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An all-star lineup of leadership scholars gathered for the 15th annual Kravis-de Roulet Leadership Conference at Claremont McKenna College in February, with presentation titles that read like a manager's bestseller list. The scholars' research, ranging from development and assessment, to strategy and succession, fueled discussion and commentary during the two-day event, dedicated to extracting the best leadership practices.

"What stands out most about all of our conferences," says Ron Riggio, the Henry R. Kravis Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology and director of the Kravis Leadership Institute, "is the incredible synergy that comes from having scholars, students, and practitioners focus on a specific leadership topic. We often take on unique topics, bringing together experts on intelligence with experts on leadership to discuss the future of leadership development."

"Very few forums are available or organized for this kind of exchange, and more are needed," says presenter Eduardo Salas, professor and trustee chair of the University of Central Florida's psychology department and Institute for Simulation and Training.

Anchoring the annual conference is the Kravis Leadership Institute, founded a decade ago by Trustee Henry R. Kravis '67, founding partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., to focus on inclusive leadership development and training at the college level. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Institute's growing legacy is demonstrated in the successes of its programs and purpose.

"It's the educational component, our Leadership Studies sequence, which makes us unique among research institutes," Riggio says. "This key opportunity for all students to join the leadership program changed us from a research institute to an educational entity."

The Institute also continues to advance Henry Kravis' vision—and the College's mission-specific endeavors—with the addition of Jay Conger, a renowned expert on leadership and organizational behavior, as the inaugural Kravis Research Chair in Leadership Studies to the faculty; Carolyn Wagner, KLI's new executive director; and the creation of the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership. "All of these developments point to recognizing and pursuing leadership in our own students and the larger community," says Riggio.

"The Kravis Leadership Institute has become one of the leading focal point institutions guiding the field of leadership studies," says Professor Michael D. Mumford, senior editor of Leadership Quarterly and director of the Center for Applied Social Research at the University of Oklahoma. "The Institute specializes in identifying emerging key issues, facilitating scholarly debate, and bringing research to the next generation of leaders and leadership scholars."

Reaching Out

Developing leadership capacity in the community and extending it outward is a key goal of KLI's faculty and staff. Not only is outreach a primary method toward furthering the Institute's vision, but it also underscores the College's mission of providing experiential educational and research opportunities for its students.

In 1994, Henry Kravis and Susan E. Murphy, associate professor of psychology and associate director of KLI, created the Kravis Mentoring Program. The program pairs CMC students with seventh graders from El Roble Intermediate School in a partnership that invigorates both leadership skills and positive mentoring experiences. "It's an ideal laboratory for study in leadership development," says Riggio.

The Institute also is involved in a range of community mentoring programs such as Step Up to Leadership, which brings outstanding high school students to campus for leadership training and character development programming.

CMC students and their respective host organizations also benefit from the Institute's Summer Internship in Leadership program. This summer as many as 50 students will be scattered around the country and globe while participating in this increasingly popular half-credit internship. Completion of the Summer Internship in Leadership also satisfies the experiential requirement of the Leadership Sequence.

Leadership development also abounds in the local community through the Institute's Leadership Academy, conducted with the city of Claremont and its workforce. The Institute has also developed the Leadership Claremont curriculum to inform and inspire the city's Chamber of Commerce members. "Over the years it's been a conscious progression from the research aspect of our Institute into outreach and education," says Riggio.

These efforts are complemented by Leadership Review, (www.leadershipreview.org) a quarterly, electronic, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed research journal for academics, researchers, and students of leadership, helmed by Barbara Ascher, editor-in-chief and senior research associate at KLI.

Faculty Supports
Institute Excellence

The arrival this spring of Jay Conger furthers the College's commitment to the teacher-scholar ideal. Joining CMC from the London Business School, where he was a professor of organizational behavior, Conger is a senior research scientist at USC's Center for Effective Organization and is regarded as one of the world's experts on leadership, earning fifth place on Business Week's list of the world's top 10 management gurus. He is past chairman and executive director of the Leadership Institute at USC's Marshall School of Business, and the author or coauthor of more than 100 scholarly articles and 11 books, including Shared Leadership, Reframing the How's and Why's of Leading Others, and the Leader's Change Handbook. He received a Ph.D. in business administration from Harvard.

Continuing to stimulate student interest and faculty-student interaction are the complementary studies of the Institute's faculty, whether it's charismatic leadership, nonverbal communication, or mentoring. "We're commonly interested in the roots of leadership," says Riggio. "Jay and I have some overlap in our work—but not as much as you might think. While he looks at top-level leaders in the field, I'm more of a social personality psychologist. I uncover the roots of charisma and how those play a part in leadership. So much of this study involves the ability to communicate at the emotional level—how to captivate and inspire like Martin Luther King Jr. and his 'I Have a Dream' speech, or Kennedy outshining Nixon in the 1960 televised debates."

"The Kravis Leadership Institute does a nice job of finding the intersection of academic research and practical application," says Mitchell Lee Marks, an independent consultant whose clients include AOL, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, and AT&T. "They have a solid appreciation for the rigors of good science, but also respect the realities of day-to-day organizational life, translating their research into usable, practical interventions."

Moving Forward

As KLI begins its second decade, its organizational structure has adapted to the changing needs of an internationally recognized organization. Carolyn Wagner recently was appointed executive director, to provide staff direction and to oversee the implementation of the new Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership. Wagner, a development specialist with a Ph.D. in American intellectual history from The Johns Hopkins University, brings expertise to the areas of administration, fundraising, event planning, nonprofit management, and public relations.

The annual Kravis Prize, to be inaugurated in 2006, carries a $250,000 award and will recognize an individual or organization demonstrating extraordinary achievement in the not-for-profit sector. Award criteria include boldness, innovation, creativity, consistency, persistence, effectiveness in bringing a vision to fruition, and outstanding accomplishment in realizing the mission of an organization.

Chaired by Marie-Josée Kravis, Hudson Institute senior fellow, the Prize's Selection Committee members are Harry McMahon '75, Kravis Leadership Institute Advisory Board Chairman, CMC Trustee, and Vice Chairman, Merrill Lynch & Co.; Sudha Murty P'02, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation; Lord Rothschild, Chairman, Rothschild Investment Trust Capital Partners; and James D. Wolfensohn, President, The World Bank. Led by Henry Kravis, the Organizing Committee includes Peter Barker '70 P'01, Chairman of the CMC Board of Trustees and Advisory Director, Goldman Sachs & Co.; Pamela Gann, CMC President; McMahon; and Scott Miller, CEO, Six Sigma Academy.

"The Prize reinforces Mr. Kravis' vision for the Institute," says Wagner. "It's an exciting step for the College, and underscores its commitment to promoting leadership development nationally and internationally."

The work of an energized, participatory Advisory Board also continues to enhance the College's ever-increasing visibility within the field of leadership studies and among the educational community. "The area of leadership studies is taking off," says Riggio. "Leadership really has captured people's imaginations. Our challenges with the Institute today are about opportunities: Reviewing the sheer number of opportunities available in the field and uncovering new ways that we can pursue leadership. As we move forward, we'll deploy our resources for the greatest impact."

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Partnership for Progress

Jay Conger