My research sits where creativity, leadership and human-centered design meet. I’m especially interested in how people come to see themselves as creative, and what that changes about the way they lead.
Dissertation
Playing the Creative Advantage: Creative Role Identity of Female Leaders in Sports Media Marketing
PhD, Communication and Information, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2025
How do women leading in sports media marketing, a field long dominated by men, define and develop their creative identity, and how do their workplaces help or hold back that creativity? I interviewed 12 female leaders to find out. Their creativity grew from specific skills and a growth mindset, and they led by blending transformational and human-centered styles built on collaboration, psychological safety and empowerment. Resilience, mentors, allies and their own time in sports shaped them; inclusive, collaborative cultures fed their creativity, while over-streamlined processes and poor communication held it back.
Read the full dissertation in TRACE, UT’s research repository
Book chapters
- Morris, M. L., & Morris, J. (2024). Human centered leadership. In T. S. Rocco, M. L. Morris, & R. F. Poell (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Human Resource Development (pp. 347+). Sage.
- Morris, J. (2023). Digital advertising. In M. Schaefer & friends, The Most Amazing Marketing Book Ever (Chapter 20).
Featured in
KNOWN by Mark Schaefer, new edition (coming soon)
Newsletter
Human Centered Leadership & Change, a monthly LinkedIn newsletter I write with Lane Morris, PhD.
Book in progress
Designing What’s Next: A Flourishing Life at Any Age (with Lane Morris, PhD)
Stories, a framework and guiding questions to help people design a flourishing life on purpose, at any stage. Coming soon.
Frameworks
- Creative Alliances: a model of how creative partnerships form, moving from Bonds to Tasks to Goals
- Human-Centered Change and Transition Management (with Lane Morris, PhD): a nine-movement model for leading people through change and transitions
Learn more about this work in leadership, change and transitions at BombDiggity, LLC.