The Power of Collaboration and Mentorship
Featuring three PhD Project female members.
Dr. Angelica Leigh of Duke University, Dr. Alison Hall of the University of Texas at Arlington, and Dr. Cindy Muir (Zapata) of the University of Notre Dame met through The PhD Project—a nonprofit focused on diversifying corporate America by diversifying the role models in front of the classroom. Today these three business professors are teaming up with Dr. Traci Sitzmann of University of Colorado Boulder on a research project focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Together, they show how collaboration can drive meaningful change.
How did The PhD Project bring you three together?
Dr. Angelica Leigh: Alison, Cindy and I met at various PhD Project events over the years and admired each other’s research. Cindy was the faculty advisor for The PhD Project’s Management Doctoral Student Association (DSA) when I was a management doctoral student. Alison and Cindy met prior to Alison beginning her doctoral journey when Alison was a prospective student in the department where Cindy was an assistant professor. Cindy has served as an informal mentor for Alison since that time about 15 years ago. Cindy and Traci were looking for additional collaborators to work with them on a research project related to DEI in the workplace, and Cindy reached out to Alison and I and asked us to join the project. Given the mutual admiration and respect we all have for each other, Alison and I were very excited to join the research team.
Can you tell us a bit about your research?
Dr. Cindy Muir (Zapata): While organizations sometimes create formal organizational roles to oversee their DEI efforts (e.g. Chief Diversity Officers), most of the work related to supporting and advancing DEI is shouldered by employees whose formal job responsibilities do not include implementing and managing organizational DEI. In our research project, we are examining the process through which employees expand the boundaries of their work roles or craft their work roles to include DEI, and the implications of these employee-driven efforts. It is our hope that our research can provide insight into how organizations can better support and recognize employees who invest their time and energy into advancing organizational DEI.
What is it like collaborating with other incredible female researchers/professors?
Dr. Alison Hall: It truly has been amazing to work with this research team. While we are all women, we are still a very diverse research team in regard to race/ethnicity, academic career stage and our research expertise. We have been able to use our diverse perspectives and various strengths to build a more comprehensive research project. For example, Angelica and Traci have expertise in qualitative research, while Cindy and I are more quantitatively oriented. We are leveraging this diversity in our research expertise by including both qualitative and quantitative data in our research paper, which will help us provide a more complete understanding of the benefits and challenges associated with employees engaging in actions to advance DEI in their workplace.
Why is it important for more diverse women to collaborate and form mentorship relationships?
Dr. Angelica Leigh: Business school faculty ranks are still very male-dominated. As an assistant professor who is still early in her faculty career, it can be a bit intimidating to be one of the few women faculty in my business school. Collaborating and forming mentorship relationships with Alison, Cindy and Traci, as well as other women faculty, has been extremely beneficial for my career as it has helped me build confidence in my own expertise and has inspired me to be a mentor to other women academics who are striving to become business school faculty.
Dr. Traci Sitzmann: It’s incredibly uplifting to have the opportunity to connect with women who are experiencing similar workplace and personal challenges. At the beginning of each meeting, we take time to connect on a personal level. After connecting with women who understand my challenges and celebrate my triumphs, I feel a strong sense of belonging in our field.
Dr. Alison Hall: As women, we sometimes feel extra pressure to prove ourselves and demonstrate our value when working in male-dominated teams. In my experience collaborating with these (and other) highly competent and motivated women, the power of us working together reflects the opportunity to create and sustain productive relationships that involve less concern about status and power dynamics. The teams feel more psychologically safe for us to take risks and be vulnerable without losing face. When we are not worried about our contributions being evaluated in light of our gender, we seem to speak more freely, hear each other more clearly, challenge and sharpen each other’s ideas, and just let each other be humans with unique and worthy insights.
Dr. Cindy Muir (Zapata): While I have been fortunate to collaborate with amazing colleagues of both genders, as I have progressed in my career, I have found it increasingly important to collaborate with other women. Our team is special in a way that’s hard to describe. I feel confident that our project is better because of the dynamics of interaction we’ve nurtured. I am so thankful for Alison, Angelica and Traci (in alphabetical order)!
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