Congratulations, Eugenia Bajet Mestre, Ph.D.!

Congratulations, Eugenia Bajet Mestre, on successfully defending your dissertation on #MaleAllyship for #WomensLeadership! 🙌

Through a series of three, mixed methods papers spanning dyadic data, 3-wave field surveys, recall paradigms, and ethnographic observation, Eugenia charted the waters of how men can find their way and sail (smoother) seas of allyship! In addition to these scientific contributions, we also designed and delivered an original #allyship program for 100+ men: how is that for #insight and #impact?! 🤓💪

Thanks to the stellar international and interdisciplinary committee who joined me to read and approve her work with flying colors, including Thomas Beschorner of University of St.Gallen, Ronit Kark of Bar-Ilan University, Barnini Bhattacharyya of Ivey Business School at Western University.

Thanks to her supportive friends and family, and to our collegial colleagues at the Institute of Responsible Innovation, University of St. Gallen and at the School of Management SoM-HSG, for their scaffolding along the way and mitfeiern 🎉 today!

It is truly bittersweet. I could not be prouder and my face hurts from smiling--Eugenia is clever, conscientious, caring, complementary, and so much more: I couldn't have asked for a better first doctoral student! ❤️ But now she spreads her wings to move on to the next career step as a post doc with the amazing Maike E. Debus at the Université de Neuchâtel. 🤓 So excited to see what she will do as a newly minted PhD--and beyond! ⭐

Research & Writing Retreat with Mikki Hebl!

"If you want to go fast, go alone. if you want to go far, go together." ✨

Incredibly enriched and grateful that the incredible thought leader, Mikki Hebl, visited us from Rice University (in Paris). She brings incredible expertise on business & psychology, #experiments, interventions, and #DEI research--as well as incredible positive energy! ⭐ Given this rare opportunity, I organized a #research and #writing retreat in the lovely Swiss mountains, featuring #management and #marketing scholars from 10 different nations at universities across Switzerland, Germany, and France.

We discussed R&Rs on the technological (vs. socio emotional) #futureofwork, how motherhood is #leadership, newer work on male #allyship, a relational/dynamic approach to inclusion, LGBTQIA #entrepreneurship, a new theoretical approach to marginalized/vulnerable entrepreneurs, how women became 50% of hospital #CEOs in Canada, how #boarddiversity shapes #marketing outcomes, and more!💡

We also hiked, pomodoroed 🍅 (i.e., structured writing sessions), brainstormed new study ideas, shared ample feedback, and (re)connected over coffees and meals.

Thanks to all who joined us: Lauren Howe, Ekaterina Netchaeva, Anastasia Buyalskaya, Andrea Bernardino, Eugenia Bajet Mestre, Alina Welser, Nina Zachlod, Matteo Carabelli, Jiongni Mao, Mahshid Khademi, Ruba Ezzeddine, and Ryan Miller hailing from HEC Paris, University of Zurich, School of Management SoM-HSG, University of Lausanne - UNIL, and University of Cologne Business School! I hope the community, feedback, and energy carries you through the submission, R&R, and beyond! 🙌

We will certainly go far(ther) together! 💪

*Leadership in the Age of AI*

How are rapid technological advancements shaping the questions--and answers--facing leaders, academics, organizations, and society?

We explored these questions (and more) at the Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Leadership Symposium.

Keynotes from Alison Darcy uncovered how chatbots can fill critical gaps to advance (mental) healthcare, while Anna Zamansky's discoveries bridge the communication gap between animals and humans with implications for ethics and animal welfare (as well as understanding your pets! 😸) A special highlight, Dr. Miriam Meckel, shared a visionary glimpse into the future of quantum computing, unique forms of AI-human collaboration, and new business models. 🤖🦄

I presented brand new research on how AI hype is spilling over to affect leadership--and likely *all*--of our research by creating a new form of demand effects. That is, simply by alluding to an AI tool in a vignette or using an AI tool to create stimuli (e.g., videos), we might be undermining our research by adding noise.

Our fearless leaders, Fabiola H. Gerpott, Niels Van Quaquebeke, Olga Epitropaki, and Sophia Tzagaraki, once again brought together a stellar program of international scholars, enriched with Greek cultural experiences and an empowering, inclusive community. 🙏

The program focused on AI, but it is this human side--and the amazing humans who attended this event (some of whom are pictured)--who truly make the event verifiably magical! ✨

This is now my 5th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Leadership Symposium (IPLS)--thus proving we can do good work and build a kind community, despite (or perhaps especially) in lovely locations. 💯

Is there *suddenly* a lack of demand for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DE&I) and sustainability?

