Latest Articles & Knowledge Resources

For practical information and cutting-edge research on today's most pressing leadership issues, explore an array of resources assembled by CCL's faculty experts.

Annotated Bibliographies

Review introductions to published material, in both the business and academic press, about key areas of organizational development.

Executive Coaching: An Annotated Bibliographya
What does a typical coaching process look like? What are the steps that lead through that process? This book examines these questions and others in a review of the current literature about executive coaching. (more...) (PDF, 1.1 MB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase
Emerging Leaders: An Annotated Bibliographya
In an increasingly global, technology-driven marketplace, a key organizational challenge is the development of leaders from the newest generation of managers. This publication provides an introduction to the current thinking about and the relevant research into developing, working with, and retaining emerging leaders. (more...) (PDF, 1.2 MB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase

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Articles

CCL's Leading Effectively e-newsletter brings you relevant tips and articles to help you become a better leader today.

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Podcasts

Learn new and actionable tips for strengthening your leadership skills today with selections from CCL's Leading Effectively podcast series.

Access the full podcasts archive.

Research Findings & Reports

QuickView Leadership Series

Review the most recently published results from the World Leadership Survey (WLS).

Absence of Support Makes the Heart Wander
What role does the support of a boss or organization play in whether people want to stay with their organization or go somewhere else? (PDF, 300 KB)
What Makes a Leader Effective? Generations in the U.K. Weigh In
Get a glimpse into which leadership styles U.K. employees think make a leader more effective. Is it humane-oriented leadership, charismatic leadership or something else? (PDF, 521 KB)
What Makes a Leader Effective? Generations in South Africa Weigh In
Does the current working generation in South Africa think a charismatic leadership style is more effective than a participative one? (PDF, 500 KB)
2012 WLS Annual Report on Workforce Engagement
U.S. and Canadian employees are satisfied with their jobs and pay, work long hours, feel supported by their supervisor and do not intend to leave their organizations. Find out what the WLS found to be major threats to engagement in today's workplace. (PDF, 4.1 MB)
Are Leaders Born or Made: Perspectives from the Executive Suite
Our beliefs on how people become leaders affect how we evaluate their leadership potential. C-level executives who responded to a CCL study were decidedly mixed in their views on whether leaders are born or made. (PDF, 1.2 MB)
The Innovation Equation for Leaders: People + Context = Innovation
CCL research shows why creative people and a workplace that fosters innovation must both be present for innovation to thrive. (PDF, 1.7 MB)
Motivated by the Organization's Mission or Their Career?
Our research examines how leaders in public and private institutions can motivate and retain valued employees through complexity and change. (PDF, 2.3 MB)
Focus on Africa: Employee Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility
Special report on attitudes about corporate social responsibility among African employees. (PDF, 2.6 MB)
Focus on Africa: Workplace Attitudes
Special report on workplace attitudes among African employees. (PDF, 3.6 MB)
2011 WLS Annual Report on Workplace Attitudes
Despite everything that has been going on in the economy, executives, managers, and professional employees are pretty positive, but there are warning signs about the future. (PDF, 2.2 MB)
Building Trust in the Workplace: A Key to Retaining Women
What organizations need to know about trust today, and how to improve it. (PDF, 1.2 MB)
Employee Engagement: Has It Been a Bull Market?
How the economy has affected employee engagement, and what organizations need to worry about now. (PDF, 1.4 MB)
Employee Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility
How employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility really affect employee loyalty. (PDF, 3.3 MB)

Research Reports

Explore peer-reviewed publications documenting completed research projects.

Emerging Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations: Myths, Meaning, and Motivations
In 2010, American Express and the Center for Creative Leadership embarked on research efforts to advance the understanding of, and to promote excellence in the field of, nonprofit leadership by focusing on the needs of emerging leaders. (more...) (PDF, 2.3 MB)
Youth Leadership Summit 2011
Reflections and Insights from Youth Leadership Summit 2011 held March 23-25 at the Center for Creative Leadership headquarters in Greensboro, NC. (more...) (PDF, 2.2 MB)
Leadership Across Differences: A Report on Research and Findingsl
The data shared in this report are drawn from the Leadership across Differences research project. We wanted to better understand what contributed to social identity tensions and conflicts in organizations and explore what leadership responses were desired and which were used. A total of 3,041 individuals across 10 ten countries participated in the survey, representing 21 organizations. (more...) (PDF, 4.9 MB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase.
Leading Across Differences Facilitator's Guide Set Available for Purchase.
Developing Future Leaders for High-Growth Indian Companies: New Perspectives
For businesses within and outside India, an exhilarating era of expansive global growth has arrived. Specifically in India, many home-grown businesses are seeking to double, triple and quadruple their revenues over the next decade, if not sooner. Companies are therefore beginning to show great interest in leadership development and corporate India is increasingly investing in leadership training and development. But where and how are the most important "lessons of leadership" learned and what are those lessons? This report describes the results of investigating these important questions in an Indian context. (more...) (PDF, 309 KB)
Developing Chinese Leaders in the 21st Century
All around the world, better leadership is needed, and more so in growing economies like China. How can we develop more effective leaders for China-based companies? Are there experiences that would better prepare them? What lessons would they need to learn to become effective managers? To address these issues, we present relevant research findings and implications for leadership development from the Lessons of Experience-China research project. (more...) (PDF, 735 KB)

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White Papers

Learn from publications representing some of CCL's work in progress, including research projects, conferences, and innovative thinking.

