CCAL hosts Professor and Director of the Institute for Ethical Leadership Dr. Joanne Ciulla from the Rutgers School of Business for three presentations on leadership

On October 24 and 25, The Canadian Centre for Advanced Leadership in Business (CCAL) invited Dr. Joanne Ciulla, Director of the Institute for Ethical Leadership, to speak to students, staff and faculty about her findings in the field of leadership and business ethics.

While visiting the Haskayne School of Business, Dr. Ciulla delivered three presentations. The first was at CCAL’s Research Roundtable, where industry leaders and researchers were given the opportunity to learn about Dr. Ciulla’s perspective on ethical leadership and meaningful work. One of the attendees was research associate Duygu Gulseren who stated, “As a social scientist, my mind is conditioned to seek for a universal and generalizable conclusion about ethical leadership and meaningful work relationship. In contrast, Dr. Ciulla invited all the leaders in the room to question this relationship continuously keeping the changing culture and society in mind.” Dr. Ciulla’s philosophical background allowed the attendees to question their pre-existing beliefs and look at problems through a different lens.

Following the Research Roundtable, Dr. Ciulla presented at an event CCAL hosted in partnership with the Centre for Public Interest Accounting called “Accounting for Authentic Leadership: The Case of Nelson Mandela.” This event provided students, faculty and business leaders exposure to the expertise of a scholar who has conducted extensive research on influential leaders, such as Nelson Mandela. Third-year student Nick Zacharias participated in the conversation and one of his main takeaways was that there are many different leadership styles and authenticity is only one of them. Based on Nick’s experience along with many other students, it is evident that Dr. Ciulla challenged the audience to question their assumptions. When students enter the workforce, it is important to be able to approach problems with an open mind. Dr. Ciulla’s presentation brought awareness to thinking outside the box and allowed students to walk away with a better understanding of this concept.

The Leadership Ethics Speaker Series was Dr. Ciulla’s third event with CCAL. This event provides students in the Master of Management program the opportunity to engage with a leading scholar whose research allows them to think about core ethical concepts on a deeper and more critical level. Continuing with the theme of ethical leadership, Dr. Ciulla’s discussion focused on the question “Why is it difficult to be an ethical leader?” By examining the challenges leaders go through, students can better understand the moral dilemmas that may arise and avoid the cycle of unethical decision making.

Dr. Ciulla has been acclaimed in the field of leadership ethics for decades and was presented with two lifetime achievement awards in recent years. Dr. Ciulla taught ethics, critical thinking and leadership at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies and has also held academic appointments at Harvard Business School, The Wharton School and LaSalle University. She formerly served as the president of The Society for Business Ethics and has given lectures and seminars all over the world. Currently, Dr. Ciulla is a professor of leadership ethics and director of The Institute for Ethical Leadership at the Rutgers School of Business. These accomplishments are what drew CCAL to invite Dr. Ciulla to share her knowledge with the Haskayne community.

Dr. Ciulla’s three presentations gave students, faculty, and industry leaders the opportunity to explore ethics and leadership. CCAL was delighted to have Dr. Ciulla present and in the future, we hope to attract more leaders of her caliber.