Launched Fall 2023, the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute is the interdisciplinary home for leadership development at the University of Cincinnati. The Bennis Institute believes that leadership is a lifelong journey, and that we all have the capacity and calling to lead at various points. The Institute equips rising leaders with evidence-based tools, resources and opportunities for their development.
Inspired by our namesake, the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute empowers everyone to believe in their potential to lead, preparing individuals to better themselves, their workplace, and their community.
Student Leadership Development Student Driven Experiential
Connecting students to valued and varying leadership learning and experiences.
Creating knowledge and fueling innovation
via interdisciplinary leadership studies.
of alumni,
leaders.
Student Leadership Development Executive Education Scholarship & Research
Warren Bennis Leadership Experience
Marquis event engages students with renowned leaders and inspiration of Warren Bennis.
Leadership Accelerator Honors Seminar
Lindner Dean Marianne Lewis and Psychology
Professor Donna Chrobot-Mason build leadership awareness, skills and practices.
Breakfast with Bennis Immersive and collaborative explorations fuel student leadership.
Bennis Ambassadors Student liaisons deepen interdisciplinary leadership connections.
Signature Programs Workshops Research Priorities
Leader Identity
What’s Your Vision? The Impostor Within Be Bold Now
Evaluate leadership development efficacy
Identify barriers to excellence
Explore innovative approaches
Research Partnerships
Scholars and experts seek evidence-based insights via interdisciplinary and global reach, and in for-profit and non-profit contexts.
Our Website
Read our Development Strategy
Leader Development
Workshops Leadership Essentials Retreat Cohort Programs
Igniting Innovation Inclusive Leadership Pathfinders Mentorship Speakers Bureau Leadership coaching Customized programs
warrenbennislead@ucmail.uc.edu
1819 Innovation Hub, Suite 350 D
https://business uc edu/wbli linkedin.com/company/warrenbennis WarrenBennisUC
Welcome! The Warren Bennis Leadership Institute offers development opportunities for students, alumni, professionals and community members. Housed in the 1819 Innovation Hub, the Institute convenes scholars and community partners to share leadership lessons, enabling us to grow and thrive together.
As Academic Director, I welcome you to learn more about our resources, reach out to get involved, or further your leadership development. Join us in creating a leadership movement such that “UC the leadership potential in you and others”.
Warren Bennis was the 22nd president of the University of Cincinnati (1971-77). He went on to author 30+ leadership books, and consult for four US Presidents and numerous CEO’s. He described his UC period as “the most important learning years of my life”, making a profound impact on his worldview and career.
Active until his death in 2014, Bennis gifted us a transformational legacy. Nicknamed "The Father of Leadership," Bennis dedicated his life to the study and enhancement of rising leaders and of organizational behavior.
My father spent his life working to help people become great leaders He was idealistic and optimistic. And he worked with a discipline and sense of play that were contagious.
As a kid, my dad never imagined he would go to college. He grew up poor, knowing no one with a college degree. As a teenager during WWII, he volunteered for officers’ training. And in the Spring 1945, age 19, he marched his platoon into Germany.
An older guy in his platoon spoke wistfully of his years at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio; a romantic, foreign land to this South Bronx kid. Dad then that learned Antioch had a co-op program, so he could work to pay his rent, gain experience, and receive college credits.
From Antioch, Dad went to MIT. Serendipitously, he joined the nascent study of organizational behavior Co-op and the GI Bill opened opportunities for my father. Education gave him a path to…everything. He believed in public higher education, wanting all to have its opportunities.
So when the University of Cincinnati, inventor of the co-op program, was at a crossroads, my father worked to help UC join the state system, providing generations access to higher education
He did not do this alone, recruiting UC students and alumni. People like Mike Ullman and Tom Humes, then in their 20s, joined to run the campaign.
Dad had an unorthodox leadership style, opening his life, his work, and our home to students. Our mother, Clurie, a phenomenon in her own right, created a world where this chaos, adventure, and explosive movement forward, was nourished with grace and ease.
