Interview with Donna Hicks, PhD

About Leading with Dignity: How to Create a Culture That Brings Out the Best In People by
Donna Hicks, PhD.    

Leading with Dignity teaches us what every leader needs to know about dignity and how to create a culture in which everyone thrives.

This landmark book from an expert in dignity studies explores the essential but under-recognized role of dignity as part of good leadership. Extending the reach of her award-winning book Dignity: Its Essential Role in Resolving Conflict, Donna Hicks now contributes a specific, practical guide to achieving a culture of dignity.

Most people know very little about dignity and when leaders fail to respect the dignity of others, conflict and distrust ensue.

Donna highlights three components of leading with dignity:
(1) What one must know in order to honor dignity and avoid violating it;
(2) What one must do to lead with dignity; and
(3) How one can create a culture of dignity in any organization, whether corporate, religious, governmental, healthcare, or beyond.

Brimming with key research findings, real-life case studies, and workable recommendations, this book fills an important gap in our understanding of how best to be together in a conflict-ridden world.

ABOUT DONNA HICKS, PhD

Dr. Donna Hicks is an Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University.  Dr. Hicks was Deputy Director of the Program on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution (PICAR) at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.  She worked extensively on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and as a member of the third party in numerous unofficial diplomatic efforts. In addition to her work in the Middle East, Dr. Hicks founded and co-directed a ten-year project in Sri Lanka.  She has also worked on the conflicts in Northern Ireland and Colombia and conducted several US/Cuba dialogues. She is the Vice President of Ara Pacis, an Italian non-governmental organization based in Rome.  They are currently involved in a dignity restoration project in Syria and Libya. Dr. Hicks was a consultant to the British Broadcasting Company where she co-facilitated encounters between victims and perpetrators of the Northern Irish conflict with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The encounters were made into 3 television programs, Facing the Truth, which were aired throughout the United Kingdom and on BBC World.

Dr. Hicks has taught courses in conflict resolution at Harvard, Clark, and Columbia Universities and conducts trainings and educational seminars in the US and abroad on the role dignity plays in healing and reconciling relationships in conflict as well as dignity leadership training. She consults to corporations, schools, churches, and non-governmental organization. She is the author of the book, Dignity: It’s Essential Role in Resolving Conflict, published in 2011 by Yale University Press.  Her second book, Leading with Dignity: How to Create a Culture That Brings Out the Best in People, has just been published by Yale University Press.

Early Praise for Leading with Dignity

“With engaging intelligence, Hicks makes a lucid case for the importance of acknowledging a person’s worth within organizations and businesses. It’s a useful book, not only for managers and CEOs, but for anyone wanting to better understand how to bring about the best in themselves and those around them.”—Nina MacLaughlin, The Boston Globe

“Leading with Dignity conveys a simple, but powerful message: people want to be treated well, and when they are, it brings out the best in them.”—Jon Gordon, author of The Energy Bus and The Power of Positive Leadership

“This ‘how-to’ sparks the scaling of dignity within and across us to strengthen human and social capacity. A gift to give and get.”—Dana Born, Co-Director of the Center for Public Leadership, Harvard University

“Nothing short of a landmark publication that will change and influence the public conversation on how we organize and manage.”—Michael Pirson, Fordham University

“There has never been a more important time for dignity to be recognized as the key to outstanding institutional, organizational, and community leadership. This book offers a practical and empowering roadmap showing leaders how to build, strengthen, and energize their organizations by cultivating the dignity of all people.”—Linda M. Hartling, Ph.D., Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies

“Corporate codes of ethics list treating people with dignity as a core value. Hicks’s book Leading with Dignity brilliantly explains its meaning through practical steps resulting in an ethical culture.”—W. Michael Hoffman, Executive Director of the Center for Business Ethics, Bentley University