Early in her tenure as president of the George Washington University, Ellen M. Granberg heard a story that made her “so glad [she] came” to GW: how informal connections between anthropology professors at the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences led, eventually, to putting together an exhibition on cell phones at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
“It resonated with me about who GW faculty are and what makes them special, because they're interested in that impact,” Granberg told “Chief Influencer” podcast host Anthony Shop at a live recording at GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs Tuesday evening.
That “power of story” was a throughline in the conversation between Granberg and Shop, M.B.A. ’11, the cofounder of communications firm Social Driver. It is also one of the basic tenets of the podcast itself. In 2022, Social Driver partnered with GW’s College of Professional Studies to cosponsor “Chief Influencer,” which recognizes industry and community leaders who have made a significant impact through their ability to communicate with and influence people. Guests have included Craigslist founder Craig Newmark and Virginia Ali, cofounder of legendary Washington, D.C., restaurant Ben’s Chili Bowl, among many others.
“Events like tonight, where we get to learn directly from influential leaders, are a hallmark of the College of Professional Studies experience,” CPS Dean Liesl Riddle said. “They bring our mission to life, connecting academic excellence with professional relevance and leadership in action.”
People build meaningful relationships through story, both with each other and with the institutions they are part of, Granberg said. “When you hear a story that resonates with you, it draws you in, and it makes you feel a part of things. It makes you feel like the organization you're engaging with understands something about you, and they're also interesting and fun and engaging.”
In establishing the university’s newest strategic framework, Granberg said she wanted to be sure it was flexible and responsive enough to guide GW through the next five to seven years. For that, she needed every part of the GW community—students, alumni, faculty and staff—to see themselves as having a part to play in GW’s ongoing story. Alumni, for instance, have both an insider’s insight into what makes GW special and an outsider’s ability to see how those strengths play out in their own rapidly evolving fields. By building stronger relationships with them, Granberg said, she hoped to ensure that “everyone feels like they have the opportunity to be as much a part of the GW family as they want.”
After majoring in history as an undergraduate, Granberg built a successful private sector career before re-entering academia to study sociology, always “fascinated by how decisions got made and how people influenced one another.” In the corporate world, she said, she saw the way organic currents of power and persuasion drove major shifts at big companies more decisively than top-down decisions by leadership.
Granberg said she brings that understanding to her own leadership philosophy. “It's not formal authority that allows you to get things done,” she said. “It's about winning hearts and minds, and you do that with influence and with inclusion.”
The key to leading well and accomplishing meaningful change is to establish trust, Granberg said, and trust is built by demonstrating integrity and reciprocal listening.
“When I was younger, I used to believe that if you were going to lead, you had to change your personality,” she said. “What I have learned over time is that to lead authentically is one of the most powerful ways to build trust because you show up on a consistent basis, and you start to build confidence among the folks you're working with, among the community that you're leading. And that has just been a wonderful lesson for me. It's not about becoming someone different than I am, it's about becoming more of exactly who I am and then folding that into the way that I lead.”
