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Professor
Buck named director of leadership initiatives
In
September, Kellogg School Clinical Associate Professor of
Management and Organizations Michelle
Buck took on a new role in addition to her teaching responsibilities
and position as associate director of Executive Education.
The
scholar, whose research and teaching includes leadership,
negotiations, and organizational behavior, became director
of leadership initiatives at Kellogg. Dean Dipak
C. Jain appointed Buck to the role, designed to help integrate,
coordinate and leverage existing Kellogg leadership-related
offerings and identify additional opportunities.
Buck,
who earned a doctorate in social psychology from Princeton
University, has been a faculty member at Kellogg since 2001,
although previously (1992-1994) she had been a visiting assistant
professor at the Kellogg
Dispute Resolution Research Center.
Kellogg
World recently spoke with Professor Buck about her new
appointment and what the situation means for leadership opportunities
at the school.
Kellogg
World: How did this new position come about and how
does it fit within the overall leadership strategy that Kellogg
has put forward?
Prof.
Michelle Buck: It emerges from the Kellogg School's desire
to expand the leadership development of our students. The
school has always been known for its expertise in teamwork
and for its culture that supports collaborative learning,
but the school wanted to build upon those strengths. Dean
Jain has spoken about the school distinguishing itself in
team leadership, thought leadership and civic leadership. The school's mission is to create knowledge
and develop socially responsible global leaders. For two years,
a leadership task force composed of students, faculty and
administrators has met to explore ways that the school can
leverage existing offerings in the area of leadership and
generate new ones. Part of that discussion was to create a
position so that one faculty member would be a "point person" for these leadership-related initiatives.
Kellogg
World: What are the position's main responsibilities
or objectives?
Prof.
Buck: There are two primary areas of focus. The first
is to integrate, coordinate and leverage existing leadership-related
offerings. There are already a lot of leadership-related activities
going on in the school. Students have many opportunities to
fill leadership roles in clubs, associations and committees.
They demonstrate leadership in the many ways that they contribute
to the school's curriculum, programs and culture. This is
true in all our MBA programs. Faculty are already doing research
on many leadership-related topics, even when the word "leadership"
may not explicitly appear as part of their work's title. And
there are many programs that enable students to further their
leadership development while they are here. We need to weave
a thread through all these initiatives: What is the Kellogg
leadership experience? What are the opportunities? What are
examples of leadership in action at Kellogg? This new position
enables us to better leverage existing offerings by presenting
a clear focus on what we have to offer in the leadership area.
Secondly,
the position helps create new leadership initiatives, programs
and opportunities. We want to do everything we can to support
our students and alumni in becoming socially responsible global
leaders who make a positive difference in their organizations
and communities.
Kellogg
World: What makes you most excited about this new role?
Prof.
Buck: It's great to be in a position to build existing
strengths and explore new possibilities. The Kellogg community
is already so strong in its commitment, creativity and expertise.
This new position is incredibly exciting because we can collectively
ask: What does it mean for Kellogg to be a leader in the area
of leadership? What an exciting question. What is the common
"story" that unites our many leadership initiatives?
What type of leadership is uniquely aligned with Kellogg culture
and values? How can a school support leadership development
throughout the student's educational experience? Kellogg has
already been exploring these issues, but the new position
enables a stronger, more integrated approach.
— MG
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