The Future of Leadership
Bauer’s Inclusive Leadership Institute Brings Together Scholars from Across the Country
The Bauer College Inclusive Leadership Institute recently hosted the conference “Psychological Safety as a Foundation for Positive Business Environments,” bringing together leaders and academics from across the country to explore the impact of psychological safety as a foundation of positive business environments.
The conference, hosted by the Department of Management & Leadership and ILI, was held at the University of Houston. The co-organizer of the conference, Emeritus Professor Leanne Atwater, said that the gathering allowed for many collaborations for research and improved organizational performance.
The institute’s director Alex Fernandez welcomed everyone in attendance, almost all of whom, he said, have dedicated their professional lives to supporting healthy and safe workplace environments.
Fernandez added that the Inclusive Leadership Institute was founded with the intent to produce future business leaders who champion employees’ physical and mental health.
“That’s why we’re here today. To see how we can make the people of these organizations feel heard, seen and validated... and it starts with engagement and communication.”
The all-day event invited award-winning speakers and esteemed academics to share insights from their research and teaching on the value of trust, empathy and openness as cornerstones of strong leadership. Together, they identified behaviors and situations in the workplace that undermine psychological safety, and methods to restore and strengthen it.
Panel on Psychological Safety in Practice presented by (left to right): Greystone Organization Development & Culture Managing Director Pranika Sinha, Aristotle Performance CEO & Co-Founder Neil Pretty and Organizational Psychologist & Leadership Coach Gena Cox.
Panel on Psychological Safety in Practice presented by (left to right): Greystone Organization Development & Culture Managing Director Pranika Sinha, Aristotle Performance CEO & Co-Founder Neil Pretty and Organizational Psychologist & Leadership Coach Gena Cox.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Senior Lecturer and Founding Chair of the Presencing Institute Otto Scharmer served as the keynote speaker.
“My experience at Bauer was quite positive,” Scharmer said. “I thought the ILI did a good job in convening the business school and corporations together to extend awareness to what we can do to improve responsible leadership.”
“Bauer is a place where the business community can come together. In many ways that is the function of universities, and it is the future of universities."
In his presentation — Presencing: Seven Practices for Transforming Self, Society and Business — he discussed an evolution that needs to take place in leadership systems.
Expanding on that, he said that there needs to be a shift from, what he calls, an “egosystem” awareness — a frame of mind that doesn’t take into account other stakeholders in the system — to an ecosystem awareness — a more inclusive viewpoint that takes into consideration the quality of relationships, listening and communication.
“Bauer is a place where the business community can come together,” Scharmer said. “In many ways that is the function of universities, and it is the future of universities. For a school to be effective, it needs to be rooted in its surrounding community. I think the ILI conference is an excellent example of how universities can be a real place of learning and knowledge sharing.”
Fernandez said that the goal of ILI is to build bridges that last between academia and industry. This collaboration with Scharmer and the Presencing Institute opened a powerful path forward, he added.
The day closed with reflections on personal, organizational and community transformations.
For more information on ILI, click here.
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