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Can you really change your behavior at work? What if you believe your approach has served you well in the past and helped you succeed to where you are today? This series of cases features Nicholas Gray, a Norfolk Southern Railroad (NS) executive and his experiences in implementing change from a middle manager position. The A case (UVA-OB-0773) begins with Gray identifying a change effort to build a better relationship with colleagues in other departments at NS. As the story unfolds, Gray's management style and some challenges he faces take shape. In the B case, Gray works through his action plan and the implementation of his change initiative. These cases provide an insight into the challenges of being a change agent at both personal and organizational levels.

Can you really change your behavior at work? What if you believe your approach has served you well in the past and helped you succeed to where you are today? This series of cases features Nicholas Gray, a Norfolk Southern Railroad (NS) executive and his experiences in implementing change from a middle manager position. The A case (UVA-OB-0773) begins with Gray identifying a change effort to build a better relationship with colleagues in other departments at NS. As the story unfolds, Gray's management style and some challenges he faces take shape. In the B case, Gray works through his action plan and the implementation of his change initiative. These cases provide an insight into the challenges of being a change agent at both personal and organizational levels.

In the fall of 1999 Garry Ridge, the newly appointed CEO of WD-40 Company, wanted to rejuvenate the company and stimulate its employees to look beyond the firm's relatively narrow focus of the last 43 years. The very nature of WD-40 Company's success in capturing the market had created its own limited growth opportunities. The A case describes the company's one-product business success, and Ridge's background. The B case reveals some of the challenges Ridge faced in implementing change. The B case tells how the new CEO helped WD-40 company achieve growth in both new products and markets through related acquisitions. Despite these purchases, though, the company's earnings failed to climb in the years between 1998 and 2001. Ridge concluded that he needed to do more than just buy more companies, so he framed a model of strong leadership and "learning theory" that he thought would enable the company outsmart its competitors. He built a framework that was demanding, yet forgiving, when individuals fell short. Ridge held employees responsible for their results, but he encouraged everyone to acknowledge mistakes and learn from them. The company's financial results suggest success for his leadership model. This case set lends instructors a valuable tool to conduct conversations in the classroom about leadership and leading strategic change.

In the fall of 1999 Garry Ridge, the newly appointed CEO of WD-40 Company, wanted to rejuvenate the company and stimulate its employees to look beyond the firm's relatively narrow focus of the last 43 years. The very nature of WD-40 Company's success in capturing the market had created its own limited growth opportunities. The A case describes the company's one-product business success, and Ridge's background. The B case reveals some of the challenges Ridge faced in implementing change. The B case tells how the new CEO helped WD-40 company achieve growth in both new products and markets through related acquisitions. Despite these purchases, though, the company's earnings failed to climb in the years between 1998 and 2001. Ridge concluded that he needed to do more than just buy more companies, so he framed a model of strong leadership and "learning theory" that he thought would enable the company outsmart its competitors. He built a framework that was demanding, yet forgiving, when individuals fell short. Ridge held employees responsible for their results, but he encouraged everyone to acknowledge mistakes and learn from them. The company's financial results suggest success for his leadership model. This case set lends instructors a valuable tool to conduct conversations in the classroom about leadership and leading strategic change.

This note outlines a simple but powerful model, in managerial language, for understanding why people behave the way they do. The model builds a set of relationships among perceptions, beliefs, conclusions, defense mechanisms, and behavior. The note provides a framework that has been useful in a variety of settings for practicing managers.

This simple self-assessment instrument helps individuals and teams assess their behavior on four dimensions of moral leadership: truth-telling, promise-keeping, fairness, and respect for the individual. The instrument may be used with groups from companies, with learning teams, with individuals, or as a tool for practicing managers to distribute to their team members. Summary statistics of the four measures can help leaders assess the moral foundation of their leadership and whether their traditional leadership techniques are likely to have any effect.

This leadership exercise asks students to reflect on their family values and to begin to write them down. The exercise is useful in a leadership or career-management course when students need to consider their own values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations about the way the world should be and then reexamine them. The exercise builds on the work of Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi and his notion of transcender (the Evolving Self) and Richard Dawkins's concept of memes. The results of the exercise can be used as a springboard to discuss students' becoming transcenders as opposed to those who simply live out the values imprinted on them early in life. The exercise includes a table with examples to help students get started.

The A case describes the career of Fairfax County (Virginia) Executive Robert O'Neill, who runs one of the highest-per-capita-income counties in the United States. The case discusses the events leading up to his hiring by Fairfax County, his experience as County Executive, and the situation at the end of the case, including the results of his efforts, the political environment, and a job offer. Students gain insight into the complex aspects of county government, including financial, legal, political, public relations, and strategic business management, as well as into O'Neill's leadership strategy. The B case (UV3179) describes his decision and rationale and a few subsequent events in the county.

