When searching for managers and leaders, employers will often keep an eye out for a number of personality traits鈥攊ncluding integrity, decisiveness, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to collaborate fruitfully. Speaking to an overflow audience in Gasson Hall recently,听Sean R. Martin聽(Management and Organization) presented research that pointed to another, often overlooked factor: how far the potential leaders traveled in life to get where they are.
In his lecture titled 鈥淪ocial Class: Understanding Its Effects in the Workplace,鈥� Martin called attention to 鈥渃lass transitioners.鈥� These are people who start out in one socioeconomic class and end up in another (typically a higher destination). They are 鈥渙rganizationally valuable,鈥� more creative, more culturally sensitive, and better able to bridge gaps between different groups than others who haven鈥檛 made the class transition, according to his findings.
Martin鈥檚 September 8 lecture inaugurated the聽Mancini Family Sesquicentennial Assistant Professorship, of which he is the first holder. Raymond 鈥淩ay鈥澛燤ancini聽鈥�60, MBA鈥�11 and his wife, Ann鈥攖hree of whose children graduated from Boston College鈥攈ave endowed the position on behalf of their entire family. Ray has owned and operated two major distribution firms for beverages and flooring products.
Universities have long used endowed professorships to honor outstanding senior faculty members. Endowed聽assistant聽professorships are a more recent innovation鈥攗sually aimed at keeping and attracting the most impressive young academics while providing support for their research. Martin's assistant professorship is one of ten in the Sesquicentennial Challenge initiative, part of Boston College's聽Light the World聽150th anniversary campaign.聽Recently the聽University聽also聽unveiled a ten-year Strategic Plan that calls for 100 new endowed professorships,听mainly聽for senior faculty.
In addition to Martin鈥檚 lecture, attended by more than 200 students, faculty, and friends, the inaugural celebration of the Mancini Professorship included talks by University Provost David Quigley and Andy Boynton, the Carroll School of Management鈥檚 John and Linda Powers Family Dean, along with two Mancini family members鈥擠eborah Mancini Morrocco 鈥�81, P鈥�10, 鈥�14, and Raymond Thomas Mancini III 鈥�19.
Boynton related that in his conversations with Ray Mancini, the 1960 alum has credited his family鈥檚 success in part to Boston College鈥檚 faculty, calling them an 鈥渦nderlying constant鈥� that has helped guide successive generations of the family through 鈥渙ur formative years as undergraduates and prepare us for the world beyond.鈥� The dean also described Martin as a fitting first holder of the Mancini professorship, saying the assistant professor鈥檚 鈥渄ay-to-day interactions with our students help cultivate them as ethical leaders for tomorrow.鈥�
"Feelings of Entitlement"
Martin鈥檚 research has focused mainly on the values and behaviors of leaders, and how they influence followers and entire organizations. His articles have appeared in publications including the聽Academy of Management Journal,听Administrative Science Quarterly, and聽Harvard Business Review, and popular outlets such as the聽.
One of the first slides in the professor鈥檚 presentation summarized part of that research鈥攚ith the heading, 鈥淧arental Wealth and Narcissism.鈥� Together with collaborators, Martin has found in one study that leaders who come from higher-income households tend to exhibit higher levels of narcissism including 鈥渇eelings of entitlement鈥濃�攆or example, the expectation that others will defer to their opinions. Such attitudes made these leaders less effective than they otherwise might have been; they seemed less likely, for instance, to show concern for their followers or encourage innovative thinking.
The findings were based in part on a study of West Point graduates, drawing on responses to questionnaires by U.S. Army leaders and their followers, as well as records such as college applications made available by the military academy. (One of Martin鈥檚 coauthors, Col. Todd Woodruff, directs leadership and management studies at West Point.)
Then Martin looked at the 鈥渃lass transitioners,鈥� particularly those who have moved into a higher socioeconomic class. As leaders, they鈥檙e less likely to harbor those feelings of entitlement and they鈥檙e better able to accurately judge other people鈥檚 emotions. 鈥淧eople who move from one class to the other develop cultural intelligence,鈥� Martin said, referring to their ability to bring together people of different backgrounds. 鈥淭hey bridge gaps more than others do.鈥�
But there鈥檚 a downside. While demonstrating admirable traits such as creative thinking, these people are also often 鈥渓onely鈥攖hey don鈥檛 feel as much like they belong. And they鈥檙e exhausted,鈥� in part by constantly explaining one group to another, Martin added in a thumbnail sketch of his latest research. These particular findings are based partly on a recent study of tech professionals in Silicon Valley; a related article with coauthor St茅phane C么t茅 of the University of Toronto is under review at a prominent management journal.
Offering caveats, Martin cautioned that his research indicates only a 鈥渃orrelation鈥� between parental wealth and narcissistic leadership qualities; it doesn鈥檛 mean that a given person with such a background will exhibit those qualities. Also, leaders who come from wealth don鈥檛 necessarily perform worse than others鈥攖here鈥檚 just no clear evidence that they perform any better, despite the advantages of their upbringing, according to Martin. The research so far is largely inconclusive on the question of overall performance.
An End-of-Lecture Revelation
After laying out the findings, Martin raised the question: 鈥淲hy do I care?鈥� At that point, he clicked on a photo of himself as a small child鈥攚ith a hole in his sweatpants at the knee, wearing knockoff sneakers from Payless. The Carroll School professor鈥攚ho graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2003 and ultimately from Cornell University with a Ph.D.鈥攊s one of those who made the class transition.
As to why people in the audience should care, Martin pointed to Jesuit values that call for lifting people up, and the traditional role of universities as 鈥減rimary gateways for class transitions,鈥� among other reasons. Finally, he said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 just the right thing to do, to help lift people up and give them a shot.鈥�
During the Q&A, a young woman asked a question presumably on behalf of those from the upper echelons鈥攚hether someone could learn the cultural intelligence described by Martin, perhaps through immersion experiences. 鈥淚t would need to be a prolonged period and experience, but it鈥檚 valuable for all of us to burst through our bubbles鈥� and gain exposure to different people and groups, he said. A middle-aged man asked how the research might affect the way an employer decides on a job candidate. 鈥淚 tend to be more impressed by the person who fought harder to get there,鈥� Martin replied, while cautioning again that his findings are 鈥渃orrelative鈥� and don鈥檛 predict who will perform at the highest levels.
With that measured advice, the late-afternoon lecture gave way to a spirited reception in Gasson鈥檚 first-floor rotunda, following vigorous applause for the inaugural Mancini Family Sesquicentennial Assistant Professor.
William Bole is senior writer and editor at the Carroll School of Management.
Photography by Lee Pelligrini.