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D. Christopher Kayes

D. Christopher Kayes

D. Christopher Kayes

Chair, Department of Management; Professor of Management

Contact:

Office Phone: (202) 994-4795
Personal website
Google Scholar page
2201 G Street NW Washington, D.C. 20052

Dr. Chris Kayes (Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University) is a professor of management at the George Washington University School of Business and a senior fellow at the Center for Excellence in Public Leadership at the George Washington University. He serves as a faculty fellow at the Institute for Experiential Learning and at the Learning and Innovation Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is the author or co-author and editor of five books: Judgment and Leadership: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Concepts, Practice and Development (Edward Elgar), Contemporary Organizational Behavior (Pearson), Organizational Resilience: How Learning Sustains Organizations Through Crisis, Disaster, and Breakdown (Oxford), The Learning Advantage: Six Practices of Learning-Directed Leadership (Macmillan), and Destructive Goal Pursuit: The Mt. Everest Disaster (Macmillan).

He served for four terms as chair of the Department of Management, as founding director of the Master in Human Resource Management Program, and as interim dean of the School of Business. As interim dean, he led the school’s financial turnaround, reintroduced the doctoral program, and strengthened ties with the school, alumni and business community. As department chair, he increased the diversity of the faculty. He led the department into national prominence, ranking among the top 50 management departments in the U.S. (including the top 20 among private institutions). He oversaw the introduction of new master's degree programs in Human Resource Management (which contributed to a top international ranking among non-MBA programs), sport management, a new university-wide interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in entrepreneurship, and several certificates.

Dr. Kayes’ research on experiential learning, leadership and resilience has appeared in more than 100 peer-reviewed publications. His paper, "The destructive pursuit of idealized goals," received the first Most Significant Contribution to the Practice of Management award from the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management. His analysis of the 1996 Mt. Everest climbing disaster won the Best Paper award from the journal Human Relations, and his extension of experiential learning theory was nominated for the first Best Paper award in the Academy of Management Learning and Education journal. He has appeared in more than 100 media news stories, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, and Reuters. Oliver Burkeman’s book The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking featured his unique approach to goals and goal setting.

Professor Kayes was selected by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs to film a video series as part of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative. He received two Outstanding Teaching awards from the George Washington University School of Business and has taught at universities around the world, including the Singapore Institute of Management; the Zagreb School of Economics and Management in Croatia; the Helsinki School of Economics in Finland; the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Latvia; the University of Hull in the United Kingdom; and Holy Spirit University in Beirut, Lebanon.

Dr. Kayes has consulted with a variety of organizations around the world, including the World Bank, U.S. Department of State, Linux Foundation, Capital One, the Canadian Olympic Committee, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Northrop Grumman, American Research Institute, WMS Gaming, Human Capital Singapore, Eye Bank of America, American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), National Institutes of Health, Fannie Mae, Oracle, Ericsson, Bank of New York Mellon, Sun King, Pension Benefits Guarantee Corporation, Singapore Workforce Development Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Judiciary, U.S. Army, and U.S. Navy. He has presented at over a dozen universities around the world.

  • Management Learning and Change
  • Learning Styles
  • Organizational Development
  • Learning in Groups and Teams
  • Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University, 2001
  • M.B.A., Butler University
  • B.A., Indiana University
  • Critical Analysis of Research
  • Organizational Diagnosis
  • Adult Learning
  • History of Management
  • Leadership, Learning, and Crisis
  • Individual and Group Dynamics
  • Human Dimensions of Change
  • Disruptive Change and Crisis Leadership
  • Organizational Communication
  • Organizational Behavior
  • Leadership and Organizations
  • Organizational Diagnosis

Books

  1. Kayes, A. B., & Kayes, D. C. (Eds.). (2021). Judgment and Leadership: A multidisciplinary approach to concepts, practice and development. New Horizons in Leadership Series. Edward Elgar Publishing.
  2. Elsbach, K., Kayes, A. B., & Kayes, D. C. (2016). Contemporary organizational behavior: From ideas to action. New York: Pearson.
  3. Kayes, D. C. (2015). Organizational resilience: How learning sustains organizations in crisis, disaster, and breakdown. New York: Oxford University Press.
  4. Kayes, D. C., & Kayes, A. B. (2011). The learning advantage: The six practices of learning directed leadership. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave-Macmillan.
  5. Kayes, D. C. (2006). Destructive goal pursuit: The Mt. Everest Disaster. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave-Macmillan.
  6. Kayes, D. C. (2008). O desafio da lideranca: Aprendendo com o desastre no Monte Everest (Trans. C. Cortes de Barros e Azevedo). Sao Paulo, Brazil: Editora Novo Conceito.

