Using evidence to understand organizations

I study and teach power, status, and hierarchy, as well as negotiations. Some themes of my work include the active strategies that people use to manage their own and others’ hierarchical position in groups; how we assign status to others; how to drive change more effectively from non-powerful positions; and how to improve negotiation outcomes.

Throughout my work, I strive to help participants make processes more rational, interactions more cordial, and organisations more humane.

I am professionally affiliated with:

Melbourne Business School (primary employer)

Empirica Research (partnering academic and market research)

Pelham Associates (management & legal consulting)

Dilin Duwa Centre (Centre for indigenous business leadership)

What I’ve been doing lately:

These are the things I’ve been discussing with colleagues, co-authors, students, and clients.

Blog - Latest Thoughts

Don't Belittle Trump Supporters?

Nick Kristof argues that privileged liberals should avoid demeaning Trump supporters as a matter of political strategy. Here, I discuss how liberals and Trump supporters tend to demean each other because each side feels politically disempowered—and I compare them to the high-stakes conflict of Israel/Gaza as well as a relatively low-stakes conflict in the field of psychology. Read more

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