Richard Hackman

Edgar Pierce Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology, Harvard Kennedy School

Richard Hackman's research has included studies of social influences on behavior in organizations, task and work design, the dynamics and performance of work teams, and the design and leadership of self-managing organizational units. He has conducted large-scale studies of group and organizational factors that shape the behavior and performance of aircraft cockpit crews and a cross-national study of leadership, organizational dynamics, and player engagement in professional symphony and chamber orchestras.

Current projects include development and validation of instruments for diagnosing the strengths and weaknesses of work teams, development and test of a theoretical model of team coaching, empirical assessment of factors that shape the effectiveness of units that analyze intelligence data, work on a book that explores the special dynamics of senior management teams, and development of educational materials for use in enhancing leadership skills in artistic ensembles and other groups that generate creative products or performances in real time.

See Professor Hackman's research page at http://www.leadingteams.org.