By Hui Liao SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- High performers understand the adage: “It’s lonely at the top.” New research from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, which I co-authored with colleagues from four other institutions, confirms that outperforming workplace norms can prompt negative social consequences. But we also found the opposite.

College Park, Md. – March 15, 2012 – Hui Liao, associate professor of management and organization at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, was honored with the 2012 Cummings Scholarly Achievement Award. The prestigious award is one of the highest professional honors in the field of organizational behavior, given annually by the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management to recognize outstanding early- to mid-career scholarly achievement.

Flight Delays Cost Passengers Billions Mike Ball, Orkand Corporation Professor of Management Science, associate dean of research, and co-director of the National Center of Excellence for Aviation Operations Research (NEXTOR), published a study showing that in 2007 passengers traveling by plane were delayed by more than 28,000 years, costing them $16.7 billion in lost time. In total, flight delays in the United States cost $32.9 billion each year.

Thursday, March 10, 2011, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, March 13, 2011, 7:30 a.m. Preventing Employee Sabotage     Why does it pay to be nice to your waiter? Because if you don’t, he’ll spit in your soup. That’s a concern not only for diners, but managers, who know that great customer service is key to building brand and customer loyalty. Most companies hope their employees are behaving in a friendly, professional and patient manner toward customers, and fulfilling their requests. But sometimes employees actively sabotage customers.

New Research Offers Strategies for Inclusion in a Multinational Organization

With the right person in charge, finds new research, it’s possible to be the type of employee companies want: ethical and creative.

When it comes to empowering a team to do their best work, you don’t want a narcissist at the helm, finds new research.

Do you ever feel like you are being left out of watercooler conversations, inside jokes and the fast track for promotions? Your manager might be playing favorites.

Western-based managers who feel out of sync with their teams might need a new word in their vocabulary. Maryland Smith professor Hui Liao examines the Chinese construct of moqi.

Scholars point to transformational leadership as being one of the more useful leadership skills, and two Smith School researchers reveal why.