Christopher Adkins

Christopher Adkins is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Management & Organization Department and Academic Director of Leadership Development. His research and teaching explore how the fields of neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and behavioral economics provide new insights and best practices for values-based leadership. Empathy is the core theme of his work, offering a foundational and teachable skill to enhance innovation, communication, diversity and inclusion, ethical decision making, and change leadership. In June 2015, he was awarded “Master Teacher of Business Ethics” by the Wheatley Institution at Brigham Young University.

In addition to his teaching and research, Chris designs engaging leadership programs based on the neuroscience of individual and organizational flourishing. Partners and clients have included: World Bank, LPL Financial, Kaiser Permanente, Deloitte, The Aspen Institute, IBM, GlobalFoundries, Agilent Technologies, Novelis, Huntington Ingalls, Novelis, Ashoka, General Cable, Education First, Navigant Consulting, Compliance Week, TXU Energy, Express Scripts, National Grid, Drug Enforcement Agency, Young African Leaders Initiative.

Education

• Ph D, The College of William & Mary
• MA, Boston University
• BA, The College of William & Mary

Areas of Expertise

• Empathy in the Workplace
• Business Ethics
• Cognitive Neuroscience and the implications for Decision-Making and Leadership Development
• Change Leadership