Dr. Tom Bateman - Proactivity

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Dr. Tom Bateman is a professor emeritus with the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce.  Tom’s academic field is organizational behavior, including topics like leadership, motivation, decision making, job stress, and teamwork. Tom was the founder and long-time director of UVA’s multi-disciplinary leadership minor open to students of all majors.

Tom’s career-long research interests center around proactive behavior (including leadership) by employees at all levels. Being proactive means much more than just starting a task sooner rather than later; it means thinking about the future and acting strategically to change current trajectories to avoid future problems and create better futures. With that definition in mind, he has been writing about psychology and leadership in the domain of climate change and sustainability.

Now semi-retired and living in Maine, Tom still gives talks, revises his management textbooks, and writes for Psychology Today, Greenbiz, and The Conversation. And he remains a devoted fan of his hometown Cleveland sports teams.

Connecting with Tom

• Twitter: @thomassbateman
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-bateman-5734715

A Quote From Tom's Writing

• "Your behavior is proactive when you choose it yourself rather than comply with external demands; you execute strategically more than mindlessly; you are future-focused rather than anchored in the present or past; and your intention is to change something for the better, thus to create a better future."

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

• Book: Making Things Happen at Work by Sharon Parker and Uta Bindl
• Book: Uncharted: How to Navigate the Future by Margaret Heffernan 
• Podcast:  Hopecast by Jane Goodall
• Book: Think Again by Adam Grant
• Book: The New Climate War by Michael Mann

About The International Leadership Association (ILA)

• The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals with a keen interest in the study, practice, and teaching of leadership.