How can leaders become and stay relevant in a changing world?
Nate Fast studies the psychological underpinnings of power and influence in organizations and society. His work examines the determinants and consequences of social hierarchy, the predictors of social network expansion, and how new and emerging technologies are shaping the future of work. He directs the Hierarchy, Networks, and Technology Lab (HiNT Lab) at USC and is Co-Director of the Psychology of Technology Institute. Fast is an editorial board member for Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and has received numerous awards for teaching and research, including the “Golden Apple Teaching Award” and the “Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research” at USC, as well as selection by Poets and Quants as one of the "World's 40 Best Business School Professors Under the Age of 40." He received his PhD in Organizational Behavior from Stanford University.
Featured Items
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Feeling High but Playing Low
Research published in PSPB with Kimberly Rios and Deborah Gruenfeld shows that leaders with a high need to belong respond to positions of power with submissiveness and attempts to reduce social distance. This may reduce leadership effectiveness.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Why We Network
Research in PSPB with Medha Raj and Oliver Fisher shows that identity is one of the strongest predictors of an individual’s willingness to build a stronger professional network. This suggests that finding interesting and meaningful relationship-building activities may be more motivational than appeals to self-interest and professional gain.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Managing to Stay in the Dark
Findings published in AMJ with Ethan Burris and Caroline Bartel reveal that managers with low managerial self-efficacy feel threatened by employee voice and are, therefore, less likely than their counterparts to solicit and incorporate feedback from their teams.
RESEARCH GRANT
The Future of Work
Fast is Co-PI on a three-year, $1,500,000 Minerva Research Initiative grant to examine the organizational implications of autonomy-mediated interactions (e.g., algorithms, robots, digital assistants) in groups and teams.
