LEAD Symposium
The Inaugural 2025 LEAD Symposium: Resilience and Wellbeing- Focused Leadership
Human Resources is thrilled to announce the inaugural 2025 LEAD Symposium at Charlotte! This year, we’re focusing on a theme that’s more critical than ever: Resilience and Wellbeing-Focused Leadership.
This is your chance to ignite your leadership potential and connect with some of the brightest minds at UNC Charlotte. We’re bringing together award-winning, research-backed presenters to dive deep into how you can foster a culture of resilience and support the wellbeing of your teams — and yourself.
Get ready to:
- Empower yourself and your teams with cutting-edge strategies for navigating change and thriving under pressure.
- Connect with fellow leaders to share best practices and build a powerful support network.
- Cultivate a resilient and high-performing environment that prioritizes both professional success and personal wellbeing.
Who Should Attend?
Whether you’re an established leader, faculty, or staff, we encourage you to join us. This is also a perfect opportunity for aspiring leaders ready to take the next step in their careers by learning how to lead with empathy and strength.
Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to grow and network. Mark your calendars now and get ready for a day of inspiration, collaboration and meaningful development!
Details
Date: Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025
Location: Student Activity Center (SAC) Salons
Tentative Schedule
| Time | Program Sessions | Topics and Presenters |
| 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. | Registration | |
| 9:00 a.m. – 9:05 a.m. | Welcome | Deidra Harris-Lumpkins, Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources |
| 9:05 a.m. – 9:35 a.m. | Kickoff Session | Resilience and Wellbeing-Focused Leadership Sharon L. Gaber, Chancellor |
| 9:35 a.m. – 11:05 a.m. | Keynote Session | Re-Imagining Your Positive Workforce Culture for the Education Environment Andy Masters, Award Winning Author and Speaker |
| 11:05 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. | Break | |
| 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions 1 | (Don’t) Leave Your Feelings at the Door: Harnessing the Power of Emotion in Leading Effectively by: Dr. Janaki Gooty or AI and Leadership Effectiveness by: Drs. George Banks and Wenwen Dou |
| 12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. | Lunch | |
| 1:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. | Afternoon Plenary | Embracing Your Work-Life “Mix” with Higher Quality and Less Stress Andy Masters, Award Winning Author and Speaker |
| 3:15 p.m. – 3:25 p.m. | Break | |
| 3:25 p.m. – 4:25 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions 2 | Social Skills and Leadership by: Dr. Eric Heggestad, Associate Vice Provost or Conflict Resolution for Leaders by: Scott Deyo, University Ombuds and Jen Amano, Associate University Ombuds |
| 4:25 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Closing | Jessica Kapota, Director, Learning and Organizational Development |
Program session information
Kickoff: Resilience and Wellbeing-Focused Leadership
Dr. Sharon Gaber, Chancellor, UNC Charlotte
Join us for an introduction to our theme and insight about the importance of these elements to leadership practice at Charlotte.
Keynote: Re-Imagining Your Positive Workforce Culture for the Education Environment
Andy Masters, Award Winning Author and Speaker
This program illustrates how to develop, empower, trust, delegate, recognize and appreciate others in a positive work culture while overcoming the succession planning crisis that many face in higher education. It provides attendees with not only an interactive multimedia experience, but also immediate “take-home” action items.
(Don’t) Leave Your Feelings at the Door: Harnessing the Power of Emotion in Leading Effectively
Dr. Janaki Gooty, Professor of Management and Co-Director of the Center for Leadership Science
Participants will learn about the science of emotions and how to harness emotions (e.g., frustration, pride, grief, anger) to lead self and others effectively.
AI and Leadership Effectiveness
Dr. George Banks, Professor of Management and Co-Director of the Center for Leadership Science
Dr. Wenwen Dou, Associate Professor of Computer Science and member of the Center for Leadership Science
The current talk will discuss the fundamental approach of identifying leader behavior (i.e., signals) and incorporating them into a platform that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) models to provide feedback to leaders. An interactive dashboard including visualization and storytelling can then provide information on leaders’ performance to improve their leadership signals. This work can be used to train current and emerging leaders to work effectively in the virtual setting.
Afternoon Plenary: Embracing Your Work-Life “Mix” with Higher Quality and Less Stress
Andy Masters, Award Winning Author and Speaker
In today’s challenging work environment, discover how to decrease anxiety, master focus and prioritization, and intentionally manage your time. This interactive session provides practical tools to recharge, refocus and happily embrace the new realities of work and life.
Social Skills and Leadership
Dr. Eric Heggestad, Associate Vice Provost, Professor of Psychological Science and member of the Center for Leadership Science
Social skills are often near the top of the list of characteristics organizations desire in employees (and leaders). In this session, we will explore exciting new insights on how social skills can help a leader be more effective and why followers’ perceptions of a leader’s social skills matter.
Conflict Resolution for Leaders
Scott Deyo, University Ombuds
Jen Amano, Associate University Ombuds
Learn how to transform organizational challenges into catalysts for excellence. This interactive session will provide a framework to help leaders work through conflicts effectively. Participants will discover how to navigate tensions constructively, foster meaningful dialogue and create cultures where working towards shared goals as a community is the primary focus. This evidence-based session combines theory with hands-on application, equipping leaders with tools to strengthen relationships, maximize engagement and build sustainable collaborative environments.
Questions?
Please contact the learning and organizational development team at hrtraining@charlotte.edu.