Dad brought students to observe UC meetings and engage dignitaries, collaborating with student government leaders, like Dick Thornburg.
Over the years many UC students, including Neal Novak, Bruce Hopple, and Joan Plunkett, became integral to our lives, driving dad, supporting events, teaching us games, even babysitting. Our home was filled with serious play, playful work, and a whole lot got done.
Now all grown up, these beloved friends and colleagues came together to honor my father, planting seeds for the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute. Sparked by a UC sophomore, Jack Fitzgerald, who led the first Warren Bennis Leadership Experience.
Now, in the spirit of my parents’ open home, you are all invited to join us in this adventure. Welcome.
Established in 2023, the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute empowers rising leaders, developing students across campus and furthering trailblazing research across campus
Based in the Carl H. Lindner College of Business, the Bennis Institute is boldly interdisciplinary. Serving all UC students, programs, alumni and our great city It’s home
industry meets University of Cincinnati talent and resources.” Rooted in the principles of Warren Bennis, while creating new leadership knowledge and creative leadership development
We strive to create a leadership movement.
As the Institute continues to grow and impact more students, community members and alumni, we seek to:.
Harness our incredible capacity at UC for research innovation - enhancing form how we develop future leaders. Transform who we equip as leaders - ensuring everyone has access to evidence-based resources and growth opportunities. Reframe why we develop leadership skills - in developing rising leaders we equip those who will solve our world’s most wicked problems.
Goal: Reframing your concept of leadership
Developmental Ideology: Defining leadership and seeing the leader in you
Goal: Building and practicing leadership skills
Developmental Ideology:
Growing your confidence and honing your leadership skills
Programming: Leader Identity Workshop
First Year Experience
Intro to Co-op Classes
Leadership Events
Student Cohorts Awards Educational Opportunities
Bennis Student Ambassadors
WBLE Student Team Annual Experience
Be Bold Now: Non-profit board leadership
Breakfast with Bennis
Goal: Help students articulate their leadership development journey and get ready to enter the workforce.
Developmental Ideology: Reflecting on crucible moments, clarifying leadership style, strengths, and opportunities.
Bennis Leadership Accelerator Class
Coaching skills Workshops
Bennis Scholar Leaders are Made Scholarship
Programming: Leadership Capstone Experience
Bennis Leadership Legacy Community Leaders
In fall 2023, the Institute launched its second student cohort program, the Bennis Student Ambassador program. The Student Ambassador program is led by a staff member at the Institute who works closely with the Academic Liaisons group to ensure that each college's voice is well represented within the Institute and that input from students, faculty and staff
The Warren Bennis Leadership Experience Team is a multidisciplinary group of student leaders from across UC’s campus. The team is student .
from each college is solicited In this way, the student ambassadors act as liaisons to connect the Bennis Institute to all parts of campus to fulfill our mission as an interdisciplinary.
led and student managed, and responsible for the planning and execution of the annual Experience. Each year the student team brings a
nationally
recognized leader to campus to share insights and lessons learned, and to inspire the leadership movement in Cincinnati.
Left to Right: Kristain McNiel, Serenity Pastor, Caleb Leach, Dhavni Sayani, Liam Kelly, Audrey Harr, Noah Kobel, Sabrina Grove, Tyler Umberg, Sahana Sathiyanarayanan, Jenna Veri Left to Right: Anaya Joshi, Cora Wilson, Katelyn Penney, Chris Raymer, Makenna Mobley, Andrew Martin, Taryn Meyer, Ben Richards, Skylar Lundeen, Nola Cline, Lizzy Geraghty, Lara Taylor
The Warren Bennis Leadership Institute is your gateway to connecting with nationally and internationally recognized leadership scholars and consultants who are engaged in cutting edge research and application.
