Insights From

Sean Martin

When It’s a Pro or a Con: The Proactive and Conscientious Combo

As a culture, we applaud proactivity. Just glance at job boards and you’ll see plenty of postings looking for “self-starters,” “innovators” and “go-getters” to join workplace teams. But are highly proactive people always a positive force in groups? Does loading your team with hustle help?

Seems Legit: How Phishing Scams Hijack Our Systems of Trust

Phishing scams: The same instincts and signals people use consciously or unconsciously to establish trust in the “real” world are the very same that get us into trouble online. Such vulnerability is due to the very nature of how human beings make judgment calls when it comes to trust. Understanding why we’re at risk is the first step.

Influence and Organizational Design: Behavioral Principles to Effect Change

How do you spread your influence across an organization? How do you ensure that the right systems or processes are in place to hire the outstanding talent you need? And what if you’re not in the C-suite — what can you do to improve the structures, procedures or design mechanisms within your organization if you’re a midlevel leader?

Voice and Class: Speaking Up and Challenges to Social Mobility

Social mobility in the U.S. is increasingly rare. How does that play out in the workplace? Contrary to the arguments past studies posed about workers coming from lower social class positions, the upwardly mobile are just as likely as their high-class counterparts to speak up and share ideas at work. So what could be the barriers to advancement?

Work the Conversation — by Talking Less About ‘Work’

First impressions matter to relationships and to productivity. Companies want their people to mingle and have the sort of “creative collisions” that lead to innovation. But how do the things we talk about when meeting new colleagues relate to staying in touch after that first meeting? The conversational topic — and language it inspires — matter.

Finding a New Normal for the Future of Work

Darden experts say thoughts on the new normal and the future of work.

6 Ways Business Leaders Should Prepare for 2022 and Beyond

University of Virginia Darden School of Business faculty share ways in which business leaders should prepare for 2022.

Ethical Leaders: Holding Teams Together in Adversity

Leadership matters more in challenging times. How does a team’s captain preserve confidence and commitment to the group, even when performance dips? New research shows that successful team dynamics may have a good deal to do with ethical leadership.

A Sense of Entitlement: From Childhood to the Workplace

People born to higher social class can make good impressions, be confident and end up in leadership. But they’re also geared to self-interest rather than collaboration. Research examines ties between childhood and current social class, mobility and entitlement; what this may mean for opportunity equality; and how it can be detrimental for firms.

Diversity Equity and Inclusion: Foundations and the Future

The social unrest of 2020 brought new attention to long-simmering issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in the U.S. and around the globe, and prompted many to seek to learn more about longstanding societal inequities — and potential paths forward. Six Darden professors deliver their thoughts and share additional thought leadership.