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.
