A customer of a life insurance company requests a variation in the amount of a loan against their policy.  When the customer service representative asked the accounting and finance staff if the request should be granted, the answer was no.  However, when the sales and marketing staff were asked they said yes.

This issue was discussed by the General Manager at the weekly executive committee meeting.  He asked how such policy holder requests should be handled.  Not surprisingly, the CFO said the answer should be no, while the VP for Sales said everything should be done to exceed the customers’ expectations.

After much thought the GM referred to the company’s vision and values statement recently crafted by the executive committee in a recent retreat.  It stated “We strive to be the leader in our business and exceed our customer’s expectations.”

What Would You Do To Advise This Client?

Invitation to be part of an international PhD research study

This research study aims to gather personal perspectives about the practice of developing leaders. The study aims to understand how the practice of leadership development could be improved through the integration of research, theory and practice.

The study seeks leadership development practitioners with the following expertise/background:

• Are or have been involved in publicly available leadership development activities

• Have been involved in the design and delivery of leadership development programs for a significant length of time

• Have contracted or been involved in the development of significant leadership development activities

• Are willing to be part of the interview process as an individual rather than representing the perspectives of their organization.

Expressing your interest in joining the research study

Please contact Amanda Martin, Ph.D Candidate, at amandamartin@swin.edu.au to express your interest to be part of the study. 

The study will be conducted via personal interview with the researcher, Amanda Martin, generally via Skype or telephone, and will last approximately 60 minutes.

Unfortunately because Amanda Martin currently works with the Melbourne Business School (Australia), scholars who work in university or business schools as their main role are not able to be included in the study.