Florida International University (FIU), South Florida’s leading business school with a unique expertise in international business, provided the appropriate setting for the “Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty: The Evolving Leader in a World without Borders” research colloquium.
This multidisciplinary event on October 25, 2011, was part of Leadership Colloquium 2011, presented by the Center for Leadership in the College of Business Administration. More than 70 students, professors and members of the business community learned about exciting new research focused on specific aspects of international leadership.
Executive Dean Joyce J. Elam welcomed the group to the event, moderated by Nathan Katz, founder and director of the Program in the Study of Spirituality, Department of Religious Studies.
Jose R. de la Torre, professor emeritus, Department of Management and International Business, presented research on “Educating Global Citizens: Issues and Approaches” and Paul Kowert, associate chair, Department of International Relations, delivered “How Countries Differ: The Factor Structure of State Identity.”
Modesto A. Maidique, executive director of the center and president emeritus of FIU, spoke on “Are You a Level-Six Leader?” and Meredith Newman, director, School of Public Administration, addressed the topic “Emotional Labor and Burnout: What Managers Need to Know.”
“I had never heard of the concept of emotional labor before,” said attendee Jose Rodriguez, assistant dean of FIU’s Honors College. “The amount of effort that goes into doing a particular task has emotional components as well. Effective leaders will understand that and guide their followers accordingly.”
On the topic of “Do CEOs Believe They are Smarter, More Skilled and Better than You?” Nathan Hiller, who teaches courses on leadership, presented research on executive narcissism.
“A study of 209 CEOs shows that they do have stronger feelings of superiority than the rest of the population but there are different levels within that high range,” said Hiller, also pointing out that the level of narcissism becomes predictive in determining how a CEO will run an organization.
“I thought the entire event was very worthwhile,” Rodriguez said. “I learned quite a bit, including information on topics that were new to me.”