Research

A woman with brown hair and glasses standing in a field with olive trees, wearing a white vest and white pants, with a scenic landscape of hills and cypress trees in the background.

I've spent my career studying one question:

What makes teams and leaders effective?

My research has taken me from NASA missions and human-AI teams to Renaissance Florence and Ancient Rome. Along the way, I've published more than 100 scholarly articles and books, served as President of the International Network for Group Research (INGRoup), and now teach and study leadership at Northwestern University.

Although my methods are empirical, my curiosity is deeply human. I'm fascinated by how people work together under pressure, how they lead collaboratively, why some leaders create extraordinary collective achievements while others do not.

Below are some recent articles.

Links to most of my research articles can be found on my Northwestern website.

Art exhibit featuring a large religious painting of the Madonna and Child surrounded by smaller framed artworks on a bright blue wall in a museum.

Read my leadership perspective on Cosimo the Elder made visible through the art of Fra Angelico, featured in The Florentine

Cover of a book titled 'Discoveries' by the Academy of Management, with a yellow and white design and the Academy of Management logo at the bottom.

Read my latest research on shared leadership in Ancient Rome and NASA space teams Academy of Management Discoveries, with Alina Lungeanu, Megan Chan, & Noshir Contractor

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“Any number of leaders can do, except when there’s two,” new insights for leaders featured in Academy of Management Insights