Resources
the work force is only going to get more diverse over time, which is what we need because Diversity breeds innovation & differences in thought & perspective |
Our research focuses on team collaboration, leadership, and workplace discrimination. With all our work, we hope to put forth best practices, evidence, and strategies for improving everyone's workplace experience. It is easy to become resigned to the belief that the workplace is not meant to be accommodating and inclusive. Although the process is not easy, there are ways to restructure your environment to create a more positive space. The workplace atmosphere is everyone's responsibility. No matter your position, there are ways to create an accommodating space for everyone you work with. Here are some ways to get started.
Have questions or other resources? Reach out and let us know! |
1. Interested in working on your team's collaborative skills?
Start by reading this intriguing article by Sunstein and Hastle on "Making Dumb Groups Smarter". As well as the article, "How to Build a Successful Team" by Bryan.
2. Interested in improving your leadership skills?
Check out this work on intellectual humility or this article discussing how to find your leadership voice.
3. Are you trying to recruit more diverse talent?
Check out this neat tool which helps you detect for bias in your job description. You can also check for inclusive language in any of your communications material using Microsoft Word! Check it out!
4. Are you interested in networking with fellow STEM members in the Boulder/Denver community?
Check out the Women Who Code Boulder/Denver Network at: https://www.womenwhocode.com/boulder-denver
Start by reading this intriguing article by Sunstein and Hastle on "Making Dumb Groups Smarter". As well as the article, "How to Build a Successful Team" by Bryan.
2. Interested in improving your leadership skills?
Check out this work on intellectual humility or this article discussing how to find your leadership voice.
3. Are you trying to recruit more diverse talent?
Check out this neat tool which helps you detect for bias in your job description. You can also check for inclusive language in any of your communications material using Microsoft Word! Check it out!
4. Are you interested in networking with fellow STEM members in the Boulder/Denver community?
Check out the Women Who Code Boulder/Denver Network at: https://www.womenwhocode.com/boulder-denver
Lab news
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Check out Dr. Lacerenza's recent article on imposter syndrome, written with Dr. Morela Hernandez | January 2023
Do you alleviate or exacerbate imposter syndrome in your employees? We explore ways that managers can mitigate these negative thoughts in our recent article in MIT Sloan Management Review. Check it out here! |
Dr. Lacerenza and Ziwei Cheng awarded research award by the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology | January 2023
The LAB lab's work on leader prototypes was granted the 2023 Douglas W. Bray and Ann Howard Research Grant by SIOP. This project will start in 2023 and will be honored during the annual SIOP conference in April of 2023. Congratulations!
The LAB lab's work on leader prototypes was granted the 2023 Douglas W. Bray and Ann Howard Research Grant by SIOP. This project will start in 2023 and will be honored during the annual SIOP conference in April of 2023. Congratulations!
Dr. Lacerenza named a 2023 Sam and Bonnie Rechter Fellow in Positive Leadership | January 2023
Dr. Lacerenza was named a Fellow in Positive Leadership for her research on leader prototypes. As part of this work, Ziwei Cheng was also named a fellow.
The research they are conducting as part of this is as follows:
At present, the pipeline for women and people of color in leadership roles continues to shrink. Although leader categorization theory has suggested that leader mental representations, or prototypes, affect the retention of non-traditional leaders in organizations, few studies have identified whether and how an existing leader prototype can change. To speed up progress and increase the retention of non-prototypical leaders, we propose daily leader micro-interventions to broaden the ideal of what it means to be an effective leader and increase the engagement of positive leadership practices at work. The project will validate micro-interventions as a leader development tool and in doing so will add to understanding of positive leadership practices and the retention of underrepresented individuals in leadership.
Dr. Lacerenza was named a Fellow in Positive Leadership for her research on leader prototypes. As part of this work, Ziwei Cheng was also named a fellow.
