Linda E. Ginzel

Linda E. Ginzel is a Clinical Professor of Managerial Psychology at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the founder of the Customized Executive Education program.

She researches, develops curricula, and teaches courses on negotiation, effective leadership, and organizational behavior.

Ginzel is a two-time recipient of the James S. Kemper Jr. Grant in Business Ethics.

Ginzel is also the co-founder and president of Kids in Danger, a nonprofit organization which works to protect and promote the welfare and rights of consumers regarding children's product safety.

She received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Colorado in 1984, earning both distinction and summa cum laude.

In 1986, she earned an M.A. in Social Psychology from Princeton University, and later went on to earn a Ph.D. in social psychology from Princeton University in 1989.

During her time at Princeton, she studied with Edward E. Jones.

Prior to her academic career, Ginzel held various positions.

She worked at Montgomery Ward, served as a hair salon receptionist, managed an apartment complex, and was a life insurance saleswoman.

From 1989 to 1992, she was an assistant professor of organizational behavior at the graduate school of business at Stanford University.

Then from 1991 to 1992, she was visiting assistant professor of organizational behavior at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.

In 1992, Ginzel joined University of Chicago Booth School of Business as a senior lecturer in behavioral sciences.

From 1995 to 2004, she managed and grew a custom-designed program, which now ranks number one in the world for Executive Education Programs.

Ginzel has also designed and taught customized educational programs for a number of Fortune 500 companies.

In the past, she has taught courses on organizational behavior, interpersonal perception, attribution theory, and general & social psychology to both M.B.A. and Ph.D. students at Northwestern, Stanford, and Princeton.

Ginzel said, “Negotiation is the essential leadership skill for those creating a different future.

It is the ultimate skill for problem solving.

Entrepreneurs do that everyday.” In her negotiation courses, Ginzel encourages her students to: 1) look for tradeoffs to create value, 2) enlarge the pie before dividing, 3) adapt their strategy to their counterpart's style, and 4) practice 'conditional' cooperation.

Overall, her goal is for her students to gain a better understanding of the psychological processes that underlie the judgements made during negotiations and become better analytical negotiators.

The course has been taught to full-time, part-time, and executive MBA candidates at Booth locations in Chicago and London.

In terms of decision making for individuals in business, Ginzel said, "I do not think that my advice is any different for women than for men in business. I tell all my students to be sure that they have a strong sense of their own priorities so that they do not end up making choices based on the priorities of others. I believe that who we become depends on the everyday choices that we make, and we must choose wisely.

In Ginzel's Leadership Capital course, she challenges students to address questions such as: What makes a good executive?

What does a leader do to create and add value?

How does management differ from leadership?

What is the basis of management and leadership?

Defining "leadership capital" as "the wisdom to decide when to manage and when to lead together with the courage and capacity to implement," Ginzel teaches a framework geared towards developing a strategy of knowing when to change and when to maintain the status quo.

Her framework includes the development of two types of skills: action skills and insight skills.

Since 1998, she has worked as a clinical professor of managerial psychology for the university.

In addition, Ginzel is a charter member of the Association for Psychological Science and a member of the Academy of Management.

Ginzel leads programs and teaches MBA and executive education courses in leadership capital, high-performance leadership, the social psychology of management, essentials of effective leadership, managerial psychology, negotiations, and decision-making.

Ginzel established the Corporate Executive Education Program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Ginzel with the President's Volunteer Service Award for her work in national public safety.

Ginzel was born in Seoul, South Korea, but spent her childhood between the United States and Germany.

Ginzel published her first book, "Choosing Leadership: A Workbook," in 2018.

Ginzel decided to write the book after students from her leadership course began to ask for copies of class material to share with their coworkers and friends.

Drawing from her materials for executive development courses, the book uses a personalized approach to developing leadership and management skills.

Ginzel noted in the introduction: "Instead of thinking about people who are "leaders," think of the choices these people made to lead."

The workbook includes exercises and activities to encourage personal and professional growth, with the goal of "being wiser, younger."

Concepts included within workbook exercises include developing personal definitions of leadership, leveraging the Zeigarnik effect, and leveraging data collection to maximize the value of past experiences.

"Choosing Leadership" has been featured in media such as the Chicago Booth CareerCast podcast, Chicago's WGN Radio, and the Association for Surgical Education podcast.