The Allan Gray Centre for Values-Based Leadership has an active research programme and its academics supervise international and local PhD theses, MBA dissertations, EMBA dissertations and Master’s degree dissertations.
Personal/individual leadership: self-mastery; self-awareness; self-efficacy; authenticity; personal character; values; purpose; dimensions of personal choice-making and decisions; judgement/discernment; emotional maturity; forgiveness (self and/or others); kairos/timing; imperfection; personal courage; personal resilience.
Diversity & inclusion (which includes gender issues): business case for D&I; cross-culture; cultural intelligence; all the ways we differ; inclusive environments; psychological effects of exclusion; power; sexism/racism/homophobia/ageism; guilt and shame; selfish leadership; issues related to women in leadership; mid-life crises.
Well-being: self-care; forgiveness (self- and others); self-compassion; personal boundaries; burnout; suppression – thought suppression/emotional suppression/cognitive suppression; personal spirituality; self-talk (critical self-talk vs. sympathetic self-talk); ageing and issues related to retirement/old-age/ageing; reflective practices (including mindfulness, silence, daydreaming, wandering).
Identity & narrative: dialogue; mental models; self-confidence; self-esteem; defining moments; biculturality and mixed identity; paradigms/ideologies; psychosocial transitions; personal meaning orientations.
Personal/individual leadership: adaption; agreeableness; career development (incl. person-job fit, promotions, training, learning, skills acquisition); conscientiousness; creativity; emotional stability; extraversion; locus of control; narcissism; neuroticism; openness; personas (e.g., work-family interface); self-efficacy; self-esteem, work stress management, transference.
Emotions and well-being at work: absorption; activation; affect; anxiety; arousal; attitude, boredom; burnout; behaviour; conflict; contentment; dedication; engagement; eudaimonic well-being (i.e., purpose & values); flow; hedonic well-being; satisfaction; vigor, work motivation.
Organisational psychology: person-organisation fit (incl. personnel selection); organisational culture; organisational change; organisational resilience; social well-being at work (incl. mental models, rank, diversity & inclusion); stimulating behavioural change; team development process and effectiveness; team dynamics.
Future of jobs, organisations, institutions, industries and economies: 4th industrial revolution (artificial intelligence); disruptions (incl. cryptocurrencies); Millennials and Gen Z human resource management; organisational life cycle; policy response to future outlook.
Values-based leadership for organisations, particularly in emerging markets.
Leadership, organisations and the fourth industrial revolution: assessing and understanding the implications of the fourth industrial revolution for organisations of the future, with a particular emphasis on emerging markets.
Complexity, organisation and leadership in the 21st century: understanding and acting upon complexity – organisational and external – with a particular emphasis on emerging markets.
Leadership, organisational resilience and behavioural change: understanding and acting to boost organisational resilience and stimulate behavioural change in organisations.
Leadership, organisational crises and resilience: leading organisations through times of crisis, or through organisational crises on the basis of values, especially in emerging markets.
Transdisciplinarity, sustainability and organisations in the 21st century: developing and/or applying transdisciplinary frameworks and approaches towards achieving organisational sustainability.
