Research
How leaders shape culture through what they do, and how classrooms can feel more like the real world of work.
What founders teach without saying a word
Dirk's doctoral research at Clemson asked a simple question: how does a founder shape a company's culture? Not through speeches or mission statements, but through everyday actions.
He followed one company from its early days and interviewed the people who worked there. Employees named 24 distinct non-verbal behaviors from the founder that caught their attention. They fell into four groups:
- Environmental choices, like driving an electric car and installing solar panels.
- People-centered actions, like stopping to chat in the hallway and keeping offices the same size.
- Visible emotion when talking about the company's values.
- Consistent daily habits, even when no one was watching.
The finding was clear. When employees see a leader living the company's values, they adopt those values as their own. One employee turned down a higher-paying job elsewhere because those values had become personally meaningful.
What leaders do, especially when they believe no one is paying attention, has a far greater impact on shaping company culture.
Teaching that feels like work
Much of Dirk's current research grows out of his classroom. He studies experiential learning in management education: student consulting with real clients, shadowing real companies through a semester, peer evaluation modeled on the personnel decisions managers actually make, and how students build a professional identity in the age of AI.
Published
- Hersel, M. C., Sheridan, S., Grant, B., and Roskam, D. "Fading to Black: End-of-Career Storytelling and Retirees' Mental Health." Work, Aging and Retirement (2026).
More work on culture, teams and management education is in progress.