Chris Ernst is a recognized thought leader in developing collaborative, boundary spanning leadership capabilities within individuals, organizations, and broader communities. He has honed his research and practice through fourteen years of service with the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL).
Chris has served in multi-year expatriate roles in Asia and Europe, leads cross-functional and multicultural teams, and researches, designs and facilitates leadership interventions in diverse industries crossing the regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America. Out of this varied experience, Chris holds the conviction that spanning boundaries is critical in an interdependent world, yet appreciates first-hand that collaborating across boundaries is hard work.
Currently, Chris is a senior faculty member in CCL’s Organizational Leadership Practice, chartered to accelerate organizational impact through talent, strategy, and culture. Previously, he served as Research Director, Asia-Pacific with responsibility for the start-up of CCL’s Research and Innovation group located in Singapore.
As a researcher, Chris is widely published in articles, book chapters, the popular press, and as a sought after speaker at leading organizational and conference events. He is co-author of two books, Boundary Spanning Leadership: Six Practices for Solving Problems, Driving Innovation, and Transforming Organizations (McGraw-Hill Professional) and Success for the New Global Manager: How to Work Across Distance, Countries and Cultures (Jossey-Bass/Wiley). Chris co-led the Leadership Across Differences project, a program of research across six world regions that formed the knowledge foundation for this book.
As a practitioner, Chris focuses on translating research-based ideas into modules, tools, and applications. By integrating research knowledge with real-world experience, Chris continues to translate the ideas in this book into innovative leadership solutions to meet pressing organizational and societal challenges.
Chris has a Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology from North Carolina State University. He lives with his wife and two children in Raleigh, N.C. When he’s not at work, Chris can be found anywhere there is a body of water, spending time with family and friends, and trying to keep up with his young son and daughter.