Journal Articles

  1. D.C. Kayes, J. Yoon and C.H.-H. Tsay, Five routines that help leaders learn, Organizational Dynamics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2023.100991
  2. Stockwell, D. C., Kayes, D. C., & Thomas, E. J. (2022). Patient safety where to aim when zero-harm is not the target: A case for learning and resilience. Journal of Patient Safety. Published online on January 21, 2022.
  3. Kayes. D. C., & Yoon, J. (2022). Cognitive Offloading Strategies and Decrements in Learning: Lessons from Aviation and Aerospace Crises. Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments, 17(1). Published online January 24, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.7771/2327-2937.1146
  4. Kayes, D. C. (2018). Are you ready to lead in a crisis? Organizational Dynamics, 48, 1-7.
  5. Yoon, J. & Kayes, D. C. (2016). Employees' self-efficacy and perception of individual learning in teams: The cross-level moderating role of team learning behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37, 7, 1044-1060.
  6. Kayes, D. C., & Yoon, J. (2016). The breakdown and rebuilding of learning during organizational crisis, disaster, and failure. Organizational Dynamics, 45, 71-79.
  7. Yoon, J. & Kayes, D. C (in press). Employees’ self-efficacy and perception of individual learning in teams: The cross-level moderating role of team learning behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior
  8. Kayes, D. C., & Yoon, J. (2016). The breakdown and rebuilding of learning during organizational crisis, disaster, and failure. Organizational Dynamics, 45.
  9. Kayes, D. C., Allen, N., & Self, N. (2013). Integrating Learning, Leadership, and Crisis in Management Education: Lessons From Army Officers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Journal of Management Education, 37, 180-202.
  10. Knott, M. J., & Kayes, D. C. (2012). Individual contribution to a team: The importance of continuous adaptive learning. Organization Management Journal, 9, 1, 22-33.
  11. Ameli, P., & Kayes, D. C. (2011). Triple-loop learning in a cross-sector partnership: The DC Central Kitchen partnership. The Learning Organization, 18, 175-188.
  12. Yamazaki, Y., & Kayes, D. C. (2010). Learning and work satisfaction in Asia: A comparative study of Japanese, Chinese and Malaysian managers. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21, 2271-2289.
  13. Yamazaki, Y., & Kayes, D. C. (2007). Expatriate learning: Exploring how Japanese managers adapt in the United States. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18, 1373-1395.
  14. Kayes, D. C., Stirling, D., & Neilsen, T. (2007). Building organizational integrity. Business Horizons, 50(1), 61-70.
    • Reprinted in Social Impacts of Business eJournal, The Aspen Institute, July 12, 2007.
    • Reprinted in Dansk Indkobs og Logistik Forum. Access at: http://www.dilf.dk/
  15. Kayes, D. C. (2006). From climbing stairs to riding waves: An overlapping waves approach to critical thinking in groups. Small Group Research, 37, 612-630. ABS 2.
  16. Kayes, D. C. (2006). Organizational corruption as theodicy. Journal of Business Ethics, 67, 51-62.
  17. Kayes, A. B., Kayes, D. C., & Yamazaki, Y. (2006). Transferring knowledge across cultures: A learning competencies approach. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 18(4), 87-100.
  18. Kayes, D. C., Kayes, A. B., & Yamazaki, Y. (2005). Essential competencies for cross-cultural knowledge absorption. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 20, 578-589.
  19. Reprinted in G. Fink & N. Holden (Eds.), Absorption and application of management knowledge. Bradford, England: Emerald Group Publishing.
  20. Kayes, D. C. (2005). Internal validity and reliability of Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory version 3 (1999). Journal of Business and Psychology, 20, 249-257.
  21. Kayes, D. C. (2005). The destructive pursuit of idealized goals. Organizational Dynamics, 34, 391-401.
    • Awarded the most significant contribution to the practice of management in the field of organizational behavior, Organizational Behavior Division, Academy of Management. First time awarded, 2005.
  22. Kayes, A. B., Kayes, D. C., & Kolb, D. A. (2005). Experiential learning in teams. Simulation & Gaming, 36, 330-354.
  23. Kayes, A. B., Kayes, D. C., & Kolb, D. A. (2005). Developing teams using Kolb’s team learning experience. Simulation & Gaming, 36, 355-363.
  24. Bailey, J., Sass, M., Swiercz, P. M., Seal, C., & Kayes. D. C. (2005). Teaching with and through teams. Student-written, instructor-facilitated case writing and the signatory code. Journal of Management Education, 29(1), 39-59.
  25. Kayes, D. C. (2004). The 1996 Mt. Everest climbing disaster: The breakdown of learning in teams. Human Relations, 57, 1236-1284.
    • Awarded best paper by editors, 2004
    • Most downloaded article, 2005
  26. Yamazaki, Y., & Kayes, D. C. (2004). An experiential approach to cross-cultural learning: A review and integration of success factors in expatriate adaptation. Academy of Management Learning Education, 3, 354-379.
    • Lead article, December 2004
  27. Kayes, D. C., & Kayes, A. B. (2003). Management development ‘through the looking glass’: Management education gone awry. Journal of Management Education, 27, 694-710.
  28. Kayes, D. C. (2003). Proximal team learning: Lessons from United Flight 93 on 9/11. Organizational Dynamics, 32, 80-92.
  29. Kayes, D. C. (2002). Experiential learning and its critics: Preserving the role of experience in management learning and education. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 1, 137-149. ABS 3.
    • Nominated for Best Paper, AMLE, 2002-2003
    • Lead article, December 2002
    • First accepted peer-reviewed article for journal
  30. Kayes, D. C. (2002). Dilemma at 29,000 feet: An exercise in ethical decision-making based on the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster. Journal of Management Education, 26, 307-321.
  31. Druskat, V. U., & Kayes, D. C. (2000). Learning versus performance in short term project teams. Small Group Research, 31, 328-353.

