Jennifer A. Chatman
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs | Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management | Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, UNITED STATES
World-renowned researcher, teacher & consultant on leveraging organizational culture for firm performance and leading high-performance teams
Areas of Expertise (3)
Organizational Culture and Firm Performance
Norms in Diverse Groups
Leadership and the Impact of Leader Attributes on Team Performance
About
Jennifer Chatman is the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management and a faculty member in the Management of Organizations (MORS) Group at Berkeley Haas. In her research, teaching, and consulting work, she focuses on how organizations can leverage culture for strategic success and how diverse teams can optimize performance. Her award-winning research has shown, for example, how emphasizing innovation in the context of a strong culture increases firms' financial success, how narcissistic leaders create organizational cultures lower in collaboration and integrity, and how norms to cooperate can cause members to blur differences among them, even if those differences are useful for group performance—suggesting that collaboration should be calibrated in diverse teams.
Chatman is the Co-Director of the Berkeley Culture Initiative, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Haas School of Business, Editor-in-Chief for the journal Research in Organizational Behavior, and runs the Leading Strategy Execution Through Culture executive education program. She has served in many other leadership roles at Haas and UC Berkeley over the years. Chatman earned her PhD at Berkeley Haas, and her BA in Psychology from UC Berkeley.
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Education (2)
Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley: PhD, Business Administration
UC Berkeley: BA, Psychology
Links (4)
Honors & Awards (15)
Teaching Honors
Member of Berkeley Haas "Club 6" for high teaching scores (2019 & each year since 1993) Named on Poets & Quants “World’s Best B-School Professor” list (2012) Cheit Teaching Award for Teaching Excellence, Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA Program (2007) Cheit Teaching Award Honorable Mention, FTMBA, EWMBA & PhD programs (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998) Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award, 2nd place, Kellogg Graduate School of Management Evening MBA program (1991)
"Outstanding Publication in Organizational Behavior," Academy of Management
2020 For "Chatman, J. A., Greer, L. L., Sherman, E., & Doerr, B. (2019). Blurred lines: How the collectivism norm operates through perceived group diversity to boost or harm group performance in Himalayan mountain climbing. Organization Science, 30(2), 235-259." This award recognizes one paper chosen from those published in the OB domain in a particular year.
Harvard Business School Paul Lawrence Seminar Speaker
2019 "This seminar is “intended to “bring a luminary in the field of Organizational Behavior to Harvard Business School to honor the life, scholarship, and legacy of Paul Lawrence.”
“Best Paper of the Year” Runner Up, The Leadership Quarterly
2019 For “O’Reilly, C., Chatman, J., & Doerr, B. (2018). See you in court: How CEO narcissism increases firms’ vulnerability to lawsuits. The Leadership Quarterly, 29 (3): 365-442."
“Best Paper of the Year,” Group and Organization Management
2015 For “The Promise and Problems of Organizational Culture: CEO Personality, Culture, and Firm Performance.”
Inducted as a Fellow of the Academy of Management
2006
“Most Influential Paper Award,” 1997-2000, Academy of Management, Conflict Management Division
2005 For “Being different yet feeling similar: The influence of demographic composition and organizational culture on work processes and outcomes” published in Administrative Science Quarterly, 1998, 43 (4): 749-780.
Accenture Award
2004 For the article that “made the most important contribution to improving the practice of management,” in California Management Review for “Leading by Leveraging Culture.”
L.L. Cummings Scholar Award, Academy of Management Organizational Behavior Division
1998 Awarded for “outstanding achievement to one researcher in early mid-career.”
Administrative Science Quarterly Award for Scholarly Contribution
1997 For “the article that had the most impact on the field of organizational behavior over the past five years,” for Mixing and matching people and organizations: Selection and socialization in public accounting firms.
