Transforming Leaders Into Progress Makers

Phillip G. Clampitt received his Ph.D. in organizational communication from the University of Kansas. He holds the Blair Endowed Chair of Communication and was previously the Hendrickson Professor of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where he is a full professor. Dr. Clampitt is the chair of four units at UWGB: Information & Computing Science, Communication, Computer Science, and Information Science. Sage Publications recently published the sixth edition of his best-selling book, Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness 6e. He co-authored two books with Robert J. DeKoch (President/COO of the Boldt Company): Embracing Uncertainty: The Essence of Leadership and Transforming Leaders into Progress Makers. Phil’s work on “Decision Downloading” was featured in the MIT Sloan Management Review and the Wall Street Journal. Additionally, he has published in numerous journals, including The Academy of Management Executive, Journal of Communication Management, Journal of Business Communication and Management Communication Quarterly. He has contributed chapters to numerous works including: Handbook of Communication Audits for Organisations, Communication Audits, and the International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication. He also is on the editorial board of many professional journals. Over the past thirty years he has worked on communication and leadership issues with many organizations including Nokia, PepsiCo, Schneider National, The Boldt Company, Dental City, National University and the Menasha Corporation. Phil has been a guest speaker at the U.S. Army War College where they use his books in their Strategic Leadership class. In addition to many guest-speaking opportunities in the U.S., he has also been invited to speak internationally at places such as The University of Pisa, The University of Aberdeen, The University of Ulster, as well as to numerous multi-national businesses and professional organizations. His students have heard him ask, "So what?" so often that they started calling him “Dr. So What.” Subsequently, he developed a related website (www.drsowhat.com) that highlights his passionate commitment to critical thinking and thoughtful inquiry.

Robert J. DeKoch received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Lawrence University and his Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. His career has spanned numerous manufacturing industries where he has held various management positions in operations, engineering, and research. He is currently the President and Chief Operating Officer for a major U.S. construction services firm, the Boldt Company (see www.theboldtcompany.com). He is also Co-Chairman of the Board of New North, Inc., a regional economic development initiative in Northeastern Wisconsin. The initiative’s mission is to harness and promote the 18-county region's resources, talents and creativity for the purposes of sustaining and growing the regional economy (see www.thenewnorth.com). Throughout his career, Mr. DeKoch has focused on developing work environments for high involvement and continuous learning. He has instituted progressive communication processes in the workplace to promote understanding, focus and alignment. He strives to build organizational relationships that foster innovative thinking, recognition of achievement, and genuine teamwork. He co-authored the book Embracing Uncertainty: The Essence of Leadership and leadership articles in various journals.