The A case (UV3177) describes the career of Fairfax County (Virginia) Executive Robert O'Neill, who runs one of the highest-per-capita-income counties in the United States. The case discusses the events leading up to his hiring by Fairfax County, his experience as County Executive, and the situation at the end of the case, including the results of his efforts, the political environment, and a job offer. Students gain insight into the complex aspects of county government, including financial, legal, political, public relations, and strategic business management, as well as into O'Neill's leadership strategy. The B case describes his decision and rationale and a few subsequent events in the county.

This exercise builds on the ideas and research of Doug Newberg and is intended to help students work through the key elements of his world-class performance model, Resonance. The technical note "Resonance" (UVA-OB-0626) describes the model, which takes an "experience-based" approach rather than a "goal-oriented" one.

This series presents the challenges facing the board of directors of a small merchant-banking company in London that is trying to get into the New York market. After hiring an American to develop the business, the board has become concerned about his operating style and his requests for additional authority. The A case ends after the American has made substantial improvements to the business and reports to the board, leaving the board to decide what to do with him. See also the B case (OB-0666). The two cases can be used as a team role-playing exercise.

Five years short of retirement, Alvarez is an experienced but uneducated mechanic working for a Venezuelan manufacturer of aluminum building products. In the A case, new North American management is concerned about Alvarez's grumbling and egocentric behavior and is pondering the impact of firing him. In the B case (UVA-OB-0661), management decides to fire Alvarez at a high cost. In the C case (UVA-OB-0662), Alvarez dies of a heart attack soon after being fired, adding poignancy to the decision to fire him. This case series provides an excellent opportunity to explore self-concepts, methods of personal mastery, cross-cultural management, and issues of managing personal change.

This note introduces the notion of "Emotional Intelligence" as described in Daniel Goleman's book by the same name and extends that concept to include Social Quotient or Intelligence and Change Quotient or Intelligence. The general thrust is that IQ alone does not a good leader make, but that EQ, SQ, and CQ are also necessary to be an effective leader.

This note presents an overview of some fundamental characteristics of managing change. Such classic change models as those of Lewin, Beer, and Kotter are introduced. A general model of change is presented, together with predictable stages in the change process and predictable responses to change. Managing change is highlighted as an important part of the skill set of an effective leader so that students are encouraged to become familiar with a model of change and with skills at managing it in order to become better leaders.

This note describes the world-class-performance model developed by Doug Newburg at the U.Va. Medical Center. Newburg's sample includes Olympic athletes, successful CEOs, world-famous musicians, and leading heart surgeons. The model also relates to the concept of "flow" and suggests an answer to the question, "What is the meaning of life?" The note is useful in courses on leadership, career management, and organizational behavior.

This note presents a six-step model of leadership effectiveness: (1) clarifying who you are (personal values and mission), (2) clarifying what you want (strategic vision), (3) clarifying what others can contribute (participative leadership), (4) supporting others so they can contribute (organizational redesign), (5) relentlessness, and (6) monitoring and celebrating progress.

This case is the transcript of a student's report about her definition of leadership and includes some quotations from Frances Hesselbein, former national director of the Girl Scouts of America, to support it. The case is poignant because the author's background includes abuse as a child, and she demonstrates remarkable courage in moving out of that situation and establishing a strong foundation of what it means to be a leader.

A new supervisor in a managed health care facility created from a merger wrestles with taking charge and dealing with human resource problems for the first time. See also the B case (UVA-OB-0599).

This case describes an example of overworking in the non-U.S. culture of Iran. The CFO of a successful office machine supply company has overworked himself consistently for years. He finds himself at the hospital after a terrible accident caused by his falling asleep at the wheel on his way home. Company executives think they have solved the problem of Shahrasebi's obsessive work behavior in one afternoon.

The Greenland case describes the experience of four young Norwegian men determined to set a world record for unsupported crossing of Greenland. The case describes the team, their preparations, and their experiences as they crossed in "good" weather that was often whiteout blizzard conditions with temperatures dropping as low as -78 degrees F. Throughout the case, one of the team members reflects on things he learned about himself, about the team, and about leadership from the experience (recorded in italics). The teaching note (available to registered faculty) is supplemented by a PowerPoint presentation that helps introduce the expedition to Greenland, other "risky recreation," and the concepts related to resonance or flow. A video supplement is also available. The case lends itself to a profound discussion of leadership on its own and leads in nicely to a discussion of world-class performance and the purpose of life, which both startles and pleasantly surprises most students and participants.