February 1, 2025

Culture runs deep: The Berkeley Haas Defining Leadership Principles turn 15

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Haas News

Photo shows a sculpture of two bears looking up with the arched entrance to the Haas School of Business visible in the background. A logo reads "Celebrating 15 years of our Defining Leadership Principles."

Fifteen years ago, the Berkeley Haas community put its distinctive culture into words, creating four Defining Leadership Principles: Question the Status Quo, Confidence Without Attitude, Students Always, and Beyond Yourself.

These four DLPs are now carved into our walls and embedded in our courtyard. “They pulse through everything we do and they unite our entire community,” says Interim Dean Jenny Chatman, an expert on organizational culture. Chatman worked with former dean and UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons on the effort to codify the school’s longstanding culture.

Throughout the spring, Haas will be celebrating and reflecting on the significance of our culture. New banners are flying around campus and the festivities kick off on Wednesday, February 5, with the Dean’s Speaker Series: A Celebration of our Haas Culture (15 years and counting!).
 

As we face today’s challenges and look to the future, I believe that the Defining Leadership Principles are more relevant than ever—and that they are continuing to evolve.”

—Dean Jenny Chatman


“As interim dean and a longtime Haas professor, our distinctive culture is what continues to energize me,” Chatman says. “One thing I know as a researcher on organizational culture is that the most successful organizations are able to adapt to change while staying true to their core values. As we face today’s challenges and look to the future, I believe that the Defining Leadership Principles are more relevant than ever–and that they are continuing to evolve.”

This spring, we want to hear from you:

  • What do the Defining Leadership Principles mean to you?
  • How are you using them in your work and your life?

Check out Chatman’s video below, and take a moment to share your own DLP stories

Learn more about the history of the Defining Leadership Principles in these case studies by Chatman and Lyons: The Berkeley Haas School of Business: Codifying, Embedding, and Sustaining Culture (Part A and Part B). 

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