Alumnus credits social work education for his success in business
By Lauren Dangel
As principal of his , Howard Guttman (LYS ’76, SAS ’77) provides his clients—such as Mars Inc., GlaxoSmithKline and Walmart—guidance on team alignment, coaching, and development for leaders.
Guttman emphasizes a horizontal, high-performance organizational model which requires teams to work together—and relies on lessons Guttman learned as a student at ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½.
Action magazine interviewed Guttman to learn how studying social work prepared him for the corporate consulting space. Read on to hear what he had to share.
What led you to ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½?
I was in the nonprofit world. I [wanted] to get a master’s in library science because libraries serve as a base for community development. After a couple of library science courses, I [realized it wasn’t a great fit], but still wanted to work with communities. I proposed a dual degree with the School of [Information and] Library Science and the School of Applied Social Sciences. In the end, I never did anything with libraries, but being able to assess needs, understand data collection and contract with clients has served me my entire career.
How does a social work degree prepare someone for the business world?
A greater sense of process and [assessing] individuals. Most who come out of business schools [and] into consulting are one-dimensional. Process [and] facilitation skills, understanding of dynamics, and a systems approach [are] huge differentiators.
How do social work graduates bring emotional intelligence to a business?
Trying to create high-performance, horizontal organizations, it’s an [emotional quotient (EQ)] game. It presumes people have technical competence—finance people understand numbers, human resources people understand talent acquisition—but that’s not the game. It’s having emotional intelligence to understand how you impact people. Most people who [don’t] make it don’t [fail] because they’re not good technically, [but] because they’re not able to build and sustain organizational support for themselves. EQ is the dividing line. [For the most successful people] in any organization, technical skills get them in the door, but EQ enables them to go up the ladder.
What’s one challenge you overcame for which your social work background equipped you?
A CEO [felt] discomfort regarding [a particular] business situation. His concern started to reflect feelings of self-doubt he’s had for a long time versus [the] presenting issue. I thought back to when I worked at [Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center] or practicums with women in need. It’s the same skills, except he happens to be a CEO of a multibillion-dollar company versus a mother struggling to pay for her kids. You’re still trying to tap into core emotional issues. In the corporate world, many times there is a facade people have because they don’t want to demonstrate that vulnerability.
“EQ is the dividing line. [For the most successful people] in any organization, technical skills get them in the door, but EQ enables them to go up the ladder.â€
— Howard Guttman
Mandel School Impact Series: Keynote Presentation: "Expanding the Boundaries—Applying Social Work Skills in the Corporate Sector"
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 | 5:30–7 p.m.
Prepare to be inspired by (LYS '76, SAS '77), a nationally recognized expert, author and thought leader in corporate leadership and organizational transformation. As founder and principal of , his clients include global giants like Walmart and Johnson & Johnson.
He’s joined by Marilynn Gardner, an innovative nonprofit executive who has led transformative work as CEO of in Chicago.
Together, they’ll reveal how social work skills are redefining success in the corporate and nonprofit sectors.
Don’t miss this opportunity to see how these skills can expand boundaries and drive impactful change.
Read more stories like this in the Winter 2025 edition of Action.