Experience
Before joining CCL, Kate served as an Assistant Professor of Management in the Johnson College of Business and Economics at the University of South Carolina Upstate, where she taught Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, and Negotiation Strategies. She has consulted for private, non-profit, and public organizations on issues such as leader development, organizational design, performance management, and employee engagement.
Kate’s primary research areas include multilevel, social, and network approaches to leadership, career development (especially women’s and executive career development), and organizational research methods. Her work has been published in the Journal of Management, Journal of Business and Psychology, and Industrial and Organizational Psychology. She regularly presents her research at the annual conferences for the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the Academy of Management, and the Southern Management Association.
Current Role
Kate is a Research Scientist and Principal Investigator of the Network Approaches to Leadership project in the Research Horizons group at CCL in Greensboro, NC. She is also a member of CCL’s Relational Leadership community of practice.
Areas of Expertise
Leadership Systems & Models, Interdependent Leadership, Networking, Women’s Leadership
Education
Ph.D. in Organizational Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; M.A. in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; B.A. in Psychology and Spanish from Michigan State University
Professional Affiliations
Kate is an Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Business and Psychology. She is an active member of the Academy of Management, the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and the Southern Management Association.
Curriculum Vitae
Kate’s primary research areas include multilevel, social, and network approaches to leadership, career development (especially women’s and executive career development), and organizational research methods. Her work has been published in the Journal of Business and Psychology, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and Management Research Review. She regularly presents her research at the annual conferences for the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the Academy of Management, and the Southern Management Association.
Before joining CCL, Kate served as an Assistant Professor of Management in the Johnson College of Business and Economics at the University of South Carolina Upstate, where she taught Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, and Negotiation Strategies. She has consulted for private, non-profit, and public organizations on issues such as leader development, organizational design, performance management, and employee engagement.
Select External Publications
- Banks, G. C., Woznyj, H. M., Wesslan, R. S., Frear, K. A., Berka, G, Heggestad, E. D., & Gordon, H. L. (In press) Strategic recruitment across borders: An investigation of multinational enterprises. Journal of Management.
- Supported supervisors are more supportive, but why? A multilevel study of mechanisms and outcomes
- CEO background and the adoption of Western-style human resource practices in ChinaCareer Success
- Employees’ feelings about more meetings: An overt analysis and recommendations for improving meetings
- From elusive to obvious: Improving performance management through specificity
Honors, Awards, Grants
- Career Attitudes of Working Adults, 2017. Teaching and Productive Scholarship grant, USC Upstate, $2,000.
- A Grounded Theory Study of the Meaning of Career Success, 2015. Teaching and Productive Scholarship grant, USC Upstate, $1,750.
- Gendered Models of Career Success, 2015. Research support provided by the Office of Sponsored Awards and Research Support, USC Upstate, $1,250.
- Most Significant, Positive Contribution to a Student’s Career nomination, 2013, 2014. Senior Survey, UNC Charlotte.
- Outstanding Reviewer, 2012. Southern Management Association annual conference in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
- Gender and the Career Experiences of Business School Alumni, 2011. Research grant funded by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Women’s Summit, $25,300. Principal Investigator: Frear, K. A. Co-Investigators: Paustian-Underdahl, S. C., Walker, L. S.
