John Austin, Ph.D.
Affiliate Faculty - School of Leadership Studies | Fielding Graduate University
State College, PA, UNITED STATES
An active scholar-practitioner helping leaders become change agents and helping change agents become more effective
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Biography
John Austin, PhD works at the intersection of scholarship and practice as a professor in the School of Leadership Studies at Fielding Graduate University. Prior to that, Dr. Austin was a Principal at Decision Strategies International and a management professor at Penn State University and The University of Washington. He has taught executives at Duke CE , Georgetown University, Thunderbird School of International Management, University of Pennsylvania, and University of North Carolina. John has worked with numerous global companies, government agencies and business schools as an executive development resource. and is a frequent conference speaker.
Dr. Austin has a BA in economics from The Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in organization studies from Boston College. He has conducted research and consulted in the areas of team leadership, organizational change implementation, and managing uncertainty. His research on knowledge-based decision making teams is widely cited in the academic literature, as is his work on the strategic actions of internal change agents. Dr. Austin’s work on knowledge transfer in managerial teams has been used to develop executive teams around the world.
Dr. Austin is an experienced facilitator and an award-winning teacher who has worked with practicing executives on six continents. He has developed leaders and led long-term projects in the areas of change management, scenario planning, team performance, strategic decision-making, and strategy execution. His experience with individuals at all levels of organizations enables him to translate broad strategies and concepts into actionable, engaging programs.
Dr. Austin’s research has been published in leading management and applied psychology journals, including Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Organization Science; as well as practice-oriented publications, including HR Magazine and The OD Practitioner. His work has been recognized with three Best Paper awards from the Academy of Management. He is the author of Leading Effective Change: A Primer for the HR Professional, published as part of the SHRM Foundation’s Effective Practice Guidelines Series (2015).
Dr. Austin’s book, Unquestioned Brilliance: Navigating a Fundamental Leadership Trap, was published in fall 2015.
Industry Expertise (4)
Training and Development
Research
Education/Learning
Professional Training and Coaching
Areas of Expertise (5)
Theory Development
Team Effectiveness
Change Leadership
Organization Development
Strategic Thinking
Accomplishments (3)
Eric Hofer Book Award Finalist (professional)
Awarded for Unquestioned Brilliance: Navigating a Fundamental Leadership Trap
Feathered Quill Bronze Medal Award (professional)
Awarded for Unquestioned Brilliance: Navigating a Fundamental Leadership Trap
William H. Newman Award (professional)
(2000) Awarded by Academy of Management for outstanding paper based on a dissertation
Education (2)
Boston College: PhD, Organization Studies 1998
Johns Hopkins University: BA, Major: Economics; Minor: Psychology 1991
Affiliations (2)
- Academy of Management : Member
- National Speakers Association : Member
Links (1)
Articles (9)
Jean Bartunek and the power of working across boundaries: Dualities and the missing voice
(2017) The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers
Eds. Szabla, D., Pasmore, B., & Barnes, M.
Palgrave Macmillan
Leading Effective Change: A Primer for the HR Professional
(2015) Effective Practice Guidelines series
SHRM Foundation: Alexandria, VA.
Making knowledge actionable: Three key translation moments
(2013) Journal of Organization Design
Vol. 2(3): 29-37.
Organization Change and Development: In practice and in theory
(2012) The Handbook of Psychology
Austin, J. R., & Bartunek, J. M.
Volume 12 Industrial and Organizational Psychology, (pp 390-411), New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Initiating Controversial Strategic Change in Organizations
(2009) OD Practitioner
Vol. 41(3): 24-29.
Mapping out a game plan for change
(2009) HR Magazine, Society for Human Resource Management
Vol. April
Theories and practices of organization development
(2006) Organization Development: A Jossey-Bass Reader
Austin, J. R., & Bartunek, J. M.
J. V. Gallos (Ed.) pp. 309-332, New York: John Wiley & Sons. **Originally appeared in The Handbook of Psychology: Volume 12 Industrial and Organizational Psychology, W. Borman, D. Ilgen, & R. Klimoski (Eds.) 2003
Transactive memory in organizational groups: The effects of content, consensus, specialization, and accuracy on group performance
(2003) Journal of Applied Psychology
Austin, J.R.
88(5): 866-878.
Clothes make the person? The tailoring of legitimating accounts and the social construction of identity
(2002) Organization Science
Creed, W. E. D., Scully, M., & Austin, J. R.
13(5): 475-496