We’ve all heard this myth echoed by lots of loud people and many media headlines lately. But, as critical thinkers and scholars, let's review some evidence:

1. Meta's Zuckerberg loudly claims to be dismantling DE&I programs and embracing "masculine energy" now (whatever that means 🤷‍♀️), while telling investors they still value (and seek) diversity! https://lnkd.in/eZGk5p8q Moreover, Meta still somehow managed to meet (and exceed!) its DE&I goals anways... 😲

2. Companies like Costco (which remained committed to DE&I) are faring better #financially in terms of customer traffic and market share compared to companies like Target (which rolled back their DE&I commitments) https://lnkd.in/e9K6_RwP. So, while we still need larger scale analyses (which takes time), initial evidence shows the financial advantage of #DEI. 💰

3. ResearchGate, a social networking site for 160 million+ research papers and 25 million+ scholars, informed me that my research (largely focused on #DEI and #sustainability) is the most read of the School of Management SoM-HSG or perhaps the whole HSG (it's unclear how they define "department") every week this year (so far...) 🏆 Hence, people still seem to be very interested in reading the research, too! 🤓

In short, no, it doesn't seem like the demand has suddenly decreased for sustainability or DE&I. What would be the alternative for the latter, anyways, Conformity, Inequity, & Exclusion? 😅 (as cleverly put by Mayor Pete)

As Joan C. Williams wrote, some may call their initiatives something else now to avoid putting a "target on [their] back" https://lnkd.in/egzpg8Rm or avoid backlash from the term (driven by a lot of this hype) https://lnkd.in/en9DPKnK or to navigate new legal implications (in the U.S.)

But as I tell my students at University of St.Gallen, let's keep our critical thinking hats on to cut through the hype here (and beyond!) 💪

Trust in Scientists: Many Labs Study

I’ve studied trust in leaders (and if it differs by team gender diversity and leader gender; here) and if humor affects trust in job interviews (here). But trust in scientists?

As part of the Swiss contingent of scholars working in a massive, Many Labs study led by Viktoria Cologna (Harvard) and Niels Mede (UZH), we surveyed more than 70,000 people across 67 countries to explore public trust in scientists.

Results show that average trust was high; people also agreed that scientific methods are the best way to test if something is true. However, these effects differed by country (e.g., trust in scientists was highest in Egypt, India, and Nigeria but lowest in Albania, Kazakhstan, and Bolivia) and political orientation (e.g., “left-leaning” orientation was positively associated with trust in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, and China).

These findings have important and timely implications for scientists’ successful involvement in public policy as well as their engagement with areas of public concern (e.g., global pandemics and other grand challenges such as climate change).

For the pre-print, see here; the data will also be made publicly available after our paper is published (it’s current status is “revise and resubmit”).

We were delighted to see the paper awarded “Best Data Collection: Quantitative” at the Market Research Society conference, as well as featured by Nature News (and several German news outlets).

Exchanging & Inspiring with International & Interedisciplinary Scholars

We were delighted to share some of our research in the prestigous and selective “Organization Science Winter Conference” in Zurich (below). We discussed the work-in-progress with a range of scholars from Switzerland, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, and the U.S.

Thanks again to the organizers from ETH Zurich and to all of the participants for the warm welcome of our more micro-research in this historically more macro research community. We’re integrating the feedback and hoping to submit our paper soon.

Our core PLAID lab team were also delighted to share a new paper (funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation) on how playfulness can facilitate interactions and networking across diversity (e.g., men and women, lower and higher-status persons) in organizations. In total, 31 research groups from across HSG shared their sustainability-related insights. See here for more information.

Do you want to measure your DEI impact (and more)?

We’re looking for organizational partners for our research on men’s role in workplace gender equity.

In this collaboration, we will assess your employees’ perceptions of diversity and inclusion. Over one year, we will send short surveys to your employees to learn about inclusion practices, well-being, and leadership (3 times, <10 min).

What’s in it for you?

1.       You will receive an executive summary with customized, practical recommendations from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) experts.

2.       You can add additional, customized items to the surveys (e.g., to assess aspect of engagement, flex-work/-time, relevant to your needs).

3.       This is a unique opportunity to advance—and evaluate—your commitment to DEI while also contributing to the newest scientific insights on the topic.

This research collaboration is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and is free of charge for you.

Interested? Please contact Eugenia Bajet Mestre, Project Manager and Research Assistant.