Are You Ready? 4 Keys to Becoming a CEO
If you have CEO ambitions, make sure you have what it takes to get the job. CCL has found that the well-prepared CEO shows for kinds of "readiness". (more...) (PDF, 275 KB)
Blended Learning for Leadership: The CCL Approach
Blended Learning for leadership isn't just about technology or mixing classroom with online experiences. It's not about social media or the latest trends that promise to transform learning forever. It's about building, in a thoughtful, systematic way, a structure to enable and support how leaders learn best. (more...) (PDF, 277 KB)
The Effectiveness of the Leadership Development Programme in Europe
Multiple studies show that an investment in effective leadership development can deliver substantive value to an organization. Learn how CCL's flagship leadership program delivers a strong return by successfully developing critical leadership competencies. (more...) (PDF, 539 KB)
A Leadership Gap Analysis for Chinese Leaders from a 360-Degree Survey
What are the essential leadership capabilities and skillsets needed for Chinese leaders to effectively lead and succeed in today's organization? (more...) (PDF, 660 KB)
Crafting Your Career: Cultural Variations in CareerRelevant Relationships
Relationships in organizations are increasingly important for both the work of the organization and the different career paths managers take. Learn about the variety of relationships that are relevant to careers of European managers and how managers in different parts of the world may use relationships in building their careers. (more...) (PDF, 230 KB)
Using Political Skill to Maximize and Leverage Work Relationships
Whether you are aware of it or not, you likely rely on your political skill to achieve work-related goals. Learn four distinct practices for maximizing the positive impact of political skill on others and your organization. (more...) (PDF, 1.2 MB)
Developing Network Perspective: Understanding the Basics of Social Networks and their Role in Leadership
If you can identify patterns of relationships or people in your personal and organizational networks that encourage or undermine your success, you have what's called "network perspective." This paper describes what network perspective is, why it's important, and how you can develop it. (more...) (PDF, 1.6 MB)
The Irony of Integrity: A Study of the Character Strengths of Leaders
Highly publicized ethical scandals have challenged our faith in the integrity of today's leaders and public figures. With these scandals in mind, CCL examined not the character weaknesses that provoke such indiscretions, but the character strengths that top executives and middle managers need to maintain leadership with integrity. This paper describes those strengths and explains why leaders need them. (more...) (PDF, 379 KB)
Through the Looking Glass: How Relationships Shape Managerial Careers
For better or worse, relationships on the job shape managers' careers. This white paper, based on a CCL study of male and female managers in five countries across Europe, explores the many ways that relationships can help or hinder managerial careers. Read first-hand experiences of managers in the study group. (more...) (PDF, 1.2 MB)
Expanding the Leadership Equation: Developing Next-Generation Leaders
Do today's leaders see young people as having what is needed to be tomorrow's successful leaders? A CCL study uncovers the answer to this question, as well as several other questions about developing youth of the future. (more...) (PDF, 1.1 MB)
Boundary Spanning as Battle Rhythm: A Report Describing CCL's Work in Iraq
Two federal agencies with vastly different cultures provide a lesson in boundary spanning at its greatest in a delicate transition of the U.S. role in Iraq prior to the December 2011 withdrawal of U.S. forces. Read the intriguing account of how CCL helped the Departments of Defense and State achieve unity of effort despite their daunting differences and complex challenges. (more...) (PDF, 1.3 MB)
Women and Political Savvy: How to build and embrace a fundamental leadership skill
Office politics is a fact of work life. Yet, this is an especially difficult issue for women leaders. Learn what CCL's research with women executives shows about the potential relationship between gender, leadership, political skill and effectiveness at work. (more...) (PDF, 1 MB)
Becoming a Leader Who Fosters Innovation
A deliberate focus by leaders on innovation is critical for organizational growth and development. This paper lays out the building blocks and more for those who aspire to be innovation leaders. (more...) (PDF, 1.2 MB)
The Care and Feeding of the Leader's Brain
Are you taking proper care of your brain to keep you at the top of your leadership game? For several years, CCL has collected data on the exercise, eating, and sleeping habits of senior executives along with biometric and blood lipid data, giving us a unique view of the health and fitness status of those at the helm. The findings of our research, unveiled in this insightful white paper, just might surprise you. (more...) (PDF, 1.9 MB)
Driving Performance: How Leadership Development Powers Sustained Success
Leadership Development is not just about developing leaders; It's about creating a culture of accountability and performance. "Built to last" organizations have strong histories of leadership development. This white paper explores why organizations should invest in leadership development because of its power to 1) Improve bottom-line financial performance; 2) Attract and retain talent; 3) Create organizational alignment; and 4) Increase organizational agility. (more...) (PDF, 1.9 MB)
Learning about Learning Agility
Are you a learning-agile leader who has what it takes to thrive in turbulent times of change? Researchers at Teachers College, Columbia University and CCL have concluded that learning-agile individuals practice disciplined personal development in five ways. Discover those ways in this white paper. (more...) (PDF, 2.2 MB)