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

Biography

Ginzel was born in Seoul, South Korea, but spent her childhood between the United States and Germany.
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.
From 1989-1992, she was an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. Then from 1991-1992, 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. 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.

Academic Work

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.

Previous Work

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

Negotiations and Decision-Making

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.

Leadership CapitalGinzel, Linda. ''Leadership Capital''. Chicago: Booth School of Business, 2015. Print.

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.

''Choosing Leadership: A Workbook''

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. In 2019, Forbes included "Choosing Leadership" in its list, "Top Life and Career Design Books to Plan Your Year," stating that the book was a "good option to create your own self-coaching leadership program."
"Choosing Leadership" has been incorporated into curricula for courses across disciplines. At the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Professor William D. Henderson used "Choosing Leadership" as the core text in a Deliberative Leadership course.

Consumer Advocacy

Along with her academic work, Ginzel also currently serves as the co-founder and president of the non-profit organization Kids in Danger. In 1998, Ginzel and her husband, Boaz Keysar, founded Kids in Danger after the death of their son, Danny Keysar, who was strangled by a previously recalled portable crib. Through their work with the organization, Ginzel and Keysar helped push the state of Illinois in banning the sale of recalled children's products in 1998 and were also key leaders in the enactment of the Children's Product Safety Act in Illinois in 1999.
In 2008, as members of the Advisory Committee on the Obama Transition Team, Ginzel and Keysar were instrumental in the creation of CPSC legislation that mandated changes in regulating children's products. The legislation included a provision, named after their son Danny, that put into effect tougher safety standards and compulsory testing for durable children's products. An extension of this CPSC legislation in 2012 included new rules for playpens that require independent testing for stability. At the announcement of this legislation, Ginzel said, "It is bittersweet for me to be standing here today," she said, "The fact that strong mandatory standards are now required by law is Danny's legacy and the legacy of other children whose lives have been lost so carelessly, so tragically." In short, Danny’s Law required that manufacturers test toys and infant products before sale. It also banned lead and phthalates in toys.
Ginzel testified in Congress and state legislatures throughout the country on the topic of children's product safety. Ginzel's work has been featured across mainstream media and publications including ABC Nightly News, Today Show, Oprah, Voice of America,Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, USA Today and People Magazine.
Currently, Ginzel volunteers as a consumer representative on the Consumer Products Committee F15 of ASTM International.

Awards and Recognition