Scholarship and Biography
Sandra Cha is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Brandeis University's International Business School. She teaches executive, masters, and undergraduate students, and has been featured as “Professor of the Week” in the Financial Times.
Professor Cha conducts research on leadership, diversity, authenticity, identity, and corporate values in 21st-century organizations. Her work on diversity and authenticity examines how individuals manage their own identities—such as by expressing, suppressing, or acting upon various facets of who they are—in demographically diverse organizations. Bringing one’s “whole self” to work can be challenging, especially for cultural minorities from historically lower status identity groups, such as women and racial minorities. Cultural minorities often face negative stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination, which can undermine organizational performance and individual careers. Thus, the management of diverse identities is a critically important issue for 21st-century organizations, as workforces around the world diversify at unprecedented rates.
Her work on leadership focuses on "values-driven leadership": how leaders can inspire and motivate employee performance by appealing to shared values such as quality, respect for employees, or social responsibility. Corporate values have become an increasingly powerful leadership tool at a time when traditional sources of meaning and identity, such as religious institutions, have been eroded. Further, shared values can help to focus employees on a company's strategic priorities, motivating and coordinating employees without impinging on the autonomy needed for excellent performance under changing conditions.
Professor Cha’s research has been published in journals including Organization Science, the Academy of Management Annals, the Journal of Applied Psychology, The Leadership Quarterly, and Harvard Business Review. She has received multiple awards for her research, including the Accenture Award for a significant contribution to management.
Professor Cha holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior, awarded jointly by Harvard Business School and the Harvard Department of Psychology. She also earned an M.A. in Social Psychology and a B.A. in Psychology (magna cum laude) from Harvard University. Her past homes include La Paz, Bolivia; Manila, Philippines; Montreal, Canada; and Washington, D.C.