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Being your “authentic self” can undermine leadership effectiveness if it’s fueled by ego. Evidence drawn from years of collective research shows that a lived commitment to personal values is the hallmark of the type of authentic leadership that can successfully bring teams together in pursuit of positive change. Leaders can learn to practice humble authenticity by owning, managing, and sustaining their values.

While academic and practitioner literatures have proposed that extraverts are at an advantage in team-based work, it remains unclear exactly what that advantage might be, how extraverts attain such an advantage, and under which conditions. Theory highlighting the importance of energy in the coordination of team efforts helps to answer these questions. We propose that extraverted individuals are able to develop more energizing relationships with their teammates and as a result are seen as proactively contributing to their team. However, problems in coordination (i.e., team task conflict) can reverse this extraversion advantage. We studied 27 project-based teams at their formation, peak performance, and after disbandment. Results suggest that when team task conflict is low, extraverts energize their teammates and are viewed by others as proactively contributing to the team. However, when team task conflict is high, extraverts develop energizing relationships with fewer of their teammates and are not viewed as proactively contributing to the team. Our findings regarding energizing relationships and team task conflict clarify why extraversion is related to proactive performance and in what way, how, and when extraverts may be at a (dis)advantage in team-based work.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic pollutants released by the World Trade Center (WTC) fires and various urban combustion sources. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a representative member of the class of PAHs. PHA-DNA adducts, or BaP-DNA adducts as their proxy, provide a measure of chemical-specific genetic damage that has been associated with increased risk of adverse birth outcomes and cancer. To learn whether PAHs from the WTC disaster increased levels of genetic damage in pregnant women and their newborns, we analyzed BaP-DNA adducts in maternal (n = 170) and umbilical cord blood (n = 203) obtained at delivery from nonsmoking women who were pregnant on 11 September 2001 and were enrolled at delivery at three downtown Manhattan hospitals. The mean adduct levels in cord and maternal blood were highest among newborns and mothers who resided within 1 mi of the WTC site during the month after 11 September, intermediate among those who worked but did not live within this area, and lowest in those who neither worked nor lived within 1 mi (reference group). Among newborns of mothers living within 1 mi of the WTC site during this period, levels of cord blood adducts were inversely correlated with linear distance from the WTC site (p = 0.02). To learn whether PAHs from the WTC disaster may have affected birth outcomes, we analyzed the relationship between these outcomes and DNA adducts in umbilical cord blood, excluding preterm births to reduce variability. There were no independent fetal growth effects of either PAH-DNA adducts or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), but adducts in combination with in utero exposure to ETS were associated with decreased fetal growth. Specifically, a doubling of adducts among ETS-exposed subjects corresponded to an estimated average 276-g (8%) reduction in birth weight (p = 0.03) and a 1.3-cm (3%) reduction in head circumference (p = 0.04). The findings suggest that exposure to elevated levels of PAHs, indicated by PAH-DNA adducts in cord blood, may have contributed to reduced fetal growth in women exposed to the WTC event.

Within the multiple sclerosis (MS) population, high prevalence of psychiatric concerns, such as depression and anxiety, has been well documented. The purpose of this study was to examine factors contributing to higher depression and anxiety levels in a sample of 82 patients utilizing MS clinic services. Independent variables included MS physical severity, self-reported cognitive impairment, and perceived illness management, respectively. Results from hierarchical regression analyses indicated that depression was related to the physical severity, self-reported cognitive impairment, and perceived illness management variables. Anxiety was also related to the physical severity and self-reported cognitive impairment variables but not to the perceived illness management ones, suggesting that depression and anxiety symptoms may involve somewhat different processes within MS. The findings of this study support further clinical consideration and additional investigation of these variables in the treatment of anxiety and depression in an MS clinic population.

Abstract This chapter utilizes a network perspective to show how the totality of one’s social connections impacts well-being by providing access to resources (e.g., information, feedback, and support) and placing limits on autonomy. We provide a brief review of basic network concepts and explain the importance of understanding how the networks in which leaders are embedded may enhance or diminish their well-being. Further, with this greater understanding, we describe how leaders can help promote the well-being of their employees. In particular, we focus on four key aspects of workplace networks that are likely to impact well-being: centrality, structural holes, embeddedness, and negative ties. We not only discuss practical implications for leaders’ well-being and the well-being of their employees, but also suggest directions for future research.

The September 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City released a complex mixture of toxicants into the environment that included PAHs. To explore the possible contribution to adverse birth outcomes of ambient PAHs after the attack, PAHDNA adducts were examined in maternal and umbilical cord blood samples obtained at delivery from women who were pregnant on the day of the attack and related to proximity to the WTC site. In addition, PAHDNA adducts in cord blood were related to birth outcomes in a prior study conducted in northern Manhattan/south Bronx, alone and in combination with environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Results revealed that pregnant women living within 1 mi of the WTC site had increased levels of PAHDNA adducts in cord blood and maternal blood. In addition, PAHDNA adducts, in conjunction with ETS exposure, were associated significantly with reduced birth weight and head circumference. The observed effects of PAHs and ETS on fetal growth were biologically plausible and consistent with prior research.

Veteran population research studies have thoroughly documented the impact of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on substance abuse treatment outcomes; however, little research has focused exclusively on the concerns of homeless populations dealing with these common comorbid psychiatric conditions while in treatment. To address these gaps, the specific aims of the study were as follows: (a) to assess the prevalence of PTSD and trauma exposure among a sample of cocaine-dependent homeless in treatment for substance dependence; (b) examine the influence of trauma exposure on PTSD diagnosis in this sample; (c) explore the relationship between traumatic event exposure and lifetime substance use; (d) compare substance use outcomes among those with and without PTSD; (e) not only assess the presence of clinical but also subclinical levels of PTSD symptomatology, and (f) examine duringtreatment changes in PTSD symptoms and severity levels and determine the predictors of these changes. The study design involved a two-group randomized controlled trial, consisting of a contingency management plus behavioral day treatment group (CM+) and a contingency-management-only group (CM). The study provided evidence that a large proportion of subjects (85%) had experienced some form of trauma within their lifetime. Among the 14% ( n = 28) diagnosed with PTSD, subjects with sexual assault histories were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD compared to other types of trauma. Greater years of alcohol use but not cocaine use was significantly associated with more traumatic event exposure. The study did not provide evidence that subjects with PTSD had fewer weeks of abstinence after 6 months of treatment compared to those without PTSD; however, time to first lapse in drug use did significantly differ between PTSD and non-PTSD groups. As a secondary treatment outcome, on average, subjects had significant reductions in PTSD symptoms and severity levels at 6 months, with most reductions found among those with PTSD in the more therapy intensive CM+ group. Examination of baseline predictors of greater PTSD symptom changes indicated that the use of cognitive behavioral coping skills predicted greater reductions in symptoms. Implications of the role of behavioral substance abuse treatment in reducing PTSD symptoms are discussed.

Naturally, many organizations use compensation and sanctions to increase managers' motivation, but these actions only go so far. To optimize motivation, organizations must understand and address the wide range of motives managers have for doing their jobs. Clark University and the Center for Creative Leadership research on managerial motivation demonstrates that managers have multiple motives operating simultaneously. They identify a number of motivational profiles that are common across managers. Each profile includes a different mix of external and internal motivation. Managers with supportive bosses are more likely to have motivational profiles characterized by substantial internal motivation. Boosting managers' internal motivation ultimately will enhance job attitudes and reduce costly turnover throughout the organization.