By Dr. Patti Ippoliti, Lecturer in the Enterprise Risk Management Program, School of Professional Studies
Building the next generations of leaders has been my passion and my purpose for decades. Teaching the Managing Human Behavior in the Organization course in Columbia’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) graduate program is an opportunity to bring practical work experience into the classroom in building our next generations of leaders.
Preparing our students to be successful in the work environment is a combination of facilitating their understanding of concepts and helping them build their competence and confidence in applying those concepts in different scenarios. As practitioners, we have experiences to share that will often help our students to crystallize their learning.
One way to relay our experiences is through storytelling, which for centuries has been a vital forum for sharing history and learning. Stories are a way to operationalize the concepts you teach. Even more compelling is that people often remember a story far longer than an idea, so storytelling is an excellent catalyst for stimulating a student’s memory in recalling and retaining new concepts.
When I hear from graduate business students whom I taught one, five, 10, or 20 years ago, or colleagues with whom I have worked in a variety of organizations over the years, they will often recall a story or a phrase that I shared with them, and how it has guided their thinking in their lives. One phrase that has been among the most memorable is: “Every day, be the best version of you.” It is the compass that I use in my corporate, consulting, teaching, and coaching work, and one that I encourage others to use in their lives.
Life gives us the opportunity to play many roles. By integrating the various aspects of ourselves into the different roles we play, we can optimize the contributions that we make to others.
So, what are you doing to be the “best version of you” today?
Views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Columbia School of Professional Studies or Columbia University.
About Patti Ippoliti
Dr. Patti Ippoliti is an accomplished business executive, senior consultant, coach and graduate business professor with significant global and domestic experience in business transformation, leadership coaching and development, and human capital management. She consults to clients on organizational transformation, leadership readiness, the multi-generational workforce, and diversity, equity and inclusion; and has extensive corporate and consulting experience in successfully transitioning companies through growth, turnaround and M&A situations.
About the Course
Managing Human Behavior in the Organization provides students with an overview of major concepts of management and organization theory, concentrating on understanding human behavior in organizational contexts, with a heavy emphasis on the application of concepts to solve managerial problems. Students work in a combination of conceptual and experiential activities, including case studies, discussions, lectures, simulations, videos, and small group exercises.
About the Program
The Master of Science in Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program at Columbia University prepares graduates to inform better risk-reward decisions by providing a complete, robust, and integrated picture of both upside and downside volatility across an entire enterprise.
Fall 2024 application deadlines for the M.S. in Enterprise Risk Management program are March 15, 2024 for applicants with international documents and May 1, 2024 for the final deadline. Learn more here.
