Grijalva receives dissertation award

By Kevin Manne

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Emily Grijalva, assistant professor of organizational behavior in the University at Buffalo School of Management, won the 2014 Alvah H. Chapman Jr. Outstanding Dissertation Award for her dissertation on leadership and the impact of narcissistic personality in the workplace.

The award is sponsored by the Center for Leadership (CFL) at Florida International University in partnership with the Network of Leadership Scholars (NLS), and honors an individual whose dissertation makes an outstanding contribution to the field of leadership.

“Emily’s high quality research on the characteristics of leaders’ personalities and understanding their effectiveness contributes to our growing strength in leadership research,” says Paul Tesluk, the Donald S. Carmichael Professor of Organizational Behavior and chair of the Department of Organization and Human Resources in the UB School of Management. “We’re pleased to have her join our faculty and congratulate her on her well-deserved award.”

Grijalva’s dissertation research found that narcissists tend to emerge as leaders.

“There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between narcissism and leader effectiveness,” she says. “Even though we might think of narcissism as a negative trait, midrange levels of narcissism are actually ideal for leaders.”

Grijalva, who joined the UB School of Management faculty in July, will receive the Outstanding Dissertation Award during the Network of Leadership Scholars Awards presentation at the 2014 Academy of Management annual conference on Aug. 3 in Philadelphia.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school also has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes and U.S. News & World Report for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.