Schwabacher Research Award, Haas School of Business
1996
Ascendant Scholar Award, Western Academy of Management
1994
Best Paper Award, Academy of Management Organization and Management Theory Division
1991 For “Assessing the relationship between industry characteristics and organizational culture: How different can you be?”
Outstanding Paper Based on a Dissertation Award, Academy of Management Organizational Behavior Division
1989 For “Mixing and Matching People and Organizations: Selection and Socialization in Public Accounting Firms.”
Phi Beta Kappa
1980
Selected External Service & Affiliations (14)
- Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE: SSD) Board of Directors Outside Director (2004 – present), and Chair of the Compensation and Leadership Committee (2009 – present)
- Prospect Sierra School (Trustee, Chair of Compensation Working Group) - 2006-present
- Young Presidents Organization (YPO) faculty member (2017-present)
- Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Faculty Board Member (2011 – present)
- Healthcare Business Women’s Association, Advisory Board Member (2011 – 2014)
- The Trium Group, Academic Affiliate (2004 – present)
- Ashesi University, Ghana, Africa Advisory Board Member (1999 – 2005)
- UC Berkeley Center for Health Research Advisory Board Member (2003 – 2006)
- Center for Executive Development at Haas Advisory Board Member (1996 – 1998)
- East Bay Outreach Program, University of California Faculty Advisor (1995 – 1999)
- Editorial Boards: Academy of Management Annual Reviews Editorial Committee (2005 – 2007); Academy of Management Journal (1989 – 1993); Academy of Management Review (1997 – 1999; 2002 – 2009); Administrative Science Quarterly (1992 – 2002); Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior (2013-2016); California Management Review (1994 – present) Journal of Applied Psychology (1998 – 1999); The Leadership Quarterly (2017 to present)
- Association Memberships: Fellows of the Academy of Management (inducted 2006); Academy of Management American Psychological Association; American Psychological Society; Society for Organizational Behavior
- Executive Development (partial list): Leading High Performance Cultures (faculty director); Berkeley Executive Leader Program (former faculty director); Women's Executive Leader Program; New Manager Boot Camp; various custom programs
- Consulting (partial list): Cisco Systems, Clorox, The Coca-Cola Company, Conoco-Phillips, Daimler (Mercedes), Draper, Richards, Kaplan Foundation, Franklin Templeton Investor Services, Gallo Winery, Genentech, Goldman Sachs, Kaiser Permanente, Mars Inc., New York Life, Novartis, OSIsoft, PG&E, Pixar, Portland Trail Blazers, Prudential, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Qualcomm, Raiders Football, Roche, Salesforce, Sandia National Laboratory, Schneider Electric, Sony, Statoil, Wolters Kluwer, United Capital, U.S. Treasury
Positions Held (2)
At Haas since 1993
2021 – Present, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Berkeley Haas 2019 – 2021, Associate Dean of Learning Strategies, Berkeley Haas 2019 – present, Editor-in-Chief, Research in Organizational Behavior 2018 – present, Founder and Co-Director, Berkeley Haas Culture Initiative 2001 – present, Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management 2001 – 2004, Director, Haas School of Business PhD Program 2001 – 2002, Marvin Bower Fellow, Harvard Business School 1997 – 2000, Harold Furst Professor of Management Philosophy and Values, Haas School of Business 1993 – 2001, Assistant and Associate Professor, Haas School of Business 1987 – 1993, Assistant and Associate Professor of Organization Behavior, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University 1991 – 1992, Visiting Associate Professor and Research Psychologist, Institute of Personality and Social Research and Visiting Professor, Haas School of Business
Corporate and Organizational Boards
2004 – present, Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE: SSD) Board of Directors Outside Director, and Chair of the Compensation and Leadership Committee (2009 – present) 2006 - present, Prospect Sierra School (Trustee, Chair of Compensation Working Group) Young Presidents Organization (YPO) faculty member (2017-present) 2011 – 2014, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Faculty Board Member 2011 – 2014, Healthcare Business Women’s Association, Advisory Board Member 2004 – present, The Trium Group, Academic Affiliate 1998 – 2006, BrassRing Systems Inc. Advisory Board Member 2001 – 2004, Thinkshed Advisory Board Member 2002 – 2006, Unicru Advisory Board Member, formerly Guru Worldwide 1999 – 2005, Ashesi University, Ghana, Africa Advisory Board Member 2003 – 2006, UC Berkeley Center for Health Research Advisory Board Member 1996 – 1998, Center for Executive Development at Haas Advisory Board Member 1995 – 1999, East Bay Outreach Program, University of California Faculty Advisor 1998 – 1999, Institute for Management Studies Advisory Board Member
Media Appearances (20)
Musk Buys Twitter: UC Berkeley Management Professor On Acquisition
CBS Bay Area online
2022-04-25
Elon Musk is used to being a founder who sets the tone for his own companies. But at Twitter he’ll be stepping into a narrative built by others, said Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management and associate dean for Learning Strategies. “It’s going to take some time and a compelling case to win over employees,” she said. “It’s going to require a kind of patience that it’s not completely clear is Elon Musk’s strength.”
