Gail Berger
Clinical Professor of Management & Organizations
Deputy Director, Center for Executive Women
Associate Professor of Instruction, Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, McCormick School of Engineering
Gail Berger is a Clinical Professor at Northwestern University in the Kellogg School of Management, the McCormick School of Engineering, and the School of Communication, and the Deputy Director of the Center for Executive Women at Kellogg. She is also an experienced executive coach and leadership development expert who is passionate about helping leaders and teams achieve their goals and improve their performance and effectiveness. She brings professional and academic experience in the areas of talent development and assessment, conflict resolution, and team dynamics. She works with clients across a variety of industries, including, consumer services, education, engineering, financial services, hospitality, and the non-profit sector. Career highlights include the design, development and implementation of team building programs for clients that have harnessed coaching as a cornerstone for program success. In addition, she has won teaching awards, including Instructor of the Year at Northwestern’ s School of Education and Social Policy, and she has published in leading journals and presented at National conferences.
Gail received her Ph.D. in Management and Organizations from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. She also holds a M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision from Loyola University and a B.A./B.S. in Psychology and Elementary Education from Boston University. She has blended her background in education, business and psychology to create a powerful approach to team building, leadership development, and executive coaching. By combining purposeful reflection, candor and support she guides individuals to lasting behavior change so that they can be more effective. According to her clients her core strengths lie in her ability to ask thought provoking questions that push them to think about issues differently, as well as her keen insights about situations and human interaction.
Gail is committed to helping individuals, teams and organizations attain their learning goals and growth objectives. Some of her work includes:
- Assessing key talent, as well as evaluating career transitions and inflection points
- Managing key stakeholder relationships more effectively and building effective collaborations with a foundation of trust and mutual respect
- Developing and changing organizational culture to enhance individual and team performance
- Fostering leadership capacity by accelerating the emergence of core leadership competencies like, conflict management, delegation and emotional intelligence
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Reimagine Education Award Finalist
Reimagine Education Award Finalist
Forming Family Enterprise Governance
One of the most critical times in a family enterprise’s evolution is moving from the processes, people and structures that proved successful for a controlling owner to those that support a sibling partnership. Engage with faculty from the John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises for leadership insights on governance architecture and effective decision making to support a vision that will guide multigenerational continuity.
From the Poker Table to a Seat at the Executive Leadership Table
Kellogg has partnered with Poker Power to offer a unique and highly innovative program that provides mid- to senior-level executives the opportunity to develop key leadership skills in an educational, supportive, engaging and entertaining environment.
The PHYSICIAN CEO™ Program
Women's Director Development Program
Discover the keys to unlocking boardroom doors in this first-ever director development program for women seeking a role in governance. Develop the skills required to contribute meaningfully and come away with practical tools for landing a seat at the table.
Women's Senior Leadership Program
Kellogg created this special leadership program for women executives to equip top women talent to break through the barriers that have historically impeded their career development and empower them to take their place at the highest levels of corporate leadership.
Negotiations Fundamentals (MORS-472-5)
This course is designed to provide the fundamentals of negotiation strategy and to improve students' skills in all phases of negotiation. The course provides an understanding of prescriptive and descriptive negotiation theory as it applies to two party negotiations, team negotiations, resolution of disputes, agents and ethics, and management of the negotiation process. The course is based on a series of simulated negotiations in a variety of contexts. Attendance at every class meeting is mandatory.
MORS offers three unique courses in the area of negotiation and conflict resolution: Negotiation Fundamentals, Negotiating in a Virtual World, and Advanced Negotiations. Students ideally begin the negotiation coursework by taking Negotiation Fundamentals and then taking the advanced courses: Negotiating in a Virtual World and/or Advanced Negotiations. Please note that students are required to take Negotiation Fundamentals prior to taking Advanced Negotiations. Students are allowed to take Negotiating in a Virtual World without having taken Negotiation Fundamentals but will be expected to catch up on core concepts asynchronously through the course's virtual format. Once a student has taken Negotiating in a Virtual World, they are no longer eligible to take Negotiation Fundamentals but may go on to take Advanced Negotiations.
Personal Leadership Insights (LDEV-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.
