Bio - Roland B. Smith, Ph.D.

Roland Smith is a senior faculty member and lead researcher at the Center for Creative Leadership. His work at the Center includes facilitating the Leadership at the Peak program for senior executives and leading other custom engagements. He is currently a member of the Organizational Leadership practice group which focuses on executive success and organizational transformation initiatives. He also leads CCL's Legal Sector practice. He serves as both an executive and organizational coach. In his research role, Roland serves as the lead researcher for both the Senior Executive Research Initiative (SERI) and also for the Global Institute for Talent Sustainability (GIFTS). Roland is currently a Professor of Leadership at the Elon School of Law in North Carolina.

The SERI research is currently looking at several critical topics including: (a) Top management team behavior (leader emergence, strategic influence, etc), (b) Peak performance (individual, team, and organization) and the role of the senior executive in guiding success, leading change, and accelerating transformation, (c) Exploring differences between "C-Suite Executives" (i.e. CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, CHRO, Chief Legal Counsel, etc.), and (d) Identifying differences in senior executive behavior by industry, sector, and region.

The GIFTS research agenda includes: (a) Global "High Impact Succession Management" (HISM), (b) Role clarity and role shifting relative to talent sustainability (Orchestrators, Accelerators, Influencers, etc.), (c) Understanding engagement and "embeddedness" of high potentials/top talent, (d) Understanding the "return" on human capital assets, and (e) Identifying global talent sustainability "best practices". Prior to joining the faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Roland was co-founder and president of a national consulting firm (2000) focused on addressing organizational performance and talent management. Prior to founding his own company, Roland served as president for a human capital consulting firm helping transform it from a mature regional business (founded in 1958) into a successful national force with over 1,000 organizational members and clients.

Roland has served as a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award examiner and as a judge for the Louisiana and Idaho Quality Awards. Roland was also a faculty member and director of the Quality Learning Project (Center for Educational Research) at the University of Idaho where he focused on issues relating to process improvement, organizational and individual learning, competency identification, leadership, human resources, and the implications of trust on organizational performance. Prior to his work with the University of Idaho, Roland worked at a major paper and wood products company in the areas of sales and marketing, production, and strategic planning. Roland received his bachelor's degree in Finance and a master's degree in Instructional/Performance Technology from Boise State University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Idaho. Prior to moving to Colorado from Idaho, Roland served as a faculty member at Albertson College of Idaho.

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