John L. Michela, PhD

John L. Michela, PhD, is a tenured associate professor with the Personnel (Industrial) and Organizational Psychology graduate program at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. He founded and now serves as director of the Waterloo Organizational Research and Consulting Group (WORC Group), which provides consulting services regionally and internationally. He has been on the editorial boards of two of the three sections of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Attitudes/Social Cognition and Personality/Individual Differences) and was an associate editor of the International Journal of Organizational Analysis. After obtaining his PhD degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, he joined the faculty group in Social and Organizational Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University, prior to relocating to Waterloo nine years later.

Dr. Michela's research applies theories from Social Psychology, often along with advanced statistical methods, to address management issues that involve leadership and teams seeking product innovation or broader organizational or community change. The topics of vision in leadership and identity-based motivation in work and career are his current focus. His contributions to various books or book series include chapters in the Handbook of Organizational Climate and Culture (Sage, 2000) and the Annual Review of Psychology (Annual Reviews, 1980); his journal articles have appeared in the Journal of Product Innovation Management, Organizational Research Methods, and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP), among others. He previously received research grant support from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Spencer Foundation, and the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada—under its program for knowledge transfer from academia to the broader society.

For details of Dr. Michela's research and consulting experience, please click here to view his Curriculum Vitae.