Amanda Goodall

I began my career in the fashion industry, followed by a decade in the UK charitable sector, and finally a move into universities and to academe. I did my PhD on leadership and performance in research universities at Warwick Business School in 2007. It was published into ‘Socrates in the Boardroom: Why Research Universities Should be Led by Top Scholars’ (Princeton University Press, 2009). My research, on 'expert leadership', focuses on the relationship between leadership and organizational performance using quantitative data. The central argument (empirically supported) is that leaders need to be credible and therefore should have a deep understanding of the core business of the organizations they are to lead and manage. Being a good general manager alone is not sufficient. I have developed, with Agnes Bäker, the ‘theory of expert leadership’ (TEL). The evidence supporting expert leadership comes from all kinds of work settings, including US and UK firms randomly selected into large data sets, from hospitals, universities, Formula 1 Championships, basketball, among professional service firms, football clubs, and in a new study that examines the leaders of every single firm in Denmark.

How do expert leaders influence organisational performance? Core business experts at the top or CEO level raise standards across many areas, for example, the bar is higher in hiring and retention, they take the long view in investment and innovation, the org strategy is focused, quality is signalled to employees, future hires and other stakeholder. We have found, in numerous studies, that expert line managers have the best manager behaviours, create the right working conditions for people to do their jobs, their departments have high morale and employees are less likely to quit. Importantly, the mechanism through which high performance is expressed in expert led organisations is through high levels of job satisfaction. We all want employee wellbeing in our workplaces. But it is also important for performance because happy workers are known to be the most productive workers.

I also work on gender, and a little on climate change. My personal website is www.amandagoodall.com. I publish in both academic journals and practitioner magazines (e.g. HBR Digital, Financial Times), and my work is often featured in the media. I have a 2020 Research Excellence Framework Impact Case study, and REF publications. I have been a research fellow at Yale, Cornell, Zurich U and IZA in Bonn.

I am Director and founder of the Executive Masters in Medical Leadership, an MSc especially tailored to the needs of medical doctors. I teach Personal Leadership Development and other leadership courses on the MBA and previously the MSc Management. I am an Associate Fellow at IZA Institute for Labor Economics, Bonn.

Qualifications

• PhD, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, United Kingdom, 2004 – 2007
• BSc First Class Honours, London School of Economics, United Kingdom, 1994 – 1997

Visiting appointments

• Visiting Fellow, Zurich University Business School, Nov 2016 – Dec 2017
• Visiting Fellow, Yale University, Sep 2016 – Nov 2017
• Vising Fellow, University of Zurich, Sep – Dec 2008
• Visiting Fellow, Cornell University, Jan – May 2008
• Associate Member, Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management

Fellowships

• Visiting Fellow, Zurich University School of Business and Administration, Nov 2016 – Dec 2017
• Visiting Fellow, Yale University, Sep 2016 – present
• Research Fellow, IZA Labor Research Institute, May 2012 – present
• Senior Research Associate, IZA Institute of Labor Economics, May 2010 – present
• Visiting Fellow, Zurich University Socioeconomic Institute, Sep 2008 – Dec 2017
• Visiting Fellow, Cornell University, Feb – Jun 2008

Memberships of professional organisations

• Academy of Management

Expertise

Primary Topics

• Leadership
• Management

Additional Topics

• Gender & Diversity Management
• Innovation & Creativity

Industries/Professions

• artseducation, training & employment agencies
• health carehigh technology
• r&d organizations

Research

My research is on leadership and organizational performance. My work on expert leaders suggests that heads should have a deep understanding of, and high ability in, the core business of the organizations they are to lead. Being a good manager alone is not sufficient. I have focused on leaders in knowledge-based organizations, such as universities and hospitals, and also in highly competitive fields, such as Formula 1 Championships, and in large random populations of employees. New research is trying to understand why expert leaders seem to have such a big influence on workers' performance and job satisfaction. This is important because satisfied workers are productive workers. We are focusing on doctors and scientists.

My papers (technical and non-technical) are available to down load at: www.amandagoodall.com.

Research Topics

Leadership, the work environment, and scientific productivity

This study will advance our knowledge about how leaders affect organisational performance. Our focus is on leaders in scientific communities. We know from earlier work that the productivity of researchers is improved when they are led by scholar-leaders. What we don’t know is why? This study will uncover the transmission mechanisms -- the why’s and the how’s. We will estimate regressions of scientists’ job satisfaction on work environment factors and leader characteristics, and analyse the relation between leader characteristics and leader behaviour. I am working with Agnes Bäker of University of Zurich.

Physician Leadership

Why healthcare providers need doctors in leadership and management positions

Expert Leaders and the Job-satisfaction of Workers

We expect workers supervised by experts in their field to have higher job satisfaction. In our study we attempt to measure the relationship between a supervisor’s knowledge or expertise and the subordinate worker’s job satisfaction using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). I am working with Ben Artz U Wisconsin and Andrew Oswald at Warwick U.

Women Do Ask But Do Not Get

The claim that women are underpaid because they ask for pay rises less often than men is wrong

Expert leadership in psychiatry

Work with psychiatrists Stephen Allison, Tarun Bastiampillai, Michael Nance, & Leigh Roeger, Flinders University

The random assignment of women into leadership positions

Work in progress with Margit Osterloh at the University of Zurich

Book

Goodall, A.H. (2009). Socrates in the Boardroom. Princeton University Press ISBN 978-1-4008-3158-6.

