Portrait of Michelle Bligh

Michelle C. Bligh is the interim executive vice president & provost and a professor of organizational behavior in the Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences at Claremont Graduate University. Her research interests focus on organizational culture and the role of leaders in influencing and changing corporate cultures, particularly in post-merger organizations. In addition, her research interests include charismatic leadership, interpersonal trust, and political and executive leadership.

She received her BA in Anthropology from Pomona College before receiving her MS and PhD in Management & Organizational Behavior from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Bligh has helped a variety of public and private-sector organizations assess and improve their effectiveness in the areas of leadership development, organizational culture, and change management. Through the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College, the Center for International Leadership in Buffalo, New York, and the Center for Leadership Innovation and Mentorship Building (CLIMB) at California State University San Marcos, she has worked in a number of industries, including local and state law enforcement, consulting, health care, and real estate.

Her work has been published in Journal of Applied Psychology, Leadership, Employee Relations, The Leadership Quarterly, Applied Psychology: An International Review, Group and Organization Management, Journal of Managerial Psychology, and The Journal of Business Ethics, and she was awarded the 2003 Sage Outstanding Paper Award for Research Methods.

She serves on the editorial review board of The Leadership Quarterly and is co-editor of a 2007 special issue of Applied Psychology: An International Review on follower-centric approaches to leadership. She recently co-edited a book titled Follower-Centered Perspectives on Leadership: A Tribute to the Memory of James R. Meindl as part of the Leadership Horizons series.

Co-authored with B. Schyns. “Foreword and Introduction.” In Inclusive Leadership: Negotiating Gendered Spaces, edited by S. Adapa and A. Sheridan. Palgrave Macmillan Publishing, 2018.

Co-authored with J.C. Kohles and Q. Yan. “Leading and Learning to Change: The Role of Leadership Style and Mindset in Error Learning and Organizational Change.” Journal of Change Management. 2018.

Co-authored with B.A. Blair. “Looking for Leadership in All the Wrong Places: The Impact of Culture on Proactive Followership and Follower Dissent.” Journal of Social Issues. In press.

“Romance of Leadership.” Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, edited by A. Farazmand, 1-4. Springer International Publishing, 2017.

Co-authored with M.T. Babalowa, B. Ogunfowora, L. Guo and O.A. Garba. “The Mind is Willing, but the Situation Constrains: Why and When Leader Conscientiousness Relates to Ethical Leadership.” Journal of Business Ethics (April 2017): 1-15.

Co-authored with A. Ito. “Organizational Processes and Systems That Affect Women in Leadership.” In Handbook of Research on Gender and Leadership, edited by S.R. Madsen, 287-303. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017.

Organizational Behavior
Organizational Culture
Organizational Theory
Leadership & Followership
Cross-Cultural Management