I have several different research clusters that connect to the core premises of POS. Below, I briefly provide an overview of the clusters.

1. Positive Organizing Routines

After my dissertation research, I was intrigued to understand more about the development and perseverance of humanistic work cultures in professional bureaucracies. This quest to understand humanistic work cultures resulted in two years of field studies with a nurse-midwives practice at a teaching hospital. I discovered the driving force behind their work ideology is a professional calling to midwifery and socialization into an occupational community. Furthermore, the nurse-midwives worked diligently to preserve the humanistic culture through clan control mechanisms and resilience. The work values of the nurse midwives inspire the group and their patients. Patricia Crane and I published this work in the American Behavioral Scientist and Nursing Economics.

Recently, I have expanded this research to examine best organizing practices for addressing health disparities. I am co-principal investigator for the leadership core of a National Institute of Health Roadmap Planning grant that explores evidence-based solutions for perinatal health disparities (http://www.med.umich.edu/roadmap/IDC_Home.htm). Within the leadership core of the grant, I am working with a team (Lise Anderson, Jodi Lori, Tamiko Noll, Joy Pinkerton and Scott Ransom) to understand best-organizing routines and the collective leadership competencies associated with capacity building activities for alleviating birth outcome disparities.

In addition, in a forthcoming book chapter, Laura Morgan Roberts and I explore the positive organizing routines of Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). Through the application of the organizational life cycle model, we analyze the enabling properties of BGLOs. The POS lens provided an analytical foundation for explaining how throughout the history of BGLOs, collective actions enabled their flourishing in a relational, community service, and leadership development context.

2. Diversity Management and Cultural Competencies at its Best

Within this cluster of research, I study how diversity management and cultural competencies practices contribute to the positive core of organizations and generate sustainable capabilities. Through this research, I have developed a three stage model – Assessing & Affirming Differences, Building Bridges to Support Diversity, and Cultivating Capabilities & Competitive Advantage. This model was published in Human Factor and has been used in large corporations, healthcare systems, and nonprofit organization. Currently, I am working with Valerie Myers to theoretically and visually model best diversity management practices in healthcare systems. Also, we are exploring how leaders as change agent and institutional processes contribute to the implementation of diversity management practices and cultural competencies programs.

3. Crisis Leadership Through Resilience and Organizational Learning

As part of a joint research with Erika James, we have studied how in crisis situations organizations become resilient and engage in learning. We propose that organizational learning during a crisis should be both reactive and reflective and framed from multiple lenses. Through this research, we have analyzed crisis leadership competencies, such as building trust, strategic thinking, courageous actions, and sensemaking. Our recent research links these crisis leadership competencies to human resource development activities.