Stan Silverman ’65

“If you think you are always the smartest person in the room – you are setting yourself up for failure. Good leaders seek to keep themselves grounded – they make sure they are told what they need to hear, not what they want to hear!”

Stan’s career has been devoted to educating students, administrators, employees, business leaders, and CEO’s of national corporations including those at AT&T, Bridgestone/Firestone, Disney, First Energy, First Merit, GM, Goodyear, Moen and others. As Dean and Professor Emeritus at The University of Akron and President of Human Resource Decisions, Inc., he trained thousands of students, employees and executives in the areas of leadership, management development, organizational change, performance management, and employee training and staffing.

Ability to impact and educate others extends into Stan’s board activities. One of his most significant contributions is the development of an early college high school at UA in cooperation with Akron Public Schools. The school is embedded on UA’s campus and draws first generation college students from the city and surrounding suburbs. Currently ranked second in Summit County, the school was named a School of Promise by the state and recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Co-author of the book Working Scared: Achieving Success in Trying Times, Stan speaks nationally about workplace issues, and has been featured on radio and television programs across the country, including NBC’s Today Show. Stan delivers keynotes in Europe and the United States on “Why Leadership Matters and Why Many Leaders Fail.” Recently, Human Resources MBA named Stan as the #1 most influential Industrial and Organizational Psychologist alive today. He continues to garner international attention for his groundbreaking research on arrogance and leadership which shows that arrogant leaders are not high performers and their arrogance is related to low cognitive ability and low self-esteem.

Education

BS, Psychology, The Ohio State University 

MA, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University

Doctoral Coursework, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, The University of Akron

Current Occupation

Industrial and Organizational Psychology Consultant

Achievements

• Advised many organizations in the areas of leadership development and performance management
• Recently been named one of the most influential Industrial and Organizational Psychologist alive today
• Career devoted to educating others whether they are students, administrators, employees, leaders, or CEO’s. Trained thousands of undergraduate students, graduate students, and employees and leaders who are currently working throughout the world
• Wrote a book, book chapters, and many journal articles
• Developed an Early College High School at the University of Akron in cooperation with Akron Public Schools.