviews and public sources, Spangler introduces a set of diverse CEO archetypes. The article differentiates between professional CEOs and entrepreneurial CEOs. Spangler describes how humility and narcissism can coexist in CEOs and shows how humility moderates narcissistic tendencies, reducing the propensity to engage in dysfunctional and negative leader behaviors.

Article

James Rychard

James R. Rychard explores the essence of high-performance teams, emphasizing the role of collaboration and how it is rooted in social intelligence as part of the character dimension of humanity. After examining the threat of “dark triad” personalities to team dynamics, the article presents an exemplary case of socially intelligent leader Kazuo Inamori, former CEO of Japan Airlines, and extracts important lessons for the public sector. Rychard underscores the importance of investing in leadership development and fostering a culture of character to support collaboration in the public sector.

Article

Trevor Hunter

Trevor Hunter argues for the importance of leader character and instrumental skills in nonprofit organization (NPO) boards. The article explores distinctive duty-of-care expectations for NPO boards, emphasizing their role in protecting the organization’s mission and the quality of judgment required to navigate nuanced decisions. Hunter asks, “What are the implications for NPO performance if the board is not demonstrating leader character?” Examples illustrate how each of the Ivey Leader Character Framework (ILCF) dimensions can manifest in NPO board behaviors to safeguard the mission.

Article

Karen FrydayField, Marlene Janzen Le Ber

Karen Fryday-Field and Marlene Janzen Le Ber acknowledge systemic challenges impacting governance and highlight the influence of board culture on interactions and decisions, emphasizing the role of implicit rules, values, and past stories. They propose redefining effective governance through collective board character. The article adapts the Ivey Leader Character Framework (ILCF) from the individual to the board level and presents a case study involving a breakdown in communication and trust that underscores the transformative power of board leader character.

Article

Tiffany Maldonado

Tiffany Maldonado, Tanny Carmona, Jordan Jessup, and Montserrat Sanz Mondragon explore the role of CEO humility in shaping inclusive environments within organizations. Acknowledging the progress made by organizations in embracing inclusivity, the article discusses the concept of an inclusive environment, emphasizing the importance of valuing uniqueness, promoting belonginess, and integrating differences in decision-making. The authors suggest that humility is a key character dimension of inclusive leaders, impacting the development of an inclusive environment both internally and externally.

Article

Cassandra Ellis, Lucas Monzani, Sonja Bruschetto

Cassandra Ellis, Lucas Monzani, and Sonja Bruschetto argue that exercising leader character alongside mindfulness techniques has the potential to enhance leaders’ ability to reduce stress and burnout and to motivate individuals, groups, and organizations toward the pursuit of collective objectives and goals. Emphasizing the importance of workplace well-being initiatives, the authors advocate for a tailored mindfulness-based strengths practice (MBSP) that is rooted in character development, offers insights on enhancing decision-making, protects well-being, and helps companies gain a competitive edge.

Advisor

Matthew Walsh

The Equation for Equality tackles the issues of occupational segregation, labor-shortage acuteness, and the risks faced by both individuals and employers when engaging with career transitions. The equation gives employers a way to expand their talent pool in a low-risk way by identifying workers outside a given sector that use a similar skill set to that required by an open position.

Advisor

Pradipta Chakraborty

Businesses in a range of industries can achieve their sustainability ambitions by revising their business models to include sustainability principles. This Advisor offers advice for companies embarking on the transformation toward a sustainable business model.

Advisor

Curt Hall

In this Advisor, Cutter Expert Curt Hall examines key developments involving the use of GenAI in the retail industry, including examples of how Microsoft, Google, and Walmart are utilizing the technology to develop new products and applications that support conversational commerce.

Advisor

JooSeuk Maing

Given today’s geopolitics, variable factors come into play, and cost is no longer the primary consideration. As Korea/Vietnam CEO Joo-Seuk Maing explains in this Advisor, gaining a broader perspective is a necessity for leaders as they navigate global risk.

Advisor

Martin Dix, Oliver Golly

CCUS is widely accepted as a viable technology approach for decarbonization and an essential part of the transition to net zero. As we explore in this Advisor, it also creates a range of transformative opportunities for businesses across the value chain.

Advisor

Ali Arabnya, Amin Khodaei

This Advisor takes a closer look at interoperable energy microgrids enabled by blockchain, which can offer more choices to consumers, improve market efficiency by eliminating middlemen, increase resilience by decentralizing the network topology, and enable new marketplaces.

Advisor

Johannes Rude Jensen, Omri Ross

Although the still-abstract concept of Web3 social media may not immediately appear relevant for the current generation of DAOs, we believe this tooling will emerge as a force multiplier for the growth of token-powered organizations. As we explore in this Advisor, Web3 social media will: promote accessibility in the decentralized technology stack, bring commercial incentives for value capture to the forefront, and create a new standard for identity on the blockchain.

Article

Kimberley Young Milani

Kimberley Young Milani explores the intersection of leadership, business, purpose, and sustainability in the contemporary world. She emphasizes the need for leaders to embody both competence and character. The article also looks at the intersection of character and organizational purpose, warning that without character, an organization’s purpose might become a hollow slogan or facade.

Article

Kanina Blanchard

Kanina Blanchard draws on the findings from a graduate education course that takes a curated approach to self-exploration. She emphasizes the need for leaders to move beyond traditional metrics and recognize their accountability to communities and the broader world. Blanchard reframes responsible decision-making as a journey, highlighting reflection, emotional exploration, and learning from experiences. The article stresses the importance of individual transformation and tangible choices, encouraging continuous learning, humility, and resilience in the pursuit of responsible decision-making.

Article

Karen Linkletter

Karen E. Linkletter explores contemporary and historical perspectives on assessing and developing leadership character. She delves into the question of whether or not character can be learned by examining the viewpoints of philosophers and management gurus. She also explores the liberal arts ideal, which emphasizes education and self-development, contrasting it with modern frameworks such as the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) and the Ivey Leader Character Framework (ILCF). Linkletter highlights the shift in focus from virtues like integrity and prudence to decision-making capabilities in contemporary character models.

Article

Barbara Carlin

Barbara A. Carlin connects character and ethics by delving into sneaky problems commonly faced by managers. She uses two cases to illustrate the often-obscured moral dimensions of business choices and explains how nonmonetary transactions, framing effects, and ill-conceived goals can contribute to ethical lapses. Carlin proposes remedies such as awareness, collaboration, and fostering an ethical organizational culture. She notes that virtues like humility, collaboration, integrity, and courage can help managers recognize and address the ethical nuances of strategic decisions, ultimately fostering a culture of ethical decision-making within organizations.