Amy Edmondson

Amy Edmondson’s background

Amy’s chair was established to support the study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful enterprises that contribute to the betterment of society. Both professionally and personally, Professor Edmondson personifies these values.

She was recognized by the biannual Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 and was honoured with the Talent Award in 2017. She studies teaming, psychological safety, and leadership, and has written over 70 articles and case studies on leadership, teams, innovation, and organizational learning. She has received numerous awards, including the Accenture Award for significant contribution to improving the practice of management, the Cummings Award for mid-career achievement from the Academy of Management, and one of the 20 Most Influential International Thinkers in Human Resources award by HR Magazine.

Her books Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate and Compete in the Knowledge Economy, Teaming to Innovate and Extreme Teaming explore teamwork in dynamic organizational environments. In Building the Future: Big Teaming for Audacious Innovation, she examines the challenges and opportunities of teaming across industries to build smart cities. Her latest book, The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth offers a practical guide for organizations serious about success in the modern economy. This book explores the culture of psychological safety and provides a blueprint for bringing it to life.

A beloved professor at HBS as well as a respected and compelling speaker and consultant to corporations, government entities, and nonprofit organizations worldwide, Amy Edmondson typically receives the highest audience evaluations with clients often adding that she changed their thinking and was the best speaker they had ever engaged.

Professor Edmondson received her PhD in organizational behavior, AM in psychology, and AB in engineering and design, all from Harvard University.