Q&A

Creating more effective leaders

CLOE leadership discussion panel.

CLOE Director Molly Anderson (left) speaks at a panel discussion, "Leadership through the Lens of Malala Yousafzai," that took place on Sept. 19 before Malala's Distinguished Speakers Series lecture. Panelists are, from left, School of Management faculty members Dorothy Siaw-Asamoah, Jim Lemoine and Dean Paul Tesluk. Photo: Nancy J. Parisi

By KEVIN MANNE

Published September 22, 2017 This content is archived.

Molly Anderson.

Molly Anderson

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Molly Anderson, executive director of the Center for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness in the School of Management, talks about CLOE, what it means to be a leader, and why CLOE co-sponsored Malala Yousafzai’s Distinguished Speakers Series lecture.

What is the Center for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness (CLOE)?

MA: CLOE is a group of researchers, scholars and experts working together to create more effective leaders and organizations. We want to be known for cutting-edge leadership thinking and practice, and to help people and organizations — locally and globally — to be more innovative and adaptive.

Why did CLOE want to sponsor Malala Yousafzai’s Distinguished Speaker Series presentation?

MA: We want to inspire more leaders like Malala, who have an unwavering sense of purpose, who are willing to stand up for others and challenge all of us to do better. She exhibits leadership qualities — like courage and humility — that we want to cultivate in our students, organizations and community. We can all learn from her example, but more importantly, we want Malala’s speech to be a call to action for all of us to be the best version of ourselves.

What does it mean to be a leader? What makes Malala a leader?

MA: One thing we can all agree on is there is no one answer to this question. At CLOE, we believe leadership is for people from all backgrounds. We want people to see that Malala was a leader before she became famous. She demonstrated leadership at an early age by believing in a cause and using her voice to help girls go to school and have the same opportunities she had. The world needs more leaders like Malala.

You held an event before Malala’s presentation, “Leadership through the Lens of Malala.” What was the focus of the event and who was involved?

MA: CLOE brought together a diverse group of more than 100 local leaders, students and educators to discuss Malala’s leadership and resilience and how it can help us become stronger advocates in our own communities. We challenged the audience to reflect on “why are you here?” and “how will your lives be different after today?” Our aim in doing so was to encourage leaders to think about their purpose and take action like Malala.

Beyond the Malala presentation, what other kinds of programs and conferences does CLOE offer?

We work with the business, government and nonprofit communities through a variety of leadership development programs, research collaborations, speakers’ series and community engagement opportunities.

One way we serve organizations is through our Leadership Accelerator program. Offered twice a year, the program builds leadership capacity and grows leadership talent. We also offer customized programs in executive coaching, team effectiveness and servant leadership.

Our biggest event featured best-selling author Seth Godin as keynote speaker at a sold-out conference on social innovation this past spring. We look forward to a breakthrough year ahead for CLOE with exciting new programs, conferences and opportunities to create better leaders.

To learn more about CLOE, visit its website.