White Papers & Presentations
As a nonprofit educational institution, CCL is dedicated to advancing the understanding, practice and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. In that spirit, we want to share the following faculty developed white papers, articles and reports as free downloadable PDFs.
- White papers — publications representing some of CCL's work in progress, including research projects, conferences, and innovative thinking.
- Research reports — peer-reviewed publications documenting completed research projects.
- Annotated bibliographies — introductions to published material, in both the business and academic press, about key areas of organizational development.
- Articles and presentations — selected material on CCL's leadership development activities.
- Senior Leadership Team Coaching
Senior leadership teams are arguably the most important groups in any organization. Their decisions have implications for everyone else in the organization as well as for the future of the organization itself. In this brief, we will review what these groups have to do and what they need. We will consider why senior leadership team coaching might be important for their success and raise some cautions for those who would like to work in the field. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 555 KB) - Stepping into the Void
Reflections and insights from a forum on crisis leadership convened at the Center for Creative Leadership march 13-15, 2007. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 1.2 MB) - What's Next?
What's next in the field of leadership? CCL asked more than 1,000 executives worldwide. Our new research white paper shares their answers -- and captures the most important trends in leadership. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 353 KB) - Leadership and the Triple Bottom Line
A CCL research white paper about bringing sustainability and corporate social responsibility to life. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 315 KB) - 10 Trends: A Study of Senior Executives' Views on the Future
This new, groundbreaking research reveals what global business leaders believe are the 10 biggest trends in effective leadership. Among them: collaboration, innovation and talent management. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 305 KB) - Stress of Leadership
The Stress of Leadership research examines how stress impacts leadership. Two major research methods were used: a short in-class survey via computer kiosks and a volunteer Internet survey sent to CCL participants two to three weeks after completion of their respective programs. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 297 KB) - Everyday Leadership
The Everyday Leadership research study attempts to better understand non-traditional leaders -- stay-at-home moms, small business owners, students, doctors, educators -- by gaining insights into their personal lives, their thoughts and theories about the practice of leadership, and their hopes for the future. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 297 KB) - The Changing Nature of Leadership: A CCL Research White Paper
How has leadership changed and will it look different in the future? The Center for Creative Leadership explored this question with more than 300 leaders - and uncovered some important, emerging trends. Learn more in The Changing Nature of Leadership: A CCL Research White Paper. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 1.5 MB) - The State of Teams - A Research White Paper from CCL
CCL's 2006 State of Teams white paper provides a broad look at the challenges, needs, and functioning of teams in today's organizations. This report was based on survey results from 118 CCL program alumni. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 291 KB)
- Choosing 360: A Guide to Evaluating Multi-rater Feedback Instruments for Management Developmenta
Because of the availability of so many feedback instruments, finding the best instruments for an organization's needs is difficult. This volume, an update of Feedback to Managers, Volume I: A Guide to Evaluating Multi-rater Feedback Instruments (CCL, 1991), presents a step-by-step process that shows how to evaluate multiple-feedback questionnaires intended for management development. The steps take you through such issues as instrument development, consistency of score, validity and reliability, feedback display, scoring strategies, and cost. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 815 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase. - Interdependent Leadership in Organizations: Evidence from Six Case Studiesa
In September 2005, the Connected Leadership Project Team at the Center for Creative Leadership undertook to design and implement a case study research project to better understand "interdependent" leadership in organizations. Our assumption was that for organizations to deal effectively with increasing complexity in their environments, new approaches to leadership are needed-approaches that are themselves more complex than current approaches. This report outlines the theoretical frameworks and the research questions that guided our inquiry, then describes our methods and results. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 779 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase. - The Realities of Management Promotiona
Promotions are among the most significant rewards a manager can receive. They are also important events for an organization. Yet little is known about what goes into the actual promotion decision. This report documents a study of how the promotion decisions of senior-level employees in three Fortune 500 companies were actually made. A clearer picture is gained through interviews with those involved in the process and through access to performance appraisals and succession-planning documents. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 496 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase. - An Evaluation of the Outcomes of a Leadership Development Programa