A groundbreaking California law to address workplace diversity was overturned. What happens now?
USA Today online
2022-04-07
A California judge struck down the first law in the nation mandating diversity on corporate boards, a measure many workplace diversity experts had heralded as transformative and necessary. Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management and associate dean for Learning Strategies, said the number of women on boards doubled since the law went into effect. "Even though people are well-intentioned and express a desire to increase gender, race, and sexual orientation equity on boards, there's no substitute in generating action for having a law that needs to be followed, with consequences for non-compliance," she said.
Leaked Amazon Emails Show How Andy Jassy Has Started to Run Company
Business Insider online
2022-02-11
New Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is applying his penchant for micromanaging to a bevy of customer complaints, instructing his team to review and resolve problems swiftly. Jassy's propensity to scrutinize customer emails can have the added benefit of internally demonstrating what is strategically important at Amazon, in this case customer satisfaction, according to Jennifer Chatman, Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. When the CEO directly engages in customer complaints, it serves as "symbolic acts of leadership" that the rest of the company follows. "These examples probably spread like wildfire in the company and so many people learned vicariously about just how important customers are," Chatman said.
Things you should stop saying at work in 2022
MSN Money online
2021-12-30
There's always a risk the buzzword "empower" may come across as patronizing, so use it with caution. “It's the most condescending transitive verb ever,” said Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management.
Contra Costa County issuing fines to restaurants not checking customers vaccination status
FOX2 KTVU online
2021-11-10
Contra Costa county is cracking down on restaurants that aren’t checking to make sure indoor diners are vaccinated. While the regulations make it harder for businesses, there’s a solid public health reason behind it. "I do understand that organizations feel the burden of having to finesse the enforcement of a somewhat awkward mandate,” said Associate Dean for Learning Strategies Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management. “On the other hand, we are in the midst of this pandemic and it’s not over yet.”
Newsom weighs in on controversy over In-N-Out's vaccine stance
FOX2 KTVU online
2021-10-27
Burger chain In-N-Out has been the focus of controversy after it was alleged two locations allowed diners to eat inside without proof of vaccination. "It is hard to avoid seeing this as a politicized version of what we're seeing all over the country about the controversy of vaccine mandates and what rights the government has,” said Associate Dean for Learning Strategies Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management.
Pleasant Hill In-N-Out Burger shut for violating COVID orders
FOX2 KTVU online
2021-10-26
Contra Costa county health officials shut down the In-N-Out Burger in Pleasant Hill after the restaurant repeatedly violated health orders mandating proof of vaccine to dine indoors. Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management, said the company is a private family business with a history of taking conservative religious and political stands, and the controversy is in some ways a sign of the times. "The fact that people are either more inclined to visit In-N-Out Burger as a result of this action or less inclined to do so, I think is a real reflection on the state of the country right now," she said.
