Michelle McQuaid discussed leadership potential with Sue Ashford

May 25, 2017

In partnership with the 2017 Positive Business Conference at Michigan Ross, Michelle McQuaid—Australia-based best-selling author, workplace wellbeing teacher, and playful change activator—spoke with Sue Ashford about leadership development.

As Ashford discussed in McQuaid’s podcast, growing as a leader requires trying new strategies, seeking feedback, and making time to reflect on what works and what does not. The majority of opportunities to develop as a leader, whether a person has a title or not, are on the job, so workers need to seek out the learning opportunities. Successful learning relies on mindfulness, said Ashford, “we’re mindlessly racing through tasks and missing out on the learning.”

Ashford is Michael & Susan Jandernoa Professor of Management and Organizations at Michigan Ross and a faculty associate at the Center for Positive Organizations. Her recent research focuses on the power of coming to see oneself as a leader and the value in leading from any organizational level.

This conversation also appeared in McQuaid’s blog post for the Huffington Post, “Three Ways to Grow Your Leadership Potential.”