Mentors talk to you, sponsors talk about you. 

Drawing from her research on power, status, and social hierarchy and experience building executive leadership programming, Dr. Chow transforms our understanding of networking and career advancement by differentiating sponsorship from mentorship. She will discuss the core ideas from her book, The Doors You Can Open, sharing how looking for opportunities to be a sponsor – rather than a beneficiary of sponsorship – can change how we approach our relationships, build trust, and elevate others, ourselves, and our communities.

Rosalind Chow is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Theory at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research, teaching, and writing focus on how we all participate in social systems in ways that have implications for the maintenance or attenuation of inequity. Her current research focuses on how people can use their social connections to elevate others via sponsorship. 

Chow serves as the faculty director for CLIMB, offered through the Tepper School of Business in partnership with Deloitte. CLIMB focuses on preparing Black and Latino professionals for leadership positions in the accounting industry. Prior to CLIMB, Chow served as the founding faculty director for the Executive Leadership Academy, an executive leadership program addressing the challenges facing the advancement of Black leaders in the Pittsburgh region. 

Chow holds a BA in Psychology from Columbia University and a PhD in Organizational Behavior from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She currently lives in Pittsburgh, PA, with her husband, Jeff Galak, and their two children, Lia and Simon.

The Positive Links Speaker Series, presented by Michigan Ross’ Center for Positive Organizations, offers inspiring and practical science-based strategies to build and bolster thriving organizations. Attendees learn from leading positive organizational scholars and connect with our community of academics, students, staff, and leaders. 

Hosted by Monica Worline, Faculty Director, Center for Positive Organizations

Register here for this free online event. Please note, this event has been standardized to the Eastern Time Zone.

Join us for the second edition of the Charter for Compassion Global Youth Conference, a youth-led global gathering designed to reimagine leadership through the lens of compassion, justice, and transformative action. This virtual conference will feature special programming by KidsRights through their State of Youth Program on October 30, bringing powerful energy to our closing day.

Each year, this virtual convening brings together young changemakers, activists, students, educators, and visionaries for inspiring keynotes, interactive panels, skill-building workshops, and meaningful global connections. At its heart, the conference is a space for transformative ideas, compassionate action, and collective impact.

Register here for this free online event. Please note, this event has been standardized to the Eastern Time Zone.

Work can be a lonely place, with people experiencing isolation and anxiety. Some of us have added stress from family responsibilities, mental and physical health challenges, or addiction and recovery.

Yet each of us can approach others with care — showing up to meet our coworkers where they are. We care because it is necessary, not because we are looking to be acknowledged, expect anything in return, or want to change others. Care opens the possibility of building meaningful connections, allowing us to transcend workplace difficulties so we can focus on our work.

In caring for ourselves, we find ways to ask for help when we need it (and not because we want someone else to do our work for us). With perspective and — for some of us — with spiritual and/or faith practices, we find a sense of calm and maintain balance, avoiding extreme thinking and actions that undermine our well-being.

Join Amy Newman and Christina McDowell from Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business for an enlightening Keynote on creating a more compassionate workplace through intentional communication and connection. You’ll discover valuable strategies for approaching work relationships with care while maintaining personal balance, empowering you to navigate professional challenges with greater ease and understanding.

What You'll Learn

• How to approach everyday communication interactions with care for yourself and for others

• Practical strategies to build meaningful connections and meet work challenges with ease

• How greater calm keeps us agile and open to possibilities, yet grounded enough to avoid extreme reactions

Register here for this free online event. Please note, this event has been standardized to the Eastern Time Zone.

Companies–with global, national, or regional operations–profoundly influence local economies, shape employment trends, the small business ecosystem, real estate prices, and education trends. Leading corporations are redefining their role as local change agents through strategic, place-based approaches that go beyond traditional philanthropy. Join us for an engaging and interactive discussion featuring leaders from 3M, Prudential Financial, and Verizon who will share how they are leveraging their full range of business assets to drive meaningful local impact in place. Together, we’ll explore different archetypes for corporate local social impact and equip you with practical examples and lessons learned from co-developing solutions with communities, deploying resources beyond grantmaking, and building authentic trust that drives both business value and community prosperity.

