Lego Build® Session

Who Gets Grace? The Quiet Courage Behind Leadership Decisions

Facilitated by Michael Tews, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the School of Hospitality Management at Pennsylvania State University 

Leadership courage often appears in small moments of judgment when situations are complicated, but standards must still hold. In this interactive session, participants will use play and LEGO to explore how leaders make everyday decisions about fairness, flexibility, and accountability. As participants build and interpret fictional employees, they will discover how instinct, perception, and limited information shape managerial responses to real workplace pressures. What begins as a playful, hands-on activity will turn into a lively conversation about how leaders navigate uncertainty and how courage shows up in the quiet decisions that shape trust, opportunity, and responsibility at work.

Michael Tews, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the School of Hospitality Management at Pennsylvania State University and a leading researcher on workplace well-being, employee engagement, and organizational culture. His work explores how workplaces can enhance performance, retention, and overall employee experience, with a particular focus on the hospitality industry. As the Walter J. Conti Faculty Fellow, Dr. Tews has spent more than two decades studying the human side of work -- examining topics such as workplace connection, employee development, meaningful culture, and the role of fun and social interaction in fostering thriving organizations.

A graduate of Cornell University and the London School of Economics, Dr. Tews is a widely published scholar whose research has appeared in leading academic and industry journals. His work challenges traditional assumptions about workplace culture and highlights how curiosity, connection, and intentional leadership can create environments where people and organizations perform at their best.