Biography

Vanessa Urch Druskat is Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Management at the Whittemore School of Business & Economics at the University of New Hampshire.

Professor Druskat joined the Whittemore School faculty as an Associate Professor in 2003 after spending eight years on the faculty of the Department of Organizational Behavior at Case Western Reserve University. Her research examines group norms and processes that enable a team to exceed its performance potential and leadership behaviors and strategies that support the development of effective team norms and processes. She is particularly interested in teams that face complex interpersonal challenges such as self-managing or cross-functional teams.

Professor Druskat has received several awards for the contributions made by her innovative research. In 2003, her paper “Managing from the boundary: Effective leadership of self-managing work teams” (with Jane Wheeler), was selected as a finalist for the 2003 best paper of the year award from the Academy of Management Journal. In 2001, her paper “Building the emotional intelligence of groups” (with Steve Wolff), was selected for inclusion in the Harvard Business Review list of breakthrough ideas for 2001. In 1999, her paper “Effective leadership of self-managing teams” (with Jane Wheeler) received the 1999 Center for Creative Leadership Walter F. Ulmer, Jr., Applied Research Award. In 1992, her paper “Gender and leadership style” received the 1992 Center for Creative Leadership Kenneth E. Clark Research Award. In 2006 she became an Associate Editor for the interdisciplinary journal Small Group Research.

Professor Druskat teaches undergraduate, MBA, and Executive MBA courses in organizational behavior, leadership and environments, leadership development, and team effectiveness. While on the faculty at Case Western Reserve University she received two awards for exceptional teaching including the 2001 John S. Diekhoff Award for Distinguished Graduate-Level Teaching (awarded once every three years; she was selected as “runner-up” in 1998), and in 1998 she was one of five junior faculty at Case Western to receive the Glennan Fellows Award for Outstanding Teaching and Scholarship.

Druskat is also a sought after speaker and consultant in the areas of work team effectiveness and emotional intelligence. She has conducted numerous leadership and team development seminars and workshops domestically and internationally for organizations ranging from Fortune 100 Companies to public schools.

She received her Ph.D. in social psychology from Boston University, an M.A. in organizational psychology from Columbia University, Teachers College, and her B.A. in Psychology from Indiana University, Bloomington. She lives in Durham with her husband and two children.

	Druskats' at the Eiffel Tower
Two Devils on Kauai
	Druskats' in Salzburg