Corinne Coen, PhD, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior, thinks about why people cooperate in teams and how managers can get them to work well together more often. She investigates cooperative dynamics within teams, between teams, and how to design teams to elicit productive interdependence. She is an expert in the study of complex systems and emergence. Corinne teaches Qualitative Inquiry II in the DBA program and has been a research advisor to many of our students.
What is your background?
Getting to the place I am now has been a long journey. After a decade and a half in corporate and consulting jobs, driven by a hunger for more intellectually challenging work, I made my way to a doctoral program. Since then, as a university professor I have found great fulfillment in teaching and in research. I am also proud of achieving what I have in environments that have not always been very welcoming to women.
Application of Management principles to practice is more important than ever in today’s fast-paced work environments – Please tell us about how you help experienced managers change their thinking and approach through empirical research.
While I like to share practical applications derived from evidence with practicing managers, I find experiential learning generates the most powerful change because people learn how to apply ideas in their own workplace building on what they already know. This leads to deep learning.
My specialty is teamwork. I love helping people discover the power of intimacy and connection in driving high performance. Task work will rarely be great unless a team builds mutual respect and caring.
From your perspective, what is the importance or practical application of DBA training?
I can see so many applications of DBA training! First, I think the discovery of so much existing research on key managerial issues and the ways to access that knowledge provide permanent capacities to contribute to practice. Next, learning to do research inductively and deductively by doing challenging work on topics of their own choosing empowers our DBAs. Finally, for most of us, the joy of building skills and using our intellectual gifts is like living in a candy store. Mm-mm.
What would you recommend to help DBA students through their transformative journey?
Mostly, I would encourage students to have faith in their gifts and their labor. They will grow powerfully, in ways of their own choosing, throughout the program, even if the process seems mysterious at first.
What do you enjoy most about teaching in the DBA program?
I treasure the lifelong relationships I have made with DBA students. Participating in their growth, supporting their movement from novice to expert, pushing them intellectually, participating in their powerful connection of practice and scholarship has been deeply fulfilling for me.