How did a program designed for school superintendents in Florida affect the 38 individuals who participated? This report is an evaluation of one run of the Chief Executive Officer Leadership Development Program, developed by the Center. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 610 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase. - Choosing Executives: A Research Report on the Peak Selection Simulationa
Failure rate for senior executives is high; consider the frequent stories in the press about yet another CEO who has been fired or has resigned prematurely. Hypothesizing that the selection process is inadequate, CCL researchers used the Peak Selection Simulation to ask 621 decision-makers specific questions about how they use interviews, HR information, and search firm reports to select top-level candidates. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 179 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase. - A Glass Ceiling Survey: Benchmarking Barriers and Practicesa
The authors report here on the Glass Ceiling Benchmark Survey, which asked human resources professionals about the importance of diversity to their organization, the organization's effectiveness in achieving diversity, the effect of barriers on the upward mobility of nontraditional managers, and the prevalence and importance of key practices for supporting workforce diversity. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 568 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase. - A Cross-National Comparison of Effective Leadership and Teamwork: Toward a Global Workforcea
What does managerial effectiveness look like in the new global business environment? This research report presents the findings of a two-year study that compared managers' views on effective leadership in Europe and the United States. Perceptions of work-related values of effective leaders and team members in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States were measured using SYMLOG, a group-level assessment tool, and the results were analyzed for similarities and differences. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 843 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase. - International Success: Selecting, Developing, and Supporting Expatriate Managersa
When managers in multinational companies are not properly prepared for assignments in foreign countries, the costs are great - for the managers themselves, for their organizations, and for their home countries. But how can expatriates prepare for such assignments? The selection-development-support framework described in this report not only identifies the important factors to consider when working overseas but also specifies ways to develop a talent pool of effective expatriates. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 1.2 MB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase. - Helping Leaders Take Effective Action: A Program Evaluationa
In 1989 CCL developed LeaderLab, a program that aims to help individuals take effective and sustained action in their leadership situations. A subsequent evaluation of the program assessed its effectiveness. This report discusses an important question that arose out of that assessment: Do action-oriented programs help participants take more effective action in their leadership situations? (more...) (Adobe PDF, 529 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase. - Executive Selection: A Research Report on What Works and What Doesn'ta
Over a span of two years, researchers at the Center for Creative Leadership conducted in-depth interviews with 325 senior executives who had personally taken part in choosing someone for a top-level position. The findings, reported here, illuminate (1) how executive selection takes place in modern organizations, (2) what factors determine whether organizations look inside or outside for candidates, and (3) how selected executives are defined as successful or unsuccessful. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 909 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase. - Managerial Promotion: The Dynamics for Men and Womena
Although women have made considerable progress into management ranks in the last 20 years, it is generally acknowledged that the rate of their advancement has not kept pace with their increasing educational achievements and career commitments. One organizational practice affecting the mobility of women, which has received relatively little research attention, is the decision process used in promotions. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 778 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase. - Key Events and Lessons for Managers in a Diverse Workforce: A Report on Research and Findingsa
The survival of an organization often depends on its developing effective leaders. Along with formal executive training efforts, job experiences and assignments are also crucial to managerial development and career success. Just as the workplace continues to change, the experiences that managers see as key to their own leadership development are also changing. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 180 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase. - Managerial Effectiveness in a Global Contexta
In 1998 the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) embarked on a research study designed to understand the capacities of individuals who are effective in global roles. It was created to examine the relationship between measures of effectiveness and the individual's background, personality, learning skills, knowledge of the job, and the enactment of role behaviors. Seen from a larger perspective, the study worked within the scope of more than a decade of reports, books, articles, and other work devoted to answering the questions of what individuals need to be effective managing and leading global organizations. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 286 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase.