The unvax tax
Politico online
2021-08-31
Federal approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine opened the floodgates for businesses to dispense with the carrots and resort to sticks, said Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management. "At this point … employers have run out of patience and are now saying, `This just has to happen, and it will be unpleasant for you if you don't do it.’”
Theranos: Elizabeth Holmes’ criminal trial to showcase Silicon Valley’s most notorious startup crash
The Mercury News online
2021-08-29
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was a 19-year-old Stanford University dropout when she founded the now-defunct Theranos in 2003 and convinced powerful people to fund and back her vision. Understanding what drove her isn’t simple, said Chatman. “My sense is that she believed that the idea could bear fruit, even when the evidence pointed in another direction,” said Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management and Associate Dean for Learning Strategies. “She also clearly was trapped by escalation of commitment and the sunk costs.”
Delta Air Lines’ $200 charge to unvaccinated employees puts penalty power to the test
Marketplace online
2021-08-26
Delta's $200 health insurance charge for unvaccinated workers could be popular inside the company, where 75% of employees are vaccinated. “I think that slightly mitigates the chances of a huge negative reaction,” said Prof. Jennifer Chatman, The Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management.
Biden administration rolls out new vaccine incentives
Marketplace online
2021-06-04
States are pushing incentives from free baseball tickets and gift cards to donuts and beer to encourage people to get vaccinated. But incentives may not always work the way we hope. “For people who philosophically believe that vaccines are problematic, and the government is not trustworthy, [incentives] may even make them more suspicious,” said Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management.
The ‘Well-Being-Engagement Paradox’ Explains Why You Suddenly Can’t Focus on Work as Pandemic Restrictions Loosen
Well+Good online
2021-05-07
With Covid throwing everyday life into disarray, the remote work environment provided a sense of familiarity and comfort. “Work helped people to maintain some sense of normalcy, even for those who were working remotely,” said Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management and Associate Dean for Learning Strategies. “It’s not just about remote work, though people definitely appreciate the flexibility, but more about a sense of normalcy amidst change.”
3 ways to keep your company culture intact after the pandemic
Fast Company online
2021-04-29
Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management and associate dean for Learning Strategies, co-authored an article in the Harvard Business Review that Fast Company cites. It proposed looking at cultural adaptability—”your organization’s ability to innovate, experiment, and quickly take advantage of new opportunities.”
Started A New Job While Remote? Here’s How To Get To Know Your Co-Workers In Person
Forbes online
2021-04-07
Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management and associate dean for Learning Strategies, advises employees who began their jobs working remotely to make an effort to get to know their colleagues when they return to the office.
Researchers publish recommendations for using behavioral science to increase vaccine uptake
The Daily Californian online
2021-03-29
A new report from a task force co-chaired by Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management and Associate Dean for Learning Strategies, made recommendations for how to increase the rate at which people accept COVID-19 vaccinations, including offering time off for vaccination appointments, providing testimonials from peers, and considering having qualified peers inject the vaccine. “We believe that vaccine uptake—people’s willingness to take the vaccine—is more of a psychological than medical issue,” she said.
COVID-19 Has Redefined the Workplace – for Better or Worse
Variety online
2021-03-10
There will also be some types of work that require in-person collaboration, and the lack of social cues in a remote environment can be particularly problematic. Even so, Prof. Jennifer Chatman predicts that office work post-pandemic will be much less focused on process and much more on results. “I think people will gain autonomy, and that could lead to greater focus on outcomes,” says Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management and Associate Dean for Learning Strategies.
How narcissistic leaders infect their organizations' cultures
Vet Candy online
2021-03-17
Research by Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management, has shown the profound impact narcissistic leaders have on their organizations and the long-lasting damage they inflict. Like carriers of a virus, narcissistic leaders "infect" the very cultures of their organizations, leading to dramatically lower levels of collaboration and integrity at all levels -- even after they are gone.
