Ideas into Actions

Information alone is not knowledge. But with the right approach, information turns into insight, which in turn can trigger action. This is the principle belief behind CCL's research and innovation.

Research is fundamental to CCL. Performing innovative research - and shaping it into products that make you and your organization more effective — has been at the heart of CCL's work for four decades.

With ongoing research projects underway across the globe and in the APAC office, CCL is working to understand your challenges and find cutting-edge solutions.

Among our current research initiatives:

• Coaching from an Eastern Perspective
• Leadership in a Multicultural World

Meet some of our highly experienced
researchers

Meena Surie Wilson is Senior Enterprise Associate with the Research, Innovation and Product Development group of the Center for Creative Leadership — Asia Pacific and author of the book Developing Tomorrows' Leaders Today: Insights from Corporate India (Wiley, October 2010). Meena joined the Greensboro campus of CCL^® in 1992 as a Research Associate. She is currently based in Jamshedpur, India.

Meena's most recent assignment as Research Director for the CCL-APAC office in Singapore involved starting up a research unit to advance knowledge about leadership development in countries in Asia. Previously, as Interim Managing Director, CCL-Asia, and Director, Asia-Pacific Relations, Meena completed a special assignment to launch the CCL-Asia office in Singapore in July 2003. She worked with an enterprise team to open up the new office, develop networks, and explore alliances with international partners.

Meena's research focuses on the power of experience as a catalyst of leadership lessons, and on cross-cultural adaptability as a source of managerial effectiveness. Her book is based on over 100 interviews with senior Indian business executives from eight India-based global companies. Meena's credits include chapters on "Learning from Experience" in The Center for Creative Leadership Handbook of Leadership Development (Jossey-Bass, 2010); "Foundations of Responsible Leadership: From Self-Insight to Integrity and Altruism" in Handbook of Responsible Leadership and Governance in Global Business (Edward Elgar, 2005); "Effective Cross-Cultural Leadership: Tips and Techniques for Developing Capacity" in Crossing Cultures: Insights from Master Teachers (Routledge, 2004); and "Leading Across Cultures: Five Vital Capabilities," which appeared in The Organization of the Future (Jossey-Bass, 1998). Meena is lead author of International Success: Selecting, Developing, and Supporting Expatriate Managers (CCL, 1998) and Managing across Cultures: a Learning Framework (CCL, 1996).

In addition, Meena facilitates feedback and coaching sessions in CCL programs, and designs and delivers workshops and conference modules. She has been on the team of the Center's Design and Evaluation group in Greensboro, North Carolina. This group provides CCL faculty and clients with tools, templates, and best practices that support the design and evaluation of leadership development interventions.

A native of India and a former resident of Alaska, her previous work experiences include educational policy analysis for the state of Alaska, program development for public schools in Anchorage, AK, and project work at the Xavier Labor Relations Institute in Jamshedpur, India.

Meena completed her undergraduate studies at Mills College in Oakland, CA, and holds a M.S. degree from Syracuse University in television-radio journalism and a Ph.D. in adult and organizational development from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Her recent works:

• Book - Developing Tomorrow's Leaders Today
• Whitepaper - Grooming Top Leaders

Sophia Zhao Xiuxi is a Research Associate at the Center for Creative Leadership. She is based in CCL's APAC office in Singapore. Her main responsibilities include designing and conducting research projects, taking into account clients' needs and practical implications. Her current research interest focuses on leadership and leadership coaching in China and India.

Prior to joining CCL, Sophia's job mainly focused on research and teaching. Her research interest spans across three fields in management and organization: organizational behavior (micro organizational behavior), organizational theory (macro organizational behavior) and human resource management. The research topics that she has examined include: career development, social support and support seeking, work-related stress, work-family relationship, family business groups in Asia, HR outsourcing and computer mediated communication. The research findings were published in prestigious academic journals and/or presented in top-tier conferences.

Sophia also had three years' teaching experience in the Department of Management and Organization, NUS Business School. She conducted tutorials for classes of 25-30 students; her job included designing course content, leading case study and discussion, facilitating team activities and debriefing etc.

Sophia has published academic journal papers in the area of organizational behavior. She frequently presents her research in top tier conferences such as Academy of Management (AOM), Academy of International Business (AIB), Institute for Operations Research and the Management Science (INFORMS), Asia Academy of Management (AAOM) and Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS). She is an active member in a number of professional associations such as Academy of Management (AOM), Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and International Association of Chinese Management Research (IACMR).

Sophia holds a Ph.D degree from National University of Singapore, with full academic scholarship. She also obtained her B.A degree in economics from Fudan University in China, where she won the People's Scholarship every year.

Angeline Lim is a Research Associate with the Research, Innovation and Product Development (RIPD) Group at the Center for Creative Leadership. She is currently based in the APAC office located in Singapore. Her work at CCL focuses on understanding the needs of leaders in Asia and developing solutions to address those needs.

Prior to joining CCL, Angeline had eight years of research experience in the areas of HR and organizational behavior. Her research interests lie at the intersection of these two broad domains, specifically in the areas of workforce diversity (including cross-cultural diversity), recruitment and selection, interpersonal relationships, and emotions. She has published papers in peer-reviewed academic journals, HR casebooks and handbooks. Her research has also been presented at various top-tier conferences including the Academy of Management (AOM) Meetings, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Conferences, the International Association for Conflict Management (IACM) Conference, and the International Society for Research on Emotions (ISRE) Conference. She is an active member of the International Subcommittee of both the Organizational Behavior (OB) and Gender and Diversity in Organizations (GDO) Divisions at AOM and has been involved in various projects to connect US-based members with other international members of AOM.

In addition to research, Angeline had three years of experience teaching a foundational management course to undergraduates. This includes preparation of materials, facilitation of discussions, mentoring of student project teams, and assessment of students. She also worked as a teaching assistant for courses at the Bachelors, MBA and EMBA levels. These courses include Leadership, Managing Change, and Organizational Culture and Power.

Angeline holds a Bachelors of Business Administration (Honours) from the National University of Singapore, and is currently pursuing her PhD at the same university. She was awarded the Apollo Enterprises Gold Medal for being the Most Outstanding Student in Management and Organization, and received a full scholarship for her PhD studies.