PhD Defence Pisitta Vongswasdi
In her dissertation ‘Accelerating Leadership Development: An evidence-based perspective’, Pisitta Vongswasdi unpacks the notion of program effectiveness and broadens the understandings of what counts as evidence in leadership development. To further understand the different evaluation metrics of experiential leadership development programs, she then identifies how negative emotional experience and mindfulness can together contribute to training effectiveness that goes beyond training satisfaction to influence leadership learning and behavioral transfer. Pisitta Vongswasdi defended her dissertation on Wednesday, 2 December 2020 at 15:30h. Her supervisors were Prof. Dirk van Dierendonck (RSM) and Dr Hannes Leroy (RSM). Other members of the Doctoral Committee are Prof. Steffen Giessner (RSM), Prof. Daan Stam (RSM), Dr Lisa Dragoni (Wake Forest University), Prof. Bruce Avolio (University of Washington), and Dr Inga Hoever (RSM).
About Pisitta Vongswasdi
Pisitta Vongswasdi (1988) was born in Bangkok, Thailand. She joined ERIM and started her PhD at Rotterdam School of Management in 2016 and was a visiting researcher at University of Virginia Darden School of Business’s Experiential Leadership Development Lab. Before starting her PhD, she was previously a research associate in Organisational behavior at INSEAD business school (based in their Singapore campus). Before that, she worked as a public policy analyst at Sasin Institute of Global Affairs in Thailand. Pisitta also holds a Master of Science (MSc)’s degree in Sociology from University of Oxford (UK), and a Bachelor (BA)’s degree in Economics from Chulalongkorn University (Thailand). She will start the new chapter in her academic career as an Assistant Professor at WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Thesis Abstract
Leadership development has become one of the top priorities for organizations today. However, despite the popularity and multiplication of leadership development programs being offered, more research is still needed to examine these developmental efforts. This dissertation first unpacks the notion of program effectiveness and broadens the understandings of what counts as evidence in leadership development. To further understand the different evaluation metrics of experiential leadership development programs, this dissertation then identifies how negative emotional experience and mindfulness can together contribute to training effectiveness that goes beyond training satisfaction to influence leadership learning and behavioral transfer. Lastly, this dissertation identifies how to cultivate a diversity mindset—an important quality for leaders and teams—by using an experiential learning approach that allows individuals to reappreciate their past experience working with diverse others. This dissertation advances research in the field of leadership development, and provides practical insights to help enhance the effectiveness of leadership development programs and interventions in business schools and organizations.
View photos of Pisitta's defence
Photos: Chris Gorzeman / Capital Images