Chapters (2)

• Goodall, A. and Bäker, A. (2014). A theory exploring how expert leaders influence performance in knowledge-intensive organizations. In Welpe, I.M., Wollersheim, J., Ringelhan, S. and Osterloh, M. (Eds.), Incentives and Performance: Governance of Knowledge-Intensive Organizations Springer International Publishing.
• Goodall, A. (2011). Experts versus Managers: A Case Against Professionalizing Management Education. In Amann, W., Dierksmeier, C., Pirson, M., Spitzeck, H. and von Kimakowitz, E. (Eds.), Business Schools Under Fire: Humanistic Management Education As The Way Forward London, Palgrave Macmillan

Journal Articles (21)

• Goodall, A. and Stoller, J.K. (2017). The future of clinical leadership: evidence for physician leadership and the educational pathway for new leaders. BMJ Leader, 1(1) .
• Goodall, A., Stoller, J.K. and Bäker, A. (2016). Why The Best Hospitals Are Managed by Doctors. Harvard Business Review (digital article), (December 27) .
• Allison, S., Goodall, A. and Bastiampillai, T. (2016). Expert leadership – why psychiatrists should lead mental health services. Australasian Psychiatry, 24(3), pp. 225–227. doi:10.1177/1039856216644403.
• Artz, B.M., Goodall, A.H. and Oswald, A.J. (2016). Boss Competence and Worker Well-being. Industrial and Labor Relations Review .
• Goodall, A.H. and Osterloh, M, (2016). Random selection as a way to increase the supply of female leaders. .
• Goodall, A.H., Allison, S. and Bastiampillai, T. (2015). Research Leadership: Should Clinical Directors be Distinguished Researchers? Australasian Psychiatry, 24(3), pp. 249–251. doi:10.1177/1039856215612988.
• Goodall, A. (2015). Theory of Expert Leadership (TEL) in Psychiatry. Australasian Psychiatry, 24(3), pp. 231–234. doi:10.1177/1039856215609760.
• Goodall, A.H., Bastiampillai, T., Nance, M., Roeger, L. and Allison, S. (2015). Expert leadership: Doctors versus managers for the executive leadership of Australian mental health. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(5), pp. 409–411. doi:10.1177/0004867415576977.
• Goodall, A.H. and Pogrebna, G. (2015). Expert leaders in a fast-moving environment. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(2), pp. 123–142. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2014.07.009.
• Goodall, A. and Oswald, A. (2014). Do the social sciences need a makeover? Times Higher Education pp. 34–38.
• Goodall, A. (2013). Should doctors run hospitals? CESifo DICE Report, 11(1), pp. 37–40.
• Goodall, A. (2013). How to stay in pole position: hire a boss who has worked on the floor. SPS Strategy Magazine, (December) .
• Goodall, A.H. (2011). Physician-leaders and hospital performance: Is there an association? Social Science and Medicine, 73(4), pp. 535–539. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.06.025.
• Bridgewater, S., Kahn, L.M. and Goodall, A.H. (2011). Substitution and complementarity between managers and subordinates: Evidence from British football. Labour Economics, 18(3), pp. 275–286. doi:10.1016/j.labeco.2010.10.001.
• Goodall, A.H., Kahn, L.M. and Oswald, A.J. (2011). Why do leaders matter? A study of expert knowledge in a superstar setting. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 77(3), pp. 265–284. doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2010.11.001.
• Goodall, A.H. (2009). Highly cited leaders and the performance of research universities. Research Policy, 38(7), pp. 1079–1092. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2009.04.002.
• Goodall, A.H. (2008). Why have the leading journals in management (and other social sciences) failed to respond to climate change? Journal of Management Inquiry, 17(4), pp. 408–420. doi:10.1177/1056492607311930.
• Goodall, A.H. (2006). Should top universities be led by top researchers and are they?: A citations analysis. Journal of Documentation, 62(3), pp. 388–411. doi:10.1108/00220410610666529.
• Goodall, A., Artz, B. and Oswald, A.J. If Your Boss Could Do Your Job, You’re More Likely to Be Happy at Work. Harvard Business Review, (December 27) .
• Goodall, A.H., McDowell, J.M. and Singell, L.D. Do Economics Departments Improve After They Appoint a Top Scholar as Chairperson? Kyklos . doi:10.1111/kykl.12148.
• Goodall, A. Winning with Expert Leaders: Business Knowledge Vs. Managerial Intelligence. IEDP Developing Leaders .

Course Directorship

• 2017 - present, New Medical Leadership Masters, Director

Editorial Activities (9)

• Higher Education, Referee, 2013 – present.
• JEBO, Referee, 2013 – present.
• Long Range Planning, Referee, 2013 – present.
• Global Environmental Change, Referee, 2011 – present.
• Leadership, Referee, 2011 – present.
• Research Policy, Referee, 2011 – present.
• Social Science and Medicine, Referee, 2011 – present.
• British Journal of Industrial Relations, Referee, 2010 – present.
• Industrial & Labor Relations Review, Referee, 2010 – present.