- Formal Mentoring in Organizations: An Annotated Bibliographya
This publication summarizes for practitioners 80 books and articles selected from the practical and academic literature. The experiences of individuals and organizations with formal mentoring programs are described, with additional information about benefits and drawbacks, organizational objectives, and methods for building effective programs. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 227 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase - Geographically Dispersed Teams: An Annotated Bibliographya
Geographically dispersed teams are work groups with members separated by time and distance. Essential to the success of organizations in a global marketplace, these teams create unique challenges to effective task performance. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 1.4 MB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase - 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...) (Adobe PDF, 1.1 MB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase - The Human Side of Knowledge Management: An Annotated Bibliographya
The technology behind knowledge management is familiar to many managers, but the human side of knowledge management is less familiar. For example, how do motivation and learning affect the individual's acquisition and transfer of knowledge, and how do group dynamics mediate the role of knowledge in an organization? (more...) (Adobe PDF, 1.2 MB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase - Selecting International Executives: A Suggested Framework and Annotated Bibliographya
Organizations looking to establish and maintain a proactive global presence have executive selection requirements that go beyond traditional leadership skills. These requirements also include cross-cultural experience in negotiating, developing, and maintaining partnerships with other businesses worldwide. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 599 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase - Workforce Reductions: An Annotated Bibliographya
Organizations continue to restructure themselves to meet the competitive demands of a global economy. Because reductions in the workforce are typically a byproduct of those strategic realignments, and because such reductions seriously affect individuals and the company itself, they must be taken into account if reorganization efforts are to succeed. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 611 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase - High-Performance Work Organizations: Definitions, Practices, and an Annotated Bibliographya
Organizations often channel workflow around key business processes in order to enhance their productivity. Those that succeed are referred to as high-performance work organizations (HIPOs). Yet, little is known about the systems that drive high performance or even what defines a HIPO. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 626 KB)
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...) (Adobe PDF, 1.2 MB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase - Selection At the Top: An Annotated Bibliographya
Recent stories about the failures of CEOs and members of top management indicate a need for more and better information for those who make selection decisions. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 606 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase - Management Development Through Job Experiences: An Annotated Bibliographya
On-the-job experiences can provide managers with valuable developmental opportunities. Over the past several years researchers have studied learning on the job and practitioners have devised techniques to stimulate it. In this comprehensive bibliography, both the research and practice perspectives are represented. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 655 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase - Using 360-Degree Feedback in Organizations: An Annotated Bibliographya
As the use of multi-rater assessment tools in organizations increases, so does the number of books and articles about its use. This publication helps the people who select such instruments for organizations, as well as those who complete the instruments, by providing an introduction to this growing practical literature. (more...) (Adobe PDF, 560 KB)
Printed Copy Available for Purchase
- The Center for Creative Leadership regularly conducts research on topics, critical to understanding and developing effective leadership including the relationship between leadership skills and emotional intelligence, and 360-degree feedback best practices for ensuring impact. Our research seeks to capture critical issues, best practices, key relationships, and future directions in important assessment related topics. To examine any of these studies, click on the links below:
- Leadership Skills & Emotional Intelligence (Adobe PDF, 171 KB)
- 360-Degree Feedback Best Practices To Ensure Impact (Adobe PDF, 141 KB)
- Leadership Development: Past, Present, and Future
"This article reviews notable trends in the leadership development field. In the past two decades, such trends included the proliferation of new leadership development methods and a growing recognition of the importance of a leader's emotional resonance with others."
Read the article from Human Resource Planning here (9 pages, 2004, Adobe PDF).
Reprinted with permission from HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING, Vol. 27, No. 1 (2004). Copyright 2004 by The Human Resource Planning Society, 317 Madison Avenue, Suite 1509, New York, NY 10017, Phone: +1 212 490 6387, Fax: +1 212 682 6851. - Center and CHF International Co-Sponsor Panel Discussion on Capitol Hill
In June, CCL and CHF International co-sponsored a Capitol Hill panel discussion on the role and importance of developing local leadership in fragile states. Two panels of experts shared their perspectives and strategies for supporting local leadership as a building block toward stable societies, exploring the importance of supporting local leadership in states such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan and seeking to identify best practices. View videos from the discussion. - Center Co-Sponsors Leadership & Complexity Conference
On May 13-15, the Center was pleased to co-sponsor a significant research conference with the University of Central Florida, Clemson University and Texas Tech University. The Leadership & Complexity Symposium, brought forty-two scholars in the fields of leadership and complexity science to our Greensboro campus for the weekend. The work of the conference centered around three goals: (1) advancing the field of complexity leadership, (2) building a network of interaction and collaboration, (3) contributing to a book on complexity leadership, as well as to a special issue of Leadership Quarterly, to be published in 2006. For more information on the conference, contact Ellen Van Velsor, Senior Fellow, Research & Innovation (vanvelsor@leaders.ccl.org) - Differences in the Developmental Needs of Managers at Multiple Levels
What has not been clear from the literature regarding training needs of managers at different organizational levels is specifically what different types of learning, knowledge, and training they need at each level, or how these skills are best learned. This study, presented at the Society for Industrial/ Organizational Psychology (SIOP) annual meeting in Chicago in April, 2004, addresses two primary questions asked by many organizations as they develop internal training programs for their managers:- What do employees want to learn, and
- How do they want to learn?
See the presentation slideshow here (29 pages, April 2004, Adobe Acrobat PDF file).
This related report (9 pages, August 2003, Adobe Acrobat PDF file) from CCL's research project, Emerging Leaders: Revolution, Evolution, or Status Quo?, presents some interesting and useful information regarding cross-generational issues faced by managers in the workplace.
Join myCCL
Become a Premium member