Overview

Brenda Ellington Booth joined Kellogg in 1999 as an Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations and Associate Academic Director of Executive Programs. In 2007, she created the role of Academic Director of Kellogg Leadership Coaching Programs. In 2009 she was promoted to Clinical Professor of Management and Organizations. Since 2008, Professor Booth has been a certified executive coach and has the designation of an Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation (ICF).  

 

MBA Teaching & Coaching

At the MBA level, Professor Booth teaches two courses: Personal Leadership Insights and Leader as Coach.  She created and designed these courses with teams of Kellogg and NU faculty and serves is an instructor, coach or mentor coach.  In 2010, 2012 & 2016, Kellogg students awarded Professor Booth with the Certificate of Impact in recognition for her outstanding contribution to their Kellogg experience.  She is a Leadership Coach in Kellogg's Zell Fellows Program and teaches the Personal Leadership Insights course in Northwestern's Master of Science for Leadership in the Creative Enterprises.

 

Executive Education - Academic Director, Teacher & Coach

At the executive level, Professor Booth is the co-creator and co-academic director of the Energizing People for Performance programs. She designs the curriculum, teaches courses on leadership, and serves an executive coach in these programs. She has also taught topics in leadership and/or has served as an executive coach for numerous organizations including the Chicago Cubs organization, Eisai Pharmaceuticals, Ernst & Young, Jefferson Wells, Baxter International, the U.S. Intelligence Community, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Chicago Public Schools, Alaine Locke Charter Schools, and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists. In prior years, Booth served as academic director of programs for USG, International Paper, Baloise Insurance, Aon Financial Services and Baker & McKenzie law firm.

 

Past Roles at Kellogg

For over 10 years, Professor Booth was the Academic Director/Co-Academic Director of Kellogg's flagship Executive Development Program. From 2007-2012, she served as Director of Leadership Coaching Programs. In this role, Professor Booth, in partnership with other coaches, created curriculum around leadership development and coaching skills for MBA students. These courses are now an on-going part of the MBA course offering. In executive programs, Booth integrated executive coaching in several general management and leadership executive education programs.  

Professor Booth served as an executive coach for Kellogg's Sphere of Leadership, Executive Development Program and Kellogg's Executive MBA program for several years.

In previous years at Kellogg, Professor Booth was awarded the Doctoral Teaching Award for Exceptional Teaching Performance, authored case studies on leadership and change management for the not-for-profit sector, and taught MBA courses including People for Competitive Advantage, Management and Organizations, Negotiation, Change Management and Leadership of Non-Profit Organizations.

 

Prior to Kellogg

Before joining Kellogg, Brenda taught elective seminars at Stanford University and wrote a case study on change management for the University of Michigan - Graduate School of Management.  Prior to pursuing her doctorate, Brenda accumulated several years of work experience in corporate settings in the functional areas of accounting, finance and marketing. She started her career at Home Box Office as a financial analyst and went on to publish an investors' report on the insurance industry for the former investment bank Salomon Brothers while obtaining her MBA from Stanford University. She also was an account executive with the advertising agency Leo Burnett.

• PhD, 1998, Organizational Behavior, Northwestern University
• MBA, 1986, Stanford University
• AB, 1982, Economics, Stanford University

• Clinical Professor of Management & Organizations, Management & Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2009-present
• Director of Kellogg Leadership Coaching Programs, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2007-2012
• Associate Academic Director of Executive Programs, Kellogg, Northwestern University, 1998-2008
• Assistant Professor of Management & Organizations, Northwestern University, Northwestern University, 1998-2008
• Instructor (Doctoral Candidacy), Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1994-1998

• Account Executive, Leo Burnett USA, 1986-1991
• Financial & System Analyst, Home Box Office, Inc., 1982-1984

• Kellogg Student Impact
• Kellogg Student Impact
• Student Impact Award

Personal Leaderhip Development, Communication Styles, Lead as Coach

Field Study (KACI-498-0)
Field Studies include those opportunities outside of the regular curriculum in which a student is working with an outside company or non-profit organization to address a real-world business challenge for course credit under the oversight of a faculty member.

Leader as Coach (KACI-462-0)
Coaching or "the coach approach" (using elements of coaching in day-to-day interactions), is a critical skill set for successful leaders. Research shows that coaching is a proven method for engaging employees - and that engaged employees produce superior business results. This is an experiential class that teaches you how to have effective coaching conversations. As part of the course, you are matched with two NU students in which you will have four one-hour coaching conversations with each NU student throughout the quarter to practice your coaching skills. In the full-time program, the assigned NU students are undergraduates usually in leadership roles and PhD students. In the part-time program, the assigned NU students are typically medical, law school and Kellogg MSMS students. The first four weeks of class is dedicated to teaching you coaching skills and frameworks through interactive discussions, coaching demonstrations, peer coaching and other experiential exercises. During weeks five through nine, we conduct supplemental activities: practicum labs, one-on-one, and small group mentor coaching sessions to provide you with more personalized opportunities for you to ask questions, experience being coached, and receive feedback on your coaching skills. We return to the classroom in week ten to discuss how to apply coaching in the workplace. Grading in the course consists of attendance and preparation for class and supplemental activities and an instructor evaluation of your coaching skills via a recording you will submit of yourself coaching a peer in the class.

Prerequisite: MORS 430-0.

Personal Leadership Insights (KACI-461-5)
This course is a unique opportunity for students who are highly motivated and committed to their personal development and growth as a leader and who value the chance to do this work in a group setting. The Kellogg faculty leader serves as coach and facilitator to guide students through a process that explores who they are (strengths, needs, values), reveals how others experience them (feedback), examines who they want to be (vision/purpose) and identifies actions for moving forward (development planning). Individual reflective exercises will be further explored and shared in small group meetings, full class discussion, and individual coaching appointments with the faculty. Students complete a paper integrating their personal insights. There is no final exam.

Because the course focuses on self-awareness and relationships with others, students rely on interactions with each other to experience vulnerability and growth within an environment of safety and trust. Therefore, students will not receive a letter grade, but rather a "Pass" with 0.5 credits or a "No-Credit" on their transcript. The "Pass" designation will be given if the following requirements are met: 100% attendance (non-negotiable), completion of all assignments, honoring confidentiality, and active participation in class activities and discussions.

Please note that the 100% attendance policy is non-negotiable across all sections and instructors. Only bid on a section for which you are sure you can attend every class session. Review the abbreviated syllabus for that section to confirm the precise meeting dates.