Dr. Klodiana Lanaj
Martin L. Schaffel Professor Klodiana Lanaj

Warrington management professor named among 30 thinkers to watch

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dr. Klodiana Lanaj, Martin L. Schaffel Professor in the University of Florida Warrington College of Business’ Department of Management, was named among a list of 30 worldwide thinkers to watch in the coming year as a member of Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2020.

Thinkers50 Radar is produced annually and features the top 30 emerging management and business thinkers whose ideas are likely to make lasting contributions to how organizations are managed and led. Thinkers50 Radar brings an eclectic and compelling group of thinkers to the attention of the broader audience of managers and leaders in organizations worldwide.

“I’m deeply grateful to be part of Thinkers50 Radar list for 2020,” Lanaj said. “It’s wonderful being part of such an inspiring group of people whose ideas are changing leadership thinking.”

Thinkers50 Radar described Lanaj as someone who “combines research rigor with human and humane insights.”

“The 30 thinkers are truly global in reach and aspiration,” said Thinkers50 Founders Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove. “And they are tackling the big issues of our times with rigor and energy. We salute them, look forward to watching their ideas develop and hope that they succeed in putting a dent in the universe.”

The Thinkers50 Radar recognition is one of multiple honors Lanaj has received. In 2019, she received the 2019 Distinguished Early Career Contributions Science Award by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). She has received three Excellence in MBA Teaching Awards from the Warrington College of Business, the University of Florida Excellence Award for Assistant Professors and a UF Hough Faculty Research Fellowship from 2015-2018.

Her research highlights the complexity of leadership work by documenting the benefits and costs of helping followers with task and personal issues, of possessing leader-like qualities, and of exerting influence in teams. Her current work focuses on building interventions that energize leaders rendering them more impactful at work and more fulfilled at home. She has produced more than 25 refereed publications, which have been cited about 1900 times according to Google Scholar. Lanaj also currently serves on the editorial boards of many prestigious journals including Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

In addition to her research contributions, Lanaj teaches organizational behavior and leadership courses to Warrington’s MBA and specialized master’s students. She also serves as an adviser to doctoral students in Warrington’s management department and Doctor of Business Administration program.

Lanaj received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University as well as a B.A. in Business Administration and a B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communications from the American University in Bulgaria.