Blog from Jorge Walter, Professor of Strategic Management and Public Policy
Although I have been exposed to many of the topics we discussed in GWALA as a management researcher, I took a number of truly new insights with me from every session we had together, and both the associated materials and assignments as well as the invited speakers offered new perspectives and helped spark new ideas on how to tackle the challenges that come with our faculty and administrative careers. The readings, checklists, and hand-outs we received will come in very handy when I confront the inevitable next challenge at work, and I really appreciate having access to those resources as part of my GWALA experience. A special thanks to Jeff Brand and Sara Melita for hosting our GWALA cohort!
Here is a brief example of how I was able to integrate lessons learned in the GWALA program in my job duties. We discussed three frameworks in our session on “Communication,” and my ongoing recruitment efforts for new PhD students were an excellent opportunity for me to apply the “Influencing Others” framework from the Center for Creative Leadership.
Specifically, although I have been the lead professor for our department’s PhD program for close to a decade now, I have no formal authority whatsoever over my colleagues, and even less over our school leadership who is funding the program. As a result, the success of all of our efforts depends on my ability to convince my colleagues and school leadership to join my department’s efforts of their own volition. And unfortunately, for a thriving PhD program, it is not enough to obtain compliance from faculty and the deans, but an ongoing commitment from a critical mass of colleagues is necessary to sustain our program.
Head: This appears to be the easiest of the three, as most of our research-active faculty members already agree that an R1 research university’s business school should have a thriving PhD program, and that having such a program can serve as a catalyst for our research culture. In addition, I occasionally share current research about the connection between having a PhD program and a department’s research productivity.
Heart: To influence the heart, I found it most useful to keep my department colleagues as well as our deans in the loop about our current PHD students’ accomplishments, such as presentations, publications, and job offers, which serve as a point of pride for our program, department, and the school—even for faculty members who are not directly involved with the program or its students. In fact, I have often seen my role in the department to be the PhD program’s main cheerleader. I also found it helpful to connect our current PhD students with faculty directly, for instance around brown bags or invited speakers, as that has helped create personal relationships between our PhD students and faculty—and we all know we care more about people we know personally.
Hand: To lend a hand, I offered advice by sharing an evidence-based interview guide our colleagues in the Management Department have developed for PhD students, but left it up to my department colleagues if they wanted to use it. I also solicited feedback and advice from my colleagues throughout the process to make sure everyone feels included and can support the process with their unique perspective and expertise. I also strive to work across the business school to share best practices for recruiting and retaining PhD students with other departments and forge alliances with key champions of the program in other departments.