PROFILE

Susan J. Ashford, Ph.D., holds the Michael and Susan Jandernoa Professorship of Management and Organizations at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. She has been a faculty member at the Ross School since 1991, having taught previously at the Amos Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College (1983–1991). She served as the school’s senior associate dean from 1998–2002, the associate dean for leadership development programming from 2007–2010, and the faculty director of the Executive MBA program from 2002-2012.

Sue received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University. She has taught in executive development programs at the University of Michigan, Dartmouth College, Duke University, and for Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, and Whirlpool Corporations. She has consulted to various organizations, including General Electric and Merrill Lynch, and has also served as a trainer for the management simulation project at New York University, training executives from various organizations in strategic and interpersonal skills.

Sue’s research has long focused on the ways individuals enhance their own effectiveness and have a positive impact in organizations, whether it is by seeking feedback on their own behavior, selling issues to managers above them, or getting established in a new role effectively. Sue’s recent research focuses on the power of coming to see oneself as a leader and the value in leading from any organizational level. Her research has been published in a variety of outlets, including the Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Strategic Management Journal, and Journal of Applied Psychology. Sue has served as a consulting editor for the Academy of Management Journal, where she remains an editorial board member. She also is an associate editor for the Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior. She was elected a fellow of the Academy of Management professional association in 2002.

Sue is married to a fellow academic, Jim Walsh, and is a mom to three daughters. When not working, Sue enjoys hiking, family, and novel reading.