HWS News
15 March 2024 • Alums Leading Like a Champion By Andrew Wickenden '09
In his new book, Christopher D. Connors ’03 shares insights on inspirational leadership built on emotional connection.
In today’s remote and hybrid work environments, what are the best ways to foster high-performing organizations? How can leaders reconnect to their employees in this evolving modern world of work? What does the future look like?
In The Champion Leader: Harnessing the Power of Emotional Intelligence to Build High-Performing Teams, bestselling author Christopher D. Connors ’03 guides managers, executives and business leaders through the rapidly changing rules of engagement in the modern workplace and how to adapt.
“The Champion Leader is the ultimate EQ manual for any leader seeking new, inspired ways to transform a group of individuals into a team. By embracing the people-first mentality this book promotes, anyone will be able to master the skills that help inspire, engage, and motivate their teams to reach new heights,” says Angie Morgan Witkowski, New York Times bestselling author of SPARK and Bet on You.
Forthcoming this spring, Connors' book addresses how to prioritize one-on-one and team conversations focused on understanding employee needs, career development, and wellbeing to help foster a future-focused organization. He walks readers through ways to maximize emotional intelligence and enhance leadership skills to develop organizations that deliver superior results.
The Champion Leader also offers pragmatic ways to build adaptability, assertiveness and empathy as well as strategies for developing self-awareness and modeling leadership. Connors also presents research-backed insights on improving self-confidence to create a culture of camaraderie and connection, as well as techniques to improve employee retention and recruitment through engagement and support.
“The Champion Leader masterfully distills the essence of transformative leadership into actions that resonate on a deeply personal level. Christopher’s work is a vital resource that redefines how to be a leader in an era where emotional intelligence is the cornerstone of organizational success,” says Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times bestselling author of The Earned Life, Triggers and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.
Connors is among the most in-demand speakers on emotional intelligence and leadership. He is trusted by the world’s leading organizations, including many Fortune 1000 companies. His previous book, Emotional Intelligence for the Modern Leader, is one of the top selling EQ books in the world, and his course “Leading with Emotional Intelligence” is the top video-based leadership course on LinkedIn Learning. Connors holds a B.A. political science from HWS and a master’s in public administration from the University of Georgia.
