Intended Audience
The psychology department welcomes Dr. Yoshie Tomozumi Nakamura as the first speaker in its 2024-2025 lecture series: The Psychology of Leadership. She will present "Enhancing Leadership Communication in Complex Environments."
This talk explores the role of leadership communication in everyday relationship-building within organizations, communities and societies. Focusing on leader-member interactions through a relational leadership lens, it emphasizes the importance of empathy and ethics. Drawing from her leadership research, Nakamura will discuss leadership conversations as two-way influence relationships, highlighting their interdependencies and collective role in meaning-making. By analyzing non-verbal and verbal cues between leaders and members, the research reveals the impact of gendered leadership on emotions, the role of humor in fostering emotional bonds and the influence of cultural dynamics. Viewing leadership as a social process, this session invites attendees to reflect on the self in relation to others and society, and to explore the practice of leadership conversations in various contexts. By emphasizing the importance of empathy, ethics, relationality and inclusivity, this talk offers valuable insights for advancing leadership communication skills in today’s complex professional environments.
Nakamura is an associate professor in the human and organizational learning department at the Graduate School of Education and Human Development, The George Washington University. Her research focuses on leadership development through the lens of adult learners’ minds, brains, and behavior, with a particular emphasis on intra- and interpersonal relationships in leadership. Her international research extends beyond the U. S., encompassing global studies, including those conducted in Japan. Nakamura is a 2024 Assistant Professor Award recipient from the University Council for Workforce & Human Resource Education. One of her publications received the Elwood F. Holton, III, Research Excellence Award in Human Resource Development Review journal. Before joining the George Washington University, she served as an adjunct assistant professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. She also worked as head of academic learning and neuroscience at Columbia Business School’s executive education department, where she directed the Neuroscience to Enhance Leadership Development program.
Free and open to the public.
This event may be used to satisfy the Lecture Reflection Requirement in PSYC206 and PSYC493/494.