The Warren Bennis Leadership Institute offers programming for alumni, aspiring leaders, organizations and teams, and community partners. We seek to provide leadership training and experiences to both for-profit and nonprofit community members. WBLI provides a variety of executive education offerings, including workshops, retreats, cohort programs, our Speakers Bureau, leadership coaching, and customized leadership development programs.
Workshops and retreats range from one hour to one week in duration, yet all are based on the latest leadership research, are highly experiential and skills-based, and facilitated by scholars, authors, and experienced organizational consultants
Our cohort programs (e.g., Igniting Innovation, Inclusive Leadership, Pathfinders Mentorship) involve learning communities of 20-40 participants. Attendees meet approximately once a month, work with an accountability partner, and engage in pre-work to maximize the impact of our monthly workshops.
Our Speakers Bureau consists of UC faculty who are proven experts, authors, and engaging presenters who exemplify the core leadership principles taught by Warren Bennis, UC’s 22nd President and the “father of leadership studies.” Consider our interdisciplinary experts for your next keynote address, workshop, or speaking engagement on a variety of topics.
The Institute offers leadership coaching for individuals, groups, and teams. Our coaches are certified by the International Coaching Federation and are available to work with clients in both short and longterm coaching commitments.
Lastly, the Institute is available to work in partnership with organizations to design and deliver customized leadership development programs Common content areas include: team building, cultural change, visioning, diversity and inclusion, mentoring, coaching, strategic planning, and more
The Warren Bennis Leadership Institute offers research opportunities for UC scholars to conduct interdisciplinary research to examine and improve leadership development processes and outcomes.
Program Evaluation
To ensure the programs offered by the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute offer value to those participating, we conduct ongoing research to examine the outcomes and impact of our development opportunities on students and organizational leaders.
Leadership Development
Of particular interest to the Institute is assessing leadership development over time. We seek to explore how and why individuals, teams, and organizations develop leadership capabilities. We also seek to better understand the many possible barriers to leadership development.
Women’s Empowerment Study
In 2024, WBLI piloted the “Growing in Leadership” program with a group of over 30 female students at UC. This study sought to examine changes in women’s empowerment over time as a result of participation in a 4 month cohort program Participants received leadership development training, peer coaching, mentorship and engaged in a service project
Data were collected at three points in time involving both quantitative and qualitative data The intent is to expand data collection in the future to include at least three additional cohort groups in different countries
Organizational Challenges
The Warren Bennis Leadership Institute is always interested in partnering with organizations and teams seeking to address their own research questions, evaluate leadership development within their organization, or examine any number of challenges they may be facing that could benefit from a data-driven approach to change
Testing Innovative Approaches
At the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute, we strive to transform leadership development by engaging in groundbreaking research to assess new and innovative approaches to leadership development We seek to challenge existing theories and approaches to leadership as well as theoretical models of leader development to explore new ways of thinking and growing as leaders.
Being
Understanding one’s own gifts, values, strengths, story, vision, purpose
Learning
Reflecting on successes/failures to extract leadership lessons that guide future behavior (sensemaking)
Noticing
Understanding the context or environment in which we lead (our role, culture, history, stakeholders, etc )
NOTICING
RELATING DOING LEARNING BEING
Relating
Building capacity to connect, engage in difficult conversations, communicate effectively, manage emotions, etc.
Doing
Practicing and experiencing leadership in various roles, contexts, and circumstances
Institute leaders crafted the above model, seeking to integrate Warren’s core principles with University of Cincinnati distinctions. Warren believed that leadership development starts with BEING - understanding oneself. LEARNING follows through reflection and sensemaking, then DOING through leadership practice. Founder of co-op and dedicated to experiential learning, UC hones students’ leadership skills on the job and in projects, as well as in the classroom. The final elements, RELATING and NOTICING, build interpersonal skills and understanding of the context in which one leads and adapts.
Campus Opportunities
Majors & Certificates
Faculty Connections
Student Organizations
Academic Courses
Service Learning
