My Philosophy About Teaching
My teaching philosophy has crystallized over almost 50 years.
- I was fortunate to be exposed to a wide range of teachers and professors; I was profoundly affected by one high school teacher and two university professors who remain important role models for me to this day.
- I have learnt so much from countless leadership development initiatives which I have led in many different countries and organizations.
- I have been actively involved in research on leadership for decades, and learnt so much from the findings of all these studies
Teaching Awards
Golden Apple Award for Teaching Excellence & Innovation
Executive MBA class
Top 100 authors in the field of organizational behavior
Top 100 authors in the field of industrial/organizational psychology
(total N = 8,603, rank .72%) in terms of influence on education, based on citations in textbooks
Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Supervision
Smith School of Business, 2019
Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Supervision
Queen’s University, 2008
National Post’s “Leaders in Business Education”
National Post, 2001
Executive Leadership Program
This one week program that Julian developed with Dr. Peter Jensen was ranked as one of the top ten international leadership programs in Business Week’s annual survey. The program now runs 3 times a year.
One of Queen’s University’s Most Popular Professors
MacLean’s Annual Survey, 1996
Teaching Beliefs
I believe there is a strong link between effective research and teaching, a belief guided by decades of the joy of teaching and the pursuit of research excellence. My active involvement in research makes teaching more exciting for me; the questions students ask has enlivened my research.
I believe in the role of stories. Using stories as the medium, students have endless patience and interest in learning lessons from research.
I believe that the role of the professor has changed dramatically. Traditionally, professors were assumed to know more than anyone else in the classroom; hence their role was to convey knowledge and information. The role of the professor is now to challenge students to think for themselves, and in so doing, continually challenge their most cherished assumptions and convictions.
Linking Research and Teaching Behavior
The first responsibility of the teacher is to create an environment in which learning and personal growth can take place. This requires an environment built on mutual respect and trust, that is interesting and challenging, awards risks, and accepts well-conceived mistakes, both from students and professors.
The central tenants of transformational leadership guide my behaviour as a teacher in the formal classroom setting and in informal interactions with my students.
- Ethical leadership guides me to build respect and mutual trust, but doing what is right rather than what is expedient, by admitting my own mistakes when they happen. Ethical leadership reminds me that I am a role model, both inside and outside the classroom.
- Inspirational leadership reminds me to help students attain more than they thought was possible by setting high expectations, that students will learn more when lessons mean something to their current and future selves, and that people are more excited and persuaded by stories and anecdotes than dry facts.
- Developmental leadership shows me that the challenge is not whether I can answer students questions, but whether I can help students learn to answer their own questions. That’s real, long-term development.
- Relational leadership teaches me to recognize each student’s needs and aspirations as unique, and that my role is to provide support, encouragement and advice tailored to their growth and development, so that every student feels seen valued and respected.
I believe the endpoint is only reached when students stand metaphorically on their teachers shoulders, and see a horizon further and wider than their teachers could offer. As a result, I will only be successful as a teacher When my former students achieve all this, and out show me.