Speakers:

• Sarah Keh, Vice President, Inclusive Solutions, Prudential Financial

• Michelle Liberatore, Senior Program Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility, Verizon

• Michael Stroik, Vice President of 3M Community Impact, 3M

• Lakshmi Iyer, Managing Director, FSG

• Erin Sullivan, Managing Director, FSG

Register here for this free online event. Please note, this event has been standardized to the Eastern Time Zone.

This World Kindness Day join Karuna's Venerable Tsultrim for this online event, as she discusses "Why Kindness Matters" with Professor Robin Banerjee, and Compassion in Politics with Jennifer Nadel. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in an interactive session, discussing the topics explored by guest speakers.

• Professor Robin Banerjee a professor of developmental psychology and the inaugural Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global and Civic Engagement at the University of Sussex.  He formerly served as Director of Teaching and Learning and later as Head of the School of Psychology at Sussex, one of the largest and most academically diverse communities of psychology students and staff in the UK.  In his current role as Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Robin is the University’s strategic lead for global and civic engagement, establishing and strengthening institutional relationships with stakeholders and partner organisations in the local community as well as internationally.  Professor Banerjee’s research focuses on the social and emotional  development of young people, and he works closely with practitioners and policymakers in the areas of education and mental health. He founded the Sussex Centre for Research on Kindness, an interdisciplinary research centre focused on illuminating the nature of kindness and its impacts on people and communities. Professor Banerjee recently led The Kindness Test, a partnership with the BBC that became the world’s largest ever public science project on kindness, as well as The Screen Test, a partnership with the Radio Times that marked their centenary by exploring the power of television and radio in people's lives.  He is also an expert advisor to EmpathyLab, an organisation that works with schools, libraries, and other community stakeholders to promote empathy and reading for pleasure through the power of children’s books. 

• Jennifer Nadel is the Co-director of the cross-party think tank, Compassion in Politics and the Director of Compassionate Politics at Stanford University’s Centre for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education.  She has worked in and around Westminster for three decades and advised politicians and campaigns locally, nationally and internationally.  A barrister, author, strategist, keynote speaker and award-winning television  journalist (ex BBC, Channel Four News and ITN), her books include:  Sunday Times bestseller, WE: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere (written with Gillian Anderson);  How Compassion can Transform our Politics, Economy and Society.  Her BBC Radio documentary, Broken  Politics.Broken Politicians explores the mental health crisis in UK politics and the implications for democracy. Similar research is now being done with Australian politicians on their mental wellbeing and Compassion in Politics will shortly be launching in Australia. She provides training in Resilience and Compassionate Leadership globally. Her father was interned in Australia during WWII as a Dunera boy and she has written about the injustice of his experience in Fault Lines, Australia's Unequal Past which is published in October 2025. https://publishing.monash.edu/product/fault-lines/ 

Register here for this free online event. Please note, this event has been standardized to the Eastern Time Zone.

Good listening isn’t just passive attention; it is an active tool that shapes how people think, feel, and connect. Professor Guy Itzchakov’s research shows that high-quality listening, marked by focused attention, accurate understanding, and a non-judgmental intent, facilitates profound introspection, self-disclosure, and social connection. When employees feel truly heard, they report higher job satisfaction and performance, stronger commitment, and lower burnout and turnover intentions. Experiments also show that being genuinely listened to reduces social defensiveness, promotes self-reflection, and can depolarize attitudes and disagreements.  

In this Positive Links session, Prof. Itzchakov will share his cutting-edge research and unpack what makes listening “high quality” and why it matters for leaders, employees, and practitioners. Drawing on studies from his lab and work with organizations worldwide, he will explain the components of good listening and demonstrate concrete behaviors that make people feel understood. Join us to learn how high-quality listening builds trust, liking, and relationship satisfaction; how it can bridge ideological divides and spark innovation by reducing defensiveness; and how to cultivate a listening culture through training and practice. By the end of the session, you will have research-based tools to foster positive relationships and build organizations where people can thrive.