The research they are conducting as part of this is as follows:
At present, the pipeline for women and people of color in leadership roles continues to shrink. Although leader categorization theory has suggested that leader mental representations, or prototypes, affect the retention of non-traditional leaders in organizations, few studies have identified whether and how an existing leader prototype can change. To speed up progress and increase the retention of non-prototypical leaders, we propose daily leader micro-interventions to broaden the ideal of what it means to be an effective leader and increase the engagement of positive leadership practices at work. The project will validate micro-interventions as a leader development tool and in doing so will add to understanding of positive leadership practices and the retention of underrepresented individuals in leadership.
Liza B. Wins Dissertation Award | August 2022
The LAC lab congratulates Liza Barnes for winning the prestigious and highly competitive dissertation award from the Academy of Management. In August 2022, she was awarded the Academy of Management's SHRM Foundation Dissertation Grant Award for her work on employee leaves of absences. We can't wait for her to defend her dissertation in April 2023 and to present her findings at the annual AOM conference in August 2023!
The LAC lab congratulates Liza Barnes for winning the prestigious and highly competitive dissertation award from the Academy of Management. In August 2022, she was awarded the Academy of Management's SHRM Foundation Dissertation Grant Award for her work on employee leaves of absences. We can't wait for her to defend her dissertation in April 2023 and to present her findings at the annual AOM conference in August 2023!
Ziwei C. Successfully Defends Her Undergraduate Honors Thesis | April 2022
The LAC lab congratulates Ziwei Cheng for successfully defending her undergraduate honors thesis entitled, "Reinforcement Learning and Working Memory in Mood Disorders: A Computational Analysis Using a Developmental Transdiagnostic Sample." As part of this effort, Ziwei examined the relationship between learning, task performance, and mood disorders.
As she explains, "Reinforcement learning abnormalities are conceptually and empirically related to mood disorders. However, the nature of abnormalities associated with acute symptom severity versus lifetime diagnoses remains unclear. Additionally, prior research has often failed to disentangle working memory from reward responses, further obscuring the nature of reinforcement learning abnormalities. The current study addressed these gaps in a sample (N=224) of adolescents and young adults with a lifetime history of unipolar disorders, bipolar disorders, or no psychopathology. Four computational models were fitted to a behavioral test of instrumental reinforcement learning with varying working memory load, and parameters were estimated from the winning model. Analyses tested associations between behavioral parameters and clinical measures of current symptom severity (anhedonic or manic symptoms), and lifetime mood disorder diagnoses. Results showed that task accuracy was negatively correlated with both manic and anhedonic symptom severity and was lower in participants with unipolar depression than those with no psychopathology. Across diagnostic groups, participants with more severe anhedonia showed higher rates of decay in working memory. Diagnostic group comparison showed that participants with unipolar depression disorder had lower reinforcement learning rates, whereas participants with bipolar disorders had lower working memory capacity, overall relied less on working memory, and exhibited abnormal exploration patterns during the task. Together, these results indicate reinforcement learning abnormalities that scale with the transdiagnostic symptom dimension of anhedonia (working memory decay), or that are unique to unipolar depression (lower reward learning rate), or bipolar disorders (exploration patterns and reliance on working memory). Findings may have implications for understanding daily impairment and treatment targets in mood disorders."
The LAC lab congratulates Ziwei Cheng for successfully defending her undergraduate honors thesis entitled, "Reinforcement Learning and Working Memory in Mood Disorders: A Computational Analysis Using a Developmental Transdiagnostic Sample." As part of this effort, Ziwei examined the relationship between learning, task performance, and mood disorders.
