Kristin Cullen Lester

Kristin Cullen-Lester is an Assistant Professor of Management at The University of Mississippi. She earned her Ph.D. from Auburn University in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. She worked as a research scientist and consultant at the Center for Creative Leadership, a top global provider of executive education, before returning to academia.

Her research focuses on relational aspects of leadership, including leaders’ social networks and the role of organizational networks in collective leadership, complex collaboration, and strategic, large-scale change. This work aims to improve leadership effectiveness by advancing the assessment and development of leaders and leadership systems. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Academy of Management and is published in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Management, The Leadership Quarterly, Organizational Research Methods, and the Journal of Organizational Behavior.

Dr. Cullen-Lester is on multiple editorial review boards and has served as a special issue guest editor. She teaches leadership development and organizational behavior courses for undergraduates, doctoral students, and executives and co-founded Network Leader, a start-up focused on helping individuals build meaningful workplace relationships. She is the winner of the early career award from the Society of Industrial-Organizational Psychology and the junior faculty research award from the School of Business Administration at the University of Mississippi.

Education

• PhD Auburn University (2005 — 2011)
• M.S. Auburn University (2005 — 2007)
• Honors Bachelor of Science University of Toronto

Publications

NETWORK STRUCTURES OF INFLUENCE WITHIN ORGANIZATION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR HRM 2021

FROM NUISANCE TO NOVEL RESEARCH QUESTIONS: USING MULTILEVEL MODELS TO PREDICT HETEROGENEOUS VARIANCES 2021

WHETHER, HOW, AND WHY NETWORKS INFLUENCE MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CAREER SUCCESS: REVIEW AND RESEARCH AGENDA 2021

FUNCTIONAL LEADERSHIP IN INTERTEAM CONTEXTS: UNDERSTANDING 'WHAT' IN THE CONTEXT OF WHY? WHERE? WHEN? AND WHO? 2020

THE EFFECTS OF MULTIPLE NEGATIVE, NEUTRAL, & POSITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES 2019

THRIVING IN CENTRAL NETWORK POSITIONS: THE ROLE OF POLITICAL SKILL 2018

INCORPORATING NETWORKS INTO LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: A CONCEPTUAL MODEL AND EVALUATION OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2017

ENERGY’S ROLE IN THE EXTRAVERSION (DIS)ADVANTAGE: HOW ENERGY TIES AND TASK CONFLICT HELP CLARIFY THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXTRAVERSION AND PROACTIVE PERFORMANCE 2016

NETWORK-BASED LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: A GUIDING FRAMEWORK AND RESOURCES FOR MANAGEMENT EDUCATORS 2016

PREDICTING LEADERSHIP RELATIONSHIPS: THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLECTIVE IDENTITY 2016

Honors, Awards, Grants

• Alfred J. Marrow New Directions in Leadership Fund, 2012. $20,000, Principal Investigator. Agile Development Practices in Team Networks.
• Organizational Change and Development Research Award from OCD division of Academy of Management, 2012. $3000, Principal Investigator [with Bryan D. Edwards]. Measuring Cumulative Experiences of Change: Development of the Workplace Events Scale.