Guy Itzchakov is an Associate Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Human Services at the University of Haifa, where he directs the “Interpersonal Listening and Social Influence Lab”. Guy received his PhD in Business Administration from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2017) and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto (2018).  

His research focuses on the effects of high-quality listening on listeners’ and speakers’ emotions, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as listening training in organizations. Guy’s research includes laboratory experiments, field studies, and listening training studies. The latter examines how listening training programs in organizations impact managers, employees, and organizational outcomes. Other research lines include attitudes and persuasion, attitude ambivalence, and goal setting.  

In 2023, Guy received an early career award from the Attitudes and Social Influence Group at the Society of Personality and Social Psychology. His research appeared in leading journals in Social and Organizational Psychology, such as the Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Emotion, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, and Applied Psychology: An International Review. His research received funding from the Israel Science Foundation, the Israel-U.S. Bi-national Science Foundation, and the Templeton World Charity Foundation. Guy also writes a blog for Psychology Today called “The Listening Lens”.

The Positive Links Speaker Series, presented by Michigan Ross’ Center for Positive Organizations, offers inspiring and practical science-based strategies to build and bolster thriving organizations. Attendees learn from leading positive organizational scholars and connect with our community of academics, students, staff, and leaders. 

Hosted by Monica Worline, Faculty Director, Center for Positive Organizations. 

Register here for this free online event. Please note, this event has been standardized to the Eastern Time Zone.

A troubling trend is emerging in today’s workplace: employee morale and overall satisfaction are in sharp decline, despite companies investing more in wellness initiatives than ever before. What’s missing? Contrary to popular beliefs and large investments from companies, “add-on” offerings like wellness classes, mindfulness training, and healthy lifestyle initiatives are not perceived as helpful for improving employee wellness. Many organizations misunderstand wellness―it’s not a program or a box to check. Instead, employees’ actual day-to-day experiences at work and interactions with their leaders are far more important than wellness programs or initiatives. 

Learn about a science-backed blueprint for fostering healthier, more productive work environments rooted in actionable steps for leaders to become “Generators”―the leaders organizations and employees value most who cultivate genuine connections, create a positive team culture, and help employees achieve their work and life goals. Gain a clear, data-driven path forward and a concrete plan to turn the session’s insights into action―to become the Generators you and others have the potential to be.

About Sawyer:

Dr. Katina Sawyer is an internationally recognized expert on the science of workplace wellness. She is the co-author of Leading for Wellness: How to Create a Team Culture Where Everyone Thrives and co-host of the Leading for Wellness podcast, which brings research-backed insights to people passionate about building thriving workplaces. As co-founder of Workr Beeing, Dr. Sawyer is on a mission to make evidence-based wellness strategies accessible to employees everywhere. 

A TEDx speaker and a thought leader featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Fast Company, and other major outlets, Dr. Sawyer has delivered hundreds of presentations to audiences around the world. Her expertise has also been showcased on both local and national news, where she brings clarity and inspiration to conversations about what it takes to foster wellbeing at work. 

Dr. Sawyer is also an award-winning researcher and an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters — which focus on leadership, employee flourishing, and organizational culture — many of which have been published in top journals such as Journal of Applied Psychology and Administrative Science Quarterly. Katina has received over 15 national research and teaching awards, including the SIOP Early Career Award for Humanistic I-O Psychology, the University of Michigan’s Positive Organizational Scholarship Publication of the Year, and Philadelphia’s 40 Under 40 distinction. 

Through her Psychology Today blog, her “Leading for Wellness” podcast, and her company Workr Beeing, Dr. Sawyer is widely recognized as a bridge-builder between science and practice — empowering individuals and organizations to create cultures where everyone can thrive.

The Positive Links Speaker Series, presented by Michigan Ross’ Center for Positive Organizations, offers inspiring and practical science-based strategies to build and bolster thriving organizations. Attendees learn from leading positive organizational scholars and connect with our community of academics, students, staff, and leaders. 

Hosted by Monica Worline, Faculty Director, Center for Positive Organizations. 

