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David L. Bradford

David L. Bradford
Senior Lecturer Emeritus, Organizational Behavior
Dr.DavidL.Bradford
Eugene D. O'Kelly II Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Emeritus
Director of the Executive Program in Leadership: The Effective Use of Power
Director of the Interpersonal Dynamics for High-Performance Executives Program
Academic Area: 
Organizational Behavior

Research Statement

How can one develop both individual competencies and the appropriate social setting to permit more effective interpersonal interaction and learning.

Teaching Statement

Dr. Bradford's interests are in the areas of leadership, interpersonal influence, and executive teams. In all of these, he has focused on the question, "What does it take to achieve high performance?" The results have suggested that, especially in knowledge-based organizations, excellence is most likely when leaders build strong teams where the members' role is significantly expanded so that they share responsibility for the management of the unit (including making the core decisions jointly and holding each other accountable for performance). His recent work on influence has led to exploring the conditions for a "feedback rich organization" where team members, through a structured process, give each other face-to-face feedback to improve individual and team performance.

Bio

David Bradford is the Eugene O’Kelly II Senior Lecturer Emeritus in Leadership. He received his PhD in social psychology from the University of Michigan and taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before coming to Stanford in 1969.

His research interests have led to six  books, numerous articles, three training programs and a MOOC on leadership, team performance, and the influence process. He also has consulted and conducted executive programs to a variety of organizations in the for-profit and not-for-profit sector, including Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Cisco Systems, Levi Strauss & Co., Roche Pharmaceutical, Raychem, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

In addition, Dr. Bradford has been involved with educational innovation at the college level. He was the founder of The Organizational Behavior Teaching Society and the first editor of their journal. He received the Exemplar of Excellence in Education award from The University of Phoenix. Dr. Bradford is on the editorial board of The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, The Journal of Management Education, and The Academy of Management Learning and Education.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD, University of Michigan, 1966
  • BA, Oberlin College, 1960

Academic Appointments

  • At Stanford University since 1969
  • Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin, 1966-1969

Publications

Books

Influence Without Authority (2nd edition)
David L. Bradford Hoboken: Wiley, 2005.
Reinventing Organization Development: New Approaches to Change in Organizations
David L. Bradford, W. Warner Burke San Francisco: Pfeiffer, 2005.
Power Up: Transforming Organizations Through Shared Responsibility Leadership
David L. Bradford Wiley, 1998.
Managing for Excellence
David L. Bradford Wiley, 1984.

Book Chapters

The Challenge of Teams
David L. Bradford. The Portable MBA, 2nd edition. Wiley, 2002.

Working Papers

Leadership Excellence and the "Soft" Skills: Authenticity, Influence and Performance | PDF
Carole Robin, David L. Bradford2004
An Evaluation of Alternative Strategies for Expanding the Number of Black Owned Businesses | PDF
David L. Bradford1974
Four Types of Middle Class Communes | PDF
David L. Bradford, Simon Klevansky1974
Price Level Changes, Default Risk and Interest Rates | PDF
David L. Bradford1973
Inflation And The Value Of The Firm: Monetary And Depreciation Effects | PDF
David L. Bradford1972

Courses Taught

Degree Courses

2013-14

GSBGEN 531: Global Trip Leadership

This course is open only to leaders of the Service Learning Trips or Global Study Trips. The course will meet eight times during the first four weeks of Fall Term. In addition, the teams have the option of making use of a Master Coach just before...

OB 372: High-Performance Leadership

This course asks the question: "What does it take to build high-performance?" The focus is on middle and upper-middle management in contemporary organizations that have complex tasks, exist in a rapidly changing environment, and have highly...

2010-11

GSBGEN 531: Global Trip Leadership

This course is open only to leaders of the Global Service Trips or Global Study Trips. The course will meet eight times during the first four weeks of Fall Term. In addition, the teams have the option of making use of a Master Coach just before...

OB 372: High-Performance Leadership

This course asks the question: "What does it take to build high-performance?" The focus is on middle and upper-middle management in contemporary organizations that have complex tasks, exist in a rapidly changing environment, and have highly...

Programs and Non-Degree Courses
Interpersonal Dynamics for High-Performance Executives
Young Presidents’ Organization

Stanford Case Studies

OB85 | Dealing with a Toxic Boss
David Bradford2012
OB85A | Dealing with a Toxic Boss (A)
David Bradford2012
OB85B | Dealing with a Toxic Boss (B)
David Bradford2012
OB85C | Dealing with a Toxic Boss (C)
David Bradford2012
OB17 | Taking Control of New Job
David Bradford, George Tamke2006
L1A | Tank in the Bog (A)
David Bradford, Doug Crandall2003
L1B | Tank in the Bog (B)
David Bradford, Doug Crandall2003

Conferences, Talks, and Speaking Engagements

Video: Influencing Up

Stanford University Affiliations

Stanford GSB

Service to the Profession

  • Editorial Board, The Journal of Management Education, Academy of Management Learning and Education
  • Member, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
  • Member, Academy of Management
  • Member, American Psychological Association
  • Member, National Training Laboratory: Institute for Applied Behavioral Sciences (past member of the Board of Directors )