People

Faculty Director; Margaret Elliott Tracy Collegiate Professor in Business Administration; Professor of Management and Organizations

Robert E. Quinn is interested in the process of positive change. He seeks to understand processes that lead to increased individual and collective capacity. He has published 16 books. Quinn is a fellow of both the Academy of Management and the World Business Academy. His recent books include Deep Change, Change the World, and Building the Bridge as You Walk on It. He combines both a research and an applied orientation. He has 25 years of experience in working with executives on issues of organizational change. He has been involved in the design and execution of numerous large-scale change projects. He teaches in both the MBA and Executive Education Programs at the University of Michigan and is known for innovative instructional efforts.

Robert P. Thome Professor of Business; Professor of Management & Organizations; Professor of Sociology

Wayne Baker was the first Director of the Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship. His POS research interests include (1) energy networks in organizations, (2) generosity and reciprocity, and (3) values. He blogs five days a week about values and ethics in America at www.OurValues.org. His books are America's Crisis of Values: Reality and Perception (Princeton University Press) and Achieving Success Through Social Capital (Jossey-Bass) - chapters from both books and various POS articles are available at www.waynebaker.org.

William Russell Kelly Chair of Management and Organizations; Professor of Higher Education

Kim Cameron became interested in Positive Organizational Scholarship as a result of a decade of studying the consequences of organizational downsizing. Organizations characterized by virtuous practices—for example, forgiveness, compassion, integrity, trust, optimism, kindness—tended to avoid the declining performance associated with downsizing. Observing this effect led to a variety of empirical studies on the relationships between organizational virtuousness and organizational performance. This research has been funded by the Templeton Foundation and by corporations. Reports of the work have appeared in a variety of books—for example, Positive Organizational Scholarship (Berrett Koehler), Making the Impossible Possible (Berrett Koehler), and Leading with Values (Cambridge University Press)—and in a variety of academic journals and book chapters.

Robert L. Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Business Administration and Psychology

Jane Dutton's research on Positive Organizational Scholarship began with an interest in compassion and the difference it makes for individuals and organizations (see www.compassionlab.org). Her research has expanded to focus on the power of positive relationships at work, job crafting (creating positive meaning at work) and positive identities. Her recent co-edited books include Exploring Positive Identities and Organizations (Routledge), Exploring Positive Relationships (Erlbaum) and she is working on co-editing two books—one on Positive Social Change (Routledge) and Generative Moments in Doing Qualitative Research (Copenhagen Business School Press). Jane's background in strategic management keeps her focused on how positive dynamics create sustainable capabilities in organizations.

Clinical Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations

Shirli Kopelman is passionate about how people negotiate meaning and co-create value in the context of social interactions. Her negotiation research focuses on a positive process of mindful and strategic display of and response to emotions, and its power to transform social exchange beyond an instrumental negotiation task to generate individual and organizational benefits. Her research on social dilemmas—situations where individual and social interests might be at odds—suggests that rather than being driven by economic utility models, cooperation and social value creation is better explained by a four-factor appropriateness framework: “What does a person like me (identity) do (heuristics/rules) in a situation like this (recognition), given this culture (group)?” She is also interested in positive careers, and the negotiated journey towards a career with a heart. Shirli teaches in both the MBA and Executive Education Programs at the University of Michigan.

Assistant Professor of Management & Organizations

Dave Mayer's interest in Positive Organizational Scholarship began as he prepared to teach a doctoral seminar on prosocial behavior. He is interested in the connection between ethics and POS. His research focuses on how organization's can create environments that promote positive behavior. Much of his research examines how aspects of the work context (e.g., leadership, peers, climate) impact employees' displays of ethical and prosocial behavior.

Keith E. and Valerie J. Alessi Professor of Business Administration
Professor of Management and Organizations

Gretchen Spreitzer's research focuses on employee empowerment and leadership development, particularly within a context of organizational change and decline. Her most recent work is looking at positive deviance and how organizations enable employees to thrive and become their best self. Most recently she is involved in a large scale project to establish the business case for how positive organizational practices can lead to human and organizational flourishing.

Clinical Associate Professor of Strategy and Management & Organizations

Lynn Wooten's interest in positive organizational scholarship began during her dissertation research. She studied the strategic management practices of professional service firms and the results indicated that humanistic work cultures were not only an efficient mode of organizing, but also resulted in higher levels of client service and human resource management capabilities. These humanistic work cultures emphasized interpersonal relationships, self-actualization and emotional well being, while simultaneously focusing on the attainment of organizational goals. Currently, her POS-related research explores three areas: (1) positive organizing routines; (2) diversity management; and (3) crisis leadership through resilience and organizational learning.

Managing Director

Chris leads the Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship at The University of Michigan. The Center helps leaders build purpose-driven and uplifting businesses through its ground-breaking research, educational programs and organizational partnerships. The Center won the 2012 Research Center Impact Award from The Academy of Management. While a student at Michigan, Chris co-developed and taught an MBA Social Intrapreneurship class, which has since been open-sourced into other top business schools. He continues to co-teach the class as Adjunct Faculty, and is co-authoring a book on the topic through Harvard Business Press. Chris has been leading and consulting to purpose-driven organizations for 15 years. His work has spanned the non-profit, corporate, and philanthropic sectors. Chris received his B.A. from The University of Sheffield (UK), and his MBA from The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

Communications

Janet Max manages communications and public relations for the Center. She builds and maintains relationships with the Center's constituencies, represents the Center at conferences, manages the Center website and online presence, writes and edits The POSitive Perspective newsletter, and produces periodic reports on Center activities.

Administrative Assistant

Genel manages the day-to-day operations of the Center including event planning and finances. Her role is a vital one, as it allows her team to pursue initiatives which will benefit the Center. She finds the work of the Center awe-inspiring and is excited to be part of the team expanding the impact of POS. Genel looks forward to organizing various events including the Positive Links Speaker Series.

Education Lead

Betsy Erwin brings a great depth and breadth of experience in Career Development to her role building CPOS Labs, a program for student engagement at the Center for POS, as well as a deep appreciation for what POS can bring to the students, and through them, to the world. Betsy designed the CPOS Labs program to allow students to collaborate with one another, and to develop leadership and teamwork skills. Betsy’s previous experience includes her role as Director of the Career Development Office at the Kellogg School of Northwestern University, and more than 10 years in the Office of Career Development at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Web Developer

Nick built this site. See his website here or send him an email here.

Laura Morgan Roberts's research focuses on how to construct, sustain and restore positive identities at work. She became interested in POS through her doctoral dissertation research on social identity-based impression management among medical professionals. Her interests in the social construction of positive identities now include: the reflected best-self, diversity, authenticity, strengths, leadership, and talent management.

Shawn teaches courses on leadership, change, and innovation. He is the Managing Partner for LIFT Consulting, and specializes in working with organizations interested in applying positive organizing concepts. His clients include General Electric, Coca Cola, O2, American Express, Reuters, the U.S. Army, and Telefonica. Shawn has also helped develop and run the Competing Values Assessment with over one hundred teams and organizations. He is the co-author of Leading Innovation: How to Jumpstart Your Organization's Growth Engine (McGraw-Hill, 2006).