Male Allyship Description

For more information on male allyship or our new and highly-rated hybrid training, see our video (above) or our website here.

Swiss Summit on Leadership, Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity (2023) in Zurich

Thanks again to the 52 folks from universities (e.g., University of St.Gallen, University of Zurich, University of Geneva, London Business School, DCU Business School, Purdue University, Copenhagen Business School, ETH Zürich, University of Lausanne - UNIL, University of Konstanz, etc.) and practice (e.g., PwC, Femmes Juristes Suisse - Juristinnen Schweiz, & Adecco) who joined our inaugural, interdisciplinary summit on leadership, diversity, and inclusion last week in Zurich! 🙌

We explored questions related to emotional diversity, work-family, women's charisma, going beyond the gender binary, virtual inclusive leadership, mature workers, humor/well-being in flat hierarchies, sexual harassment, maternity & "maybe baby" bias, interventions for more equity at work, (male) allyship, authenticity (when, why, & for whom?), sustainable leadership, new methods (e.g., avatars and prospective meta-analyses), and more! 🤓

Our aim was to share knowledge and foster connections--especially for our early career scholars--within and beyond 🇨🇭, within and beyond academia 💡. Check out this amazing video summary of the event from the talented Sophie Moser’s perspective (PhD student at the University of Konstanz).

Thanks again to all who joined--especially our super bright PhD students and post-docs 🌟 (all here with their talk titles and affiliations: https://lnkd.in/e7ghkEV3), experienced moderator and expert panelists (e.g., Gudrun Sander, Prof. Dr., Franciska Krings, Liana Melchenko, Joséphine Marmy, Christiane Löwe, & Jacques Berent, PhD), stellar keynotes by Janine Bosak, Thekla Morgenroth (+ special shout-out to Florence Villesèche)--and last, but not least, my ever-engaged and talented co-organizers: Lauren Howe & Clara Kulich. 🙏 (2 of us shown here, since Lauren was unfortunately sick.)

Gratitude for all involved, especially our funding from SNSF Swiss National Science Foundation, University of Zurich, Geneva School of Economics and Management - UNIGE, Competence Centre for Diversity & Inclusion (CCDI-FIM) - University of St.Gallen (HSG), assistance from UZH Digital Society Initiative, & Brice Olivier Mbigna Mbakop. 🙏 While every one did a stellar job, I was particularly proud of my team’s stellar representation from the PLAID lab at CCDI (FIM-HSG; see below).

On the far left, you also see our new post-doc: Huong Pham. She finished her dissertation at LMU and brings methods expertise and interests in leader-follower granting processes. Dr. Pham will lead a paper on leader signalling via sports in our Swiss National Science Foundation Project. Welcome to the team, Huong!

#leadership #diversity #inclusion #dei #futureofwork #futureofleadership #sustainability #management #psychology #business #ethics #philosophy

She travelled 13,000KM, so I travelled 300.

Prof. Jenny Hoobler, renowned researcher of gender, leadership, and work-family intersections, recently travelled 13,000KM from Pretoria, South Africa to visit Prof. Brooke Gazdag at LMU in Munich. As a long-time admirer of Jenny’s work as well as a coauthor and friend of Brooke’s, I also made the 300KM trip to discuss ideas and experiences (over beers–it was in Munich, after all), and enjoy her presentation of her recent Journal of Management paper for the Institute for Leadership and Organization.

Per usual, it was an absolute delight to see everyone (including catching up with many members of my awesome former TUM team), and I left with more energy, enthusiasm, and insights for my research and its implications. Dankie/danke, Jenny and Brooke, and the whole LMU crew!

Researchathon: Leadership in the Digital Age

24 scholars + 24hrs + 4 mentors, teams, & innovative ideas = 1 successful researchathon!

Our team developed and presented an exciting new idea, “From a distance: Digital leaders’ trust building and repair.”

Thanks to Ellen Schmid, Ulf Steinberg, Emanuel Schreiner, & Simon Pfältzer for the organization. Thanks to Deanne Den Hartog, Ilke Inceoglu, Claudia Peus, & Ronit Kark for the mentorship. And last but not least, thanks to all of our enthusiastic attendees: Fabiola H. Gerpott, Brooke Gazdag, Tanja Hentschel, Kristin Knipfer, Stephanie Rehbock, Armin Pircher Verdorfer, Petra Kipfelsberger, Aldijana Bunjak, Corinna Bertling, Oliver Niebuhr, Paul Westhoff...and many more!

What a fabulous way to kick-off the new Technical University of Munich campus in Heibronn!