Northwestern University

Faculty Member, Center for Leadership

Director

About

- Professional Experience -
Adam Goodman directs Northwestern University's Center for Leadership and is a faculty member in the McCormick School of Engineering & Applied Science. His previous roles include: a founding partner of the NorthStone Group, CEO of the University of Colorado's Leadership Institute and its Presidents Leadership Class, and Special Assistant to three University of Colorado Presidents.

- Teaching and Research Interests -
Goodman focuses on the fundamentals of leadership and how people learn to become more effective leaders. His courses include Field Study in Leadership (McCormick School of Engineering & Applied Science) and Team Leadership in Decision Making (School of Communication), in addition to The Leader as Coach (an experimental course in the Kellogg School of Management). Goodman is also a frequent guest lecturer in other courses and programs. His current projects include the development of 6 Leadership Questions® (an assessment and learning tool), a data intensive enterprise-wide web portal for leadership and teamwork assessments, and training programs for leadership coaching. Past work includes a national survey of public sector leaders, the design of a national model leadership program, and work with over 20 leadership programs from across the USA.

In addition, Goodman has held numerous roles in leadership studies, including founding co-chair of the research section of the International Leadership Association and distinguished visiting professor at Johnson & Wales University. His work has been recognized and supported by organizations that include the Adolph Coors Foundation, the Boettcher Foundation, El Pomar Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Gates Family Foundation, and IBM Corp.

- Private and Public Sector Interests -
An active consultant today and for over 25 years, he has advised over 100 CEOs, senior officers, executive teams and boards of directors and given hundreds of invited speeches and workshops in the United States and around the world. Clients include the American Library Association-Public Library Association, Ball Corp., the Government of Canada, Drupal, Kaiser Permanente, the National Association of State Budget Officers, Navigant, New Belgium Brewing, and TIAA-CREF. He was co-founder of partner of three management consulting firms and a board member of Solbourne Computer Inc. unti its acquisition by Deloitte.

- Civic Interests -
Goodman is an active and long-time community volunteer, including work with the Youth Job Center, Room to Read (founded by Northwestern alum John Wood), the University of Colorado, and Johnson & Wales University. He is also a home building volunteer in Juarez, Mexico. Throughout his career, Goodman has mentored emerging leaders and connected them with experienced leaders in the private, public and non-profit communities. He sponsored countless internships and established other programs to introduce college and high school students to many of the most challenging issues of the day including health care, building healthy communities, economic and international development, and criminal justice.

- Education -
As a Presidential Fellow at the University of Colorado he earned a master's degree in management and, later, a Ph.D. in leadership from the Graduate School of Public Affairs.

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