ALEC RODGER MEMORIAL LECTURE 2021
When:
—
Venue:
Online
Since 1983, the annual Alec Rodger Memorial Lecture honours the influence of one of the founding members of the Department of Organizational Psychology. The invited speakers are distinguished individuals who have made a demonstrable impact on organisations in academia, public service and commerce.
The lecture series is funded by the T. Ritchie Rodger Research Fund, which is managed by the British Psychological Society (BPS). The fund was set up by Alec Rodger, the first Professor of Occupational Psychology at Birkbeck, in memory of his father.
2021
Professor Sally Maitlis, Organisational Behaviour and Leadership, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford: Hidden from View: Leading with Depression and Anxiety’
Tuesday 13th July 5pm
We are delighted to welcome Sally Maitlis Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Leadership at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, to deliver the 2021 Alec Rodger Memorial Lecture to staff, students, alumni and friends of Birkbeck’s Department of Organizational Psychology.
In this online lecture entitled ‘Hidden from View: Leading with Depression and Anxiety’, Professor Maitlis will explore mental health and organizational leadership.
While interest in workplace mental health has grown rapidly in the last few years, the focus has remained largely on employees at lower levels in the organisational structure. Despite increased awareness of mental health issues prompted by the pandemic, there are almost no studies of the experiences of mental health conditions in those who hold leadership roles. This dearth of research is a result of both our romanticised view of leaders (Meindl, Ehrlich, & Dukerich, 1985), and the stigmatised nature of mental health (Martin, 2010) which make it especially challenging for those in high status positions to speak up, or even to acknowledge mental health challenges within themselves.
In this talk, Maitlis focuses on senior leadership as a professional identity that exists in tension with the experience of having a mental health condition, and present findings from a study of depression and anxiety among leaders in organisations. Drawing on an in-depth interview study, Maitlis will explore the experience of being a senior organisational leader with a common mental health condition. An important finding is that these leaders face a harsh battle with their feelings in order to maintain “business-as-usual” and do so while attempting to ensure others remain unaware of what they are experiencing. Their efforts to separate their mental health issues from their work identities parallels the broader split in society at large – between mental health and our leadership ideal. Maitlis will discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of professional identity and stigma, leadership, and mental health in organizations.
LECTURE ITINERARY
5.00pm - Welcome address -Dr Geoff Walters, Executive Dean
5.15pm - Alec Rodger Lecture - Professor Sally Maitlis
6:00pm - Leading Q&A – Dr Rebecca Whiting
6:15pm - Closing remarks and vote of thanks - Dr Rebecca Whiting
BIOGRAPHY
Sally Maitlis is Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Leadership at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Her research examines how people make sense of important, challenging and sometimes painful issues at work, and highlights the emotional side of organisational life for individuals, work groups, and top management teams. She has a particular interest in processes of suffering, healing and growth in the workplace and is a founding member of the Compassion Lab, an international group of scholars who study compassion in organisations.
Another stream of research explores the joys and struggles of individuals pursuing the work that feels most meaningful to them, including the experience of losing the ability to do that work. Sally specialises in qualitative research, closely observing individual, team and organisational processes as they unfold in real time.
Her work has been published in the major management journals, as well as practitioner outlets such as Harvard Business Review and the MIT Sloan Management Review. Sally is the Academic Director of the Oxford High Performance Leadership programme at Oxford Saïd and contributes to a variety of other executive programmes as well as working as a leadership coach and therapist. Her training in psychology, organisational behaviour, and psychotherapy underpins all of her research, teaching, coaching and therapeutic work.
Contact name:
Orla Walsh