The McNulty Leadership Program offers skill-building and learning opportunities to Wharton students to help them more effectively lead heterogeneous teams and organizations and learn to lead across differences in today’s global environment.
The Productive Dialogue Initiative prepares Wharton students to navigate challenging conversations with greater poise and clarity. At this formative stage in their education, students have opportunities to practice the skills needed to manage disagreement, listen across differences, and engage productively with others.
In combination with insights from student surveys and feedback, Productive Dialogue offerings this academic year will experiment with a range of delivery formats, expanding engagement opportunities beyond formal instructional time. Additional priorities include developing strategies to strengthen undergraduate participation and expanding the scope and duration of program offerings from three to six months. The strong student response to initial program outreach indicates meaningful interest and highlights opportunities to enhance the reach and engagement of this work to the broader Wharton student body in future years.
We offer the following:
- Productive Dialogue Initiative
Faculty-led Workshops & Experiential Learning Opportunities - Specialized Programs & Workshops
Practitioner-Expert Workshops & Applied Learning Sessions
For Student Clubs
Tailored Learning Opportunities Available
These workshops and experiential learning opportunities aim to help students build knowledge and skills through reflective inquiry, helping them to gain a deeper understanding of themselves, others, and to positively contribute to the growth and transformation of each as well as their organizations and communities.
Our Team
Kathy Rho, Director, Leadership Research and Applied Learning
Megan O’Malley, Associate Director, Faculty Support and Curricular Initiatives
Umi Howard, Senior Director, Advancement & Faculty Partnerships
Feedback: Seeking, Giving, and Receiving
with Wharton instructor Steffanie Wilk
Feedback: Seeking, Giving, and Receiving*
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
5:30 – 7:00 PM (90 min)
OR
Friday, November 6, 2026
1:30-4:30 PM (3-hr deep dive)
*Choose one of the above options
Food will be provided
If ithere any questions, please contact Megan O’Malley
Upcoming Fall Workshops will include:
Productive Dialogue
Open to all Wharton undergraduate students! Productive Dialogue workshops offer:
- A unique opportunity to learn from Wharton faculty and outside experts, honing skills in perspective-taking to navigate difficult conversations.
- The chance to participate in newly designed experiential learning sessions targeting the development of key productive dialogue skills.
- Facilitated support in enhancing your awareness and capacity as an effective communicator.
History of Productive Dialogue
Wharton has recognized that the ability to navigate complex and opposing viewpoints is more valuable than ever. As organizations confront rapid technological change, economic uncertainty, political polarization, and increasingly complex global markets, the ability to engage constructively across differing perspectives has become a defining leadership skill. At this formative stage in their education, training in productive dialogue is positioning Wharton students to be stronger business leaders who can manage challenging conversations with poise and clarity, promoting collaboration rather than division.
After transitioning to the McNulty Leadership Program (MLP) in Summer 2024, a project team was established later that fall for Wharton’s Productive Dialogue Initiative. Insights from student surveys and faculty interviews that year prompted the team to reposition the original concept of “productive disagreement” to “productive dialogue”, emphasizing the constructive and meaningful exchange of ideas.
The Productive Dialogue Initiative’s co-curricular offerings align with a pilot course taught by Professor Katherine Klein. With graduate and undergraduate sections, this course centers on navigating difficult conversations and was first implemented and evaluated in the spring of the 2024-2025 academic year.
During the 2025-2026 academic year, the final pilot program offerings featured experimental, research-guided learning sessions and workshops led by Wharton faculty, field experts, and experienced practitioners. These sessions provided students with opportunities to practice and strengthen their productive dialogue skills in facilitated and supportive learning environments guided by instructor framing and real-time feedback. Key outcomes included significant self-reported gains in skill development, with 83% of participants identifying growth in their targeted leadership abilities and 92% reporting increased knowledge of effective leadership behaviors.
Previous Workshops
Spring 2026 Workshops Included
- Feedback: Seeking, Giving, and Receiving, led by Wharton Adjunct Professor Steffanie Wilk.
- Leading Productive Disagreement in Organizations, led by Associate Professor of Management Samir Nurmohamed. Students explored evidence-based strategies for overcoming barriers to productive disagreement and creating environments where people can challenge assumptions and speak up, even when perspectives differ.
- From Walking on Eggshells to Standing on Firm Ground, led by Quinn Bauriedel, Senior Fellow at the Center for Leadership and Change Management. In this three-hour experiential workshop, students practiced the art of dialogue and explored how curiosity can build connections across differences and contribute to more positive educational and professional experiences.
- Stock Up Your Toolkit, a Standardized Professional (SP) program offering focused on preparing students for career success and developed in collaboration with Penn Medicine.