Book Chapters

  1. Allen, N. , & Kayes, D. C. 2011. Leadership development in dynamic and hazardous environment: Company Commander learning through Combat. In Anne Mc Kee & Michael Eraut (Eds.). Learning Trajectories, innovation and identity for professional development. Series: Innovation and Change in Professional Education, Vol. 7. New York: Springer.
  2. Kayes, D. C. 2009. The problem with performance: Conditions for team learning. In (Eds.) P. Kamur, P. Ramsey, & B. Mackie, Learning and Performance Matters. World Scientific Publishing Company.
  3. Kayes, D. C. 2007. Institutional barriers to experiential learning. In (Eds.) M. Reynolds & R. Vince, Experiential Learning and Management Education. Oxford University Press.
  4. Kayes, D. C. , & Kayes, A. B. 2006. Learning style composition in teams: Implications for assessment. In (Eds.) Sims, R. & Sims, E. Learning Styles and Learning: A Key to Meeting the Accountability Demands in Education. Nova Press.
  5. Kayes, D. C. 2004. The limits and consequences of experience-absent reflection: Implications for learning and organizing. In (Eds.), M. Reynolds & R. Vince, Organizing Reflection. Ashgate Publishing.
  6. Kayes. D. C. 2002. Conversational learning in organization and human resource development. In A. Baker, P. Jensen & D. Kolb (Eds.), Conversational learning: An experiential approach to knowledge creation. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
  7. Kolb, A. , Baker, A. , Jensen, P. , & Kayes, D. C. 2002. The practice of conversational learning in higher education. In A. Baker, P. Jensen , & D. Kolb (Eds.), Conversational learning: An experiential approach to knowledge creation. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
  8. Kayes, D. C. 2002. Sociological issues in human resource development. In (Eds.), M. Marquardt, UNESCO-sponsored Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems. Human Resources and Their Development.
  9. Druskat, V. U. , & Kayes, D. C. 1999. The antecedents of team competence: Toward a fine-grained model of self-managing team effectiveness. In (Eds.), M. Neale and E. Mannix, Research on Groups and Teams, Vol. 2. JAI Press: Greenwich, CT.

Encyclopedia Entries

  1. Kayes, A. B. , & Kayes, D. C. 2007. Learning. In (Eds), J. Bailey & S. Clegg. International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies. Sage Publications.
  2. Kayes, D. C. , & Raelin, J. 2007. Goal setting. In (Eds), J. Bailey & S. Clegg. International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies. Sage Publications.
  3. Kayes, D. C. , & Burnett, G. 2007. Team learning. In (Eds), J. Bailey & S. Clegg. International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies. Sage Publications.
  4. Kayes, D. C. 2007. Lacanian Psychoanalysis. In (Eds), J. Bailey & S. Clegg. International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies. Sage Publications.
  5. Bailey, J. , & Kayes, D. C. 2005. Learning, individual. In (Eds.), Nigel Nicholson, Pino G. Audia, & Madan M. Pillutla. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management, 2nd Ed. Vol. XI. London: Blackwell, pp. 213-215.
  • Academy of Management Collections, Best Reviewer Award
  • Outstanding Master of Human Resource Management Faculty Award
  • Outstanding Professional Cohort Master of Business Administration Faculty Award
  • Selected by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs to film a video series on leadership as part of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) 
  • Outstanding Faculty Member Award, Executive MBA Program, GWU
  • Most significant contribution to the practice of management in 2005, Academy of Management, Organizational Behavior Division
  • Most Downloaded Paper, Human Relations
  • Best Paper, Human Relations
  • Best Paper Finalist, Academy of Management Learning and Education
  • New Educator Award, Organizational Behavior Teaching Society

Current and Previous Editorial Board Memberships

  • Journal of Applied Behavioral Science
  • Human Relations
  • Management Teaching Review
  • Simulation and Gaming
  • Academy of Management Learning and Education
  • Management Learning
  • Journal of Management Education