Register here for this free online event. Please note, this event has been standardized to the Eastern Time Zone

This session explores a mindset shift that supports effective action in the face of uncertainty. This shift is well captured by the short phrase, “think like a scientist,” offered as a deliberate contrast to thinking like a (command-and-control) manager. Classically, managers supplied answers and plans and evaluated how well others executed on them.  In contrast, successful leaders of scientific labs offer direction and questions that empower action and help others make sense of data. This is not about being more lenient or laissez-faire, but rather about a new type of discipline. Their model provides an analog that leaders in any industry today can learn from. In short, today’s leaders must abandon the discipline of control to embrace the discipline of learning. Key concepts covered include psychological safety, intelligent failure, and interpersonal skills for high-quality conversations.

About Edmondson:

Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, a chair established to support the study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful enterprises that contribute to the betterment of society. 

Edmondson has been recognized by the biannual Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers since 2011, and most recently was ranked #1 in 2021 and 2023; she also received that organization’s Breakthrough Idea Award in 2019 and Talent Award in 2017.  She studies teaming, psychological safety, and organizational learning, and her articles have been published in numerous academic and management outlets, including Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Harvard Business Review, and California Management Review.

Her 2019 book, The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth, has been translated into 15 languages. Edmondson’s latest book, Right Kind of Wrong, builds on her prior work on psychological safety and teaming to provide a framework for thinking about, discussing, and practicing the science of failing well. First published in the US and in the UK (Penguin) in September 2023, the book is due to be translated into 24 additional languages and was selected for the Financial Times and Schroders Best Business Book of the Year award. 

Through her Psychology Today blog, her “Leading for Wellness” podcast, and her company Workr Beeing, Dr. Sawyer is widely recognized as a bridge-builder between science and practice — empowering individuals and organizations to create cultures where everyone can thrive.

The Positive Links Speaker Series, presented by Michigan Ross’ Center for Positive Organizations, offers inspiring and practical science-based strategies to build and bolster thriving organizations. Attendees learn from leading positive organizational scholars and connect with our community of academics, students, staff, and leaders. 

Hosted by Monica Worline, Faculty Director, Center for Positive Organizations. 

Register here for this free online event. Please note, this event has been standardized to the Eastern Time Zone.

Social psychologist and leadership expert Adam Galinsky has spent three decades building a method for determining when we are inspiring versus infuriating, and where each of us—presidents, CEOs, coaches, teachers, parents—currently land on that spectrum. In this talk, Galinsky will unpack the science of inspiration and show how inspiring and infuriating leaders represent a universal continuum that is rooted in the very architecture of the human brain. In his research, Galinsky has identified the three universal features in inspiring others. Because these three universal factors can be learned and developed, Galinsky has proven that inspiring leaders aren’t just born—instead, we can inspire or infuriate in any given moment through our behavior, words, or presence. Galinsky will reveal how all of us, regardless of status or circumstance, can be more inspiring more often.

About Galinsky:

Adam Galinsky is the Paul Calello Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Columbia Business School. A world-renowned expert in leadership and negotiation, he authored the recently released INSPIRE: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others and co-authored the bestselling book, Friend & Foe. His books are based in over 300 scientific articles and chapters he has co-authored. His TED Talk, How to Speak Up for Yourself, has over 7.7 million views, highlighting his impact on influence and inspiration. Professor Galinsky has served as a damages expert in a dozen trials involving reputational damage, including Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News and Bacon v. Nygard. His expert reports and testimony have generated more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements. He is an Executive and Associate Producer on six award-winning documentaries, including two (Horns and Halos (2003) and Battle for Brooklyn (2011)) that were short-listed (final 15) for Best Documentary at the Academy Awards. He received his PhD from Princeton University and his BA from Harvard University.

The Positive Links Speaker Series, presented by Michigan Ross’ Center for Positive Organizations, offers inspiring and practical science-based strategies to build and bolster thriving organizations. Attendees learn from leading positive organizational scholars and connect with our community of academics, students, staff, and leaders. 

Hosted by Monica Worline, Faculty Director, Center for Positive Organizations. 

Register here for this free online event. Please note, this event has been standardized to the Eastern Time Zone.