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Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership

Call For Papers

Character Leadership as a Competitive Advantage: Perspectives Around the Globe

AMPLIFY Journal

Character Leadership as a Competitive Advantage: Perspectives Around the Globe

The monthly Amplify journal provides a foundation of unbiased research and opinion to help you form your organization’s own opinion, practices, and policies on the business and technology topics that matter most. Amplify advances the thinking of our global network of academics, thought leaders, business strategists and technologists, giving you the insight that helps you anticipate change, adapt quickly, and leverage new business opportunities.

Upcoming edition's guest editors from the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership:
Dusya Vera and Ana Ruiz Pardo

Abstract Deadline: August 15
Article Deadline: October 15

Historically, the success of a leader was primarily attributed to their competency in their role. But is this attribution accurate or sufficient? Examinations of past high profile leadership failures — such as the 2008 financial crisis, Boeing 737 Max, and the Volkswagen emissions scandal — have revealed that, while competency is a necessary component of leadership, it is clearly inadequate as a sole driver of success. This has resulted in an important shift towards cultivating ‘who’ leaders are, not just what they do — that is, elevating their character alongside their competence in the practice of leadership.

Simply put, character matters. Around the globe there is rising interest in investigating character’s pivotal role in leadership: what it is, how to develop it, and how it affects organizations. Character matters not only at the individual level, but also at the group, organization, and societal level. Notably, character’s role in leadership is not only important for sustained excellence within an individual or an organization, but also has implications for addressing the grand challenges described by the global Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs). Organizations from around the world have ongoing programs, practices, and strategies dedicated to generating meaningful outcomes on these objectives and are exploring how character plays an impactful role in responding to the SDGs at each (or multiple) levels.

An upcoming issue of Amplify, with Guest Editors Dusya Vera and Ana Ruiz Pardo, will explore the most recent initiatives, approaches, and advancements in answering these key questions centered around character.

Article ideas may include, but are not limited, to the following:

  • How does character elevate performance and enable success?
  • How does character impact a leader’s response to and management of a crisis?
  • What is character and how is it developed?
  • What are character’s ‘roots’ (e.g., philosophy, ethics, theology, psychology)?
  • What role does character play at the individual, group, organizational, and societal level?
  • How can character improve well-being?
  • What role does character play in HR practices such as recruitment, selection, and performance management?
  • How does character inform, shape, or support an organization’s culture, purpose, and/or values?
  • How is character perceived/defined/assessed from the perspective of equity-deserving groups?
  • How does character advance the SDGs?
  • How does character give an organization a strategic advantage?
  • How does character enable employee activism?

FOR CONSIDERATION: Please send an abstract (~ 300 words or less of the proposed article scope and author(s) bio), to Dusya Vera, Ana Ruiz Pardo, and Christine Generali. The final article length is typically 2,000-3,500 words plus graphics. More editorial guidelines.

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