Moving the Middle: How to Get More People to Take Vaccines
Knowledge@Wharton online
2021-03-15
The final report from the COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake Behavioral Science Task Force is “eminently practical,” said Wharton management professor Sigal Barsade, who co-chaired the task force along with Penn psychology professor Angela Duckworth and Jennifer Chatman, a management professor at University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Elon Musk moved to Texas and embraced celebrity. Can Tesla run on Autopilot?
The Washington Post online
2021-02-23
Experts are questioning whether Elon Musk can handle the pressures of his multiple companies without missteps. Jennifer Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management and the associate dean for Learning Strategies, pointed to Tesla’s firing of workers who had opted to stay home during the pandemic as a strategic misstep. "Every time you reduce the quality of Tesla as a workplace then by definition you’re going to reduce the quality of the employees who are willing to work there," she said.
Opinion | The Narcissist in Chief Brings It All Crashing Down
The New York Times online
2021-01-10
This op-ed calls President Trump a malignant narcissist who, when backed into a corner, behaves erratically. "It should be absolutely no surprise that this is where we are," said Prof. Jennifer Chatman, associate dean for Learning Strategies, who has published several papers on the ways in which narcissist leaders damage organizations. "It’s never a pretty transition when (narcissists) have to go."
Selected Papers & Publications (12)
The mistaken preference for overclaiming credit in groups
Under review
Stein, D., Schatz, D., Schroeder, J., & Chatman, J.
2020
Deciphering the cultural code: Perceptual congruence, behavioral conformity, and the interpersonal transmission of culture
Under review
Lu, R., Chatman, J., Goldberg, A., & Srivastava, S.
2020
Cultures of genius at work: Organizational mindsets predict cultural norms, trust, and commitment
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Canning, E., Murphy, M., Emerson, K., Chatman, J., Dweck, C, & Kray, L.
2020
Measuring organizational culture: Converging on definitions and approaches to advance the paradigm
C. Newton & R. Knight (Eds.) Handbook of research methods for organizational culture. Edward Elgar Publishing: Cheltenham, UK.
Chatman, J. & Choi, A
(in press)
Transformational leader or narcissist? How organizations can prevent grandiose narcissists from destroying organizations and institutions
California Management Review
O'Reilly, C. & Chatman, J.
(in press)
Perspectives on national and organizational culture
Oxford Handbook of Culture and Organizations
Chatman, J. & Gelfand, M.
2020
Blurred lines: How the collectivism norm operates through perceived group diversity to boost or harm group performance in Himalayan mountain climbing
Organization Science
Chatman, J., Greer, L., Sherman, E., & Doerr, B.
2019
"See you in court": How CEO narcissism increases firms' vulnerability to lawsuits
The Leadership Quarterly
O’Reilly, C., Doerr, B., & Chatman, J.
2018
Paradigm lost: Reinvigorating the study of organizational culture
Research in Organizational Behavior
Chatman, J. & O’Reilly, C.
2016
Creativity from constraint: How the PC norm influences creativity in mixed-sex work groups
Administrative Science Quarterly
Goncalo, J., Chatman, J., Duguid, M., & Kennedy, J.
2015
Parsing organizational culture: The joint influence of culture content and strength on performance in high-technology firms
Journal of Organizational Behavior
Chatman, J., Caldwell, D., O’Reilly, C., & Doerr, B.
2014
Narcissistic CEOs and executive compensation
The Leadership Quarterly
O'Reilly, C., Doerr, B., Caldwell, D., & Chatman, J.
2014
Teaching (4)
Executive Leadership
Full-time MBA, Evening & Weekend MBA, and Executive MBA programs
Core Organizational Behavior
Full-time MBA, Evening & Weekend MBA, and Executive MBA programs
Micro Organizational Behavior
PhD Program
Executive Development
Courses on Leadership, Cultivating a Strategically Effective Culture, Power and Influence, and other custom topics
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