Leading together for a better world

More than 200 leaders from the business, nonprofit and academic worlds came together on May 10 to learn about building inclusiveness in today’s businesses and organizations at “Lead Together,” a conference hosted by the School of Management’s Center for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness (CLOE).

Industry experts and School of Management faculty delivered presentations across a variety of leadership topics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB.

Ted Childs, strategic diversity adviser and former IBM vice president, opened the conference with a discussion on how businesses must pay attention to changing demographics and emerging issues, and embrace them as opportunities for growth.

Geoffrey Leonardelli, associate professor of organizational behavior and human resource management in the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, delivered the midday keynote address on how to gain the benefits of inclusiveness in the age of tribalism.

Barb Stegemann, author and founder of The 7 Virtues Peace Perfumes, a company that sources organic, fair trade essential oils from countries experiencing turmoil, capped off the day with a keynote address focused on how social enterprise can be used to help reverse global issues such as war and poverty.

“I loved each speaker’s presentation,” says Christa Meer, learning development specialist at Independent Health, who attended the conference. “We have so much emotional response to high-energy topics these days that it was nice to hear opinions and speeches that relied on logic and fact.”

School of Management faculty sessions were:

• “Building Inclusive Cultures” by Paul Tesluk, dean and professor of organization and human resources.
• “Unconscious Bias in the Workplace” by Katerina Bezrukova, associate professor of organization and human resources.
• “Unleashing Your Potential While Recognizing Differences in Ability, Behavior and Culture” by Dorothy Siaw Asamoah, clinical assistant professor of organization and human resources.
• “Networks, Leaders and Teams” by Prasad Balkundi, associate professor and chair, Department of Organization and Human Resources.
• “Confidence and Career Success: The Conundrum of ‘Failure’ in Career Growth Experiences” by Stephanie Argentine, executive in residence, CLOE.

Industry experts and their topics were:

• “Negotiating Success for Women and Gender-Based Power Dynamics in the #MeToo Era” by Maura Belliveau, director, UB Center for Diversity Innovation.
• “Achieving Everyday Excellence: Using Personal Policies to Lead with Greater Impact” by Vanessa Patrick, professor of marketing, University of Houston C.T. Bauer College of Business.

The event was sponsored by Geico, KeyBank, Martin Group, UB Center for Diversity Innovation and the School of Management Alumni Association, and built upon the success of previous CLOE conferences, which have offered opportunities to learn about the power of people-oriented leadership, social innovation and entrepreneurship, emerging research and how to put that research into practice, and new ways to build collaborations and relationships.

Launched in fall 2013, CLOE strives to create more effective leaders and organizations. One of the center’s key objectives is to advance research and teaching in the area of leadership and its impact on organizational effectiveness.