As she explains, "Reinforcement learning abnormalities are conceptually and empirically related to mood disorders. However, the nature of abnormalities associated with acute symptom severity versus lifetime diagnoses remains unclear. Additionally, prior research has often failed to disentangle working memory from reward responses, further obscuring the nature of reinforcement learning abnormalities. The current study addressed these gaps in a sample (N=224) of adolescents and young adults with a lifetime history of unipolar disorders, bipolar disorders, or no psychopathology. Four computational models were fitted to a behavioral test of instrumental reinforcement learning with varying working memory load, and parameters were estimated from the winning model. Analyses tested associations between behavioral parameters and clinical measures of current symptom severity (anhedonic or manic symptoms), and lifetime mood disorder diagnoses. Results showed that task accuracy was negatively correlated with both manic and anhedonic symptom severity and was lower in participants with unipolar depression than those with no psychopathology. Across diagnostic groups, participants with more severe anhedonia showed higher rates of decay in working memory. Diagnostic group comparison showed that participants with unipolar depression disorder had lower reinforcement learning rates, whereas participants with bipolar disorders had lower working memory capacity, overall relied less on working memory, and exhibited abnormal exploration patterns during the task. Together, these results indicate reinforcement learning abnormalities that scale with the transdiagnostic symptom dimension of anhedonia (working memory decay), or that are unique to unipolar depression (lower reward learning rate), or bipolar disorders (exploration patterns and reliance on working memory). Findings may have implications for understanding daily impairment and treatment targets in mood disorders."
The LAC Lab Gives Back to the Community | March 2022
The Leadership and Collaboration lab volunteered with Colorado Responds to assist with recovery efforts following the devastating Marshall Fire. The Marshall Fire was the most destructive fire in Colorado history in terms of structures lost. It broke out on December 30, 2021 shortly before 10:30am MST and swept across Boulder, Louisville, and Superior - all towns within the University of Colorado, Boulder community. Our hearts go out to all of the victims and we are grateful to the incredible firefighters who helped fight the Marshall Fire.
The Leadership and Collaboration lab volunteered with Colorado Responds to assist with recovery efforts following the devastating Marshall Fire. The Marshall Fire was the most destructive fire in Colorado history in terms of structures lost. It broke out on December 30, 2021 shortly before 10:30am MST and swept across Boulder, Louisville, and Superior - all towns within the University of Colorado, Boulder community. Our hearts go out to all of the victims and we are grateful to the incredible firefighters who helped fight the Marshall Fire.
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Liza Barnes Presents Research at the Annual Academy of Management Conference | August 2021
The Leadership and Collaboration Lab's Liza Barnes recently presented her research at the 2021 Academy of Management conference. In this conference, Barnes presented "With or without you: Relationships and taking stock of their influence on work identity". In this research, Barnes and collaborators found that “Who we are” at work is heavily influenced by not only “with whom” we work but also “with whom” we share our lives (Ashforth, Rogers, & Corley, 2011; Sluss & Ashforth, 2007). Barnes and her collaborators used five (5) papers, [to] draw from a vast assortment of contexts to explore how intra-work and extra-work relationships influence a wide array of identity and identification processes – working mothers, “number 2” organizational roles, interrelating differences that negatively influence identification processes, striving for a committed personal relationship, and finally, the leader—follower role relationship. |
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The collective findings indicate that relational identity dynamics create a strong theoretical base upon which to explore and understand how organizational members make sense of and behave within the organizational context. Together, these papers extend our understanding and generate fresh new research directions on how both intra-work and extra-work relationships influence our identity and identification at work.
Abstract taken from: Badura, K., Sluss, D., Zhong, Y., Barnes, L. Y., Colella, A., Greenberg, D., Lacerenza, C. N, Longmire, N., Oelberger, C., Rasando-Soloman, E., Sumpter, D. M., Vogus, T. J., & Volpone, S. D. (2021). With or without you: Relationships and taking stock of their influence on work identity. Academy of Management, 2021(1).
Abstract taken from: Badura, K., Sluss, D., Zhong, Y., Barnes, L. Y., Colella, A., Greenberg, D., Lacerenza, C. N, Longmire, N., Oelberger, C., Rasando-Soloman, E., Sumpter, D. M., Vogus, T. J., & Volpone, S. D. (2021). With or without you: Relationships and taking stock of their influence on work identity. Academy of Management, 2021(1).
