Registration Open for 2013 Wharton Leadership Conference
The 2013 Wharton Leadership Conference, to be held on June 19 at the Wharton School, will explore "Rising Up to Leadership" - how individuals and organizations should ready themselves both for the predictable as well as the unanticipated challenges that are sure to mark the future. Confirmed speakers include Denise Morrison, President and CEO of Campbell Soup; Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnson & Johnson; Peter Grauer, Chairman of Bloomberg Inc.; and Joseph Pfeifer, the New York City Fire Department's Chief of Counterterrorism and Emergency Preparedness. Please visit the conference website for more details and to register for the event.

Center hosts 5th annual People and Organizations Conference
The 5th annual People and Organizations conference, held on September 28-29, 2012 at the Wharton School, brought together more than 70 scholars from leading business schools all around the world to discuss the latest research on employment issues. Among the highlights of the two-day program, which was organized by the Center for Human Resources, was a panel on workplace institutions, which reported on conditions in Chinese factories and issues of workplace enforcement. Other sessions covered such diverse topics as the way in which incentive programs can skew managers’ dismissal behaviors, the various ways that social networks can help people find jobs, and the challenges of managing gender diversity within professional services firms. Presentations were mixed with extensive discussion as participants shared their own insights on the topics.

Cappelli honored on 2012 list of Most Influential Thinkers
Peter Cappelli ranks fifth on the list of HR Most Influential 2012 Top 20 International Thinkers - considered to be the "best talent guy worldwide" for his work on supply chain thinking in talent management and admired for his "bravery in taking a contrarian view and challenging US-centric views on leadership and management practices." Cappelli, who held the 17th spot on the 2011 list of most influential thinkers, is one of only eight to make the list again in 2012. Among the newcomers to the 2012 list is Martin Seligman, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and well-known for his work in the field of positive psychology and its application to the workplace.

New book explodes myths about skills gap
If companies are having a hard time finding skilled workers, it’s most likely a problem of their own making according to
Peter Cappelli’s new book Why Good People Can’t Get Jobs – The Skills Gap and What Companies Can Do About It. The book explores – and explodes – myths about the skills gap from both the supply side and the demand side, and posits that the hiring process itself, and specifically software-driven hiring, can lead to absurd hurdles in screening candidates. Ultimately Cappelli defines the heart of the problem of the supply-demand mismatch as a shortfall in the kinds of skills best learned on the job as companies rely more on outside hiring and less on training and internal development. Cappelli’s solutions thus focus on what he calls the “not so novel” idea of developing skills on and for the job in ways that benefit both companies and workers.

2012 Wharton Leadership Conference explores challenges of leading in a world of conflict
A common theme among the speakers at the 16th annual Wharton Leadership Conference was the power of “active followers” to support leaders in making critical decisions, particularly at times of uncertainty and conflicting options. Such critical decision-making was illustrated in dramatic fashion by astronaut Jeffrey Ashby’s tale of a NASA Space Shuttle mission that was minutes away from aborting and by adventurer John Kanengieter's brush with death climbing Panwali Dwar. But trust, communication, and clarity of mission are also key for leaders on the ground. In outlining her guiding principles for leadership, Estee Lauder’s global brand president Jane Hertzmark Hudis told the audience that “your team is absolutely everything,” and MeadWestvaco CEO John Luke admonished leaders to “communicate, communicate, communicate” to ensure that their organizations have a “vision and one common goal.”

General Motors Vice Chairman Steve Girsky and U.S. Army Under Secretary Dr. Joseph Westphal offered lessons in leadership based on their experiences in turning around the cultures of large organizations. Award-winning journalist Adam Bryant, who has interviewed hundreds of CEOs, highlighted the qualities shared by the most successful leaders: “battle-hardened” confidence, fearlessness, a simple mindset, passionate confidence, and team smarts. Wharton professor Adam Grant discussed his research, which has found that introverted leaders who “lead quietly” – leading by doing, and learning by listening – can be more effective motivators than extroverts. And William Pelster described his firm’s journey to transform its leadership development paradigm, which resulted in building Deloitte University, a $300-million facility that now annually delivers a million hours of training focused on leadership and the development of high-potential employees. The conference, co-hosted by the Center for Human Resources and the Center for Leadership & Change Management, was held at the Wharton School on Wednesday, June 20, 2012.