Patricia Faison Hewlin is a professor of social-organizational psychology in the department of organization and leadership at Columbia University’s Teachers College. She is also a visiting professor of organizational behavior at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, China. Prior to her current role, Dr. Hewlin was on faculty at the Desautels Faculty of Management and Ombudsperson at McGill University.
Dr. Hewlin researches factors that facilitate and impede authentic self-expression, belonging, and overall well-being in everyday work interactions. Her publications have centered on employee silence and the degree to which members suppress personal values and pretend to embrace organizational values, a behavior she has termed “creating facades of conformity.” Her research interests also include employee responses to perceived organizational value breaches, callings in the workplace, leader bottom-line mentality, diversity fault lines, and interpersonal dynamics associated with the entrance of robots in the workplace.
Her work has been published in several scholarly journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Organization Science, Chinese Management Studies, and Journal of Applied Psychology. Dr. Hewlin is published and/or quoted in Forbes, Harvard Business Review Online, Huffington Post, People Management, Greater Good Magazine, The Times, and Globe and Mail. Additionally, she is writing the book, The Middle Self: What We Get Wrong About Authenticity and Conformity – and How to Thrive as the Real “You” (Avery, Penguin Publishing Group).
Dr. Hewlin avidly translates her research findings to help people integrate more of their “true selves” in the workplace and advises leaders on fostering environments for psychologically safe and generative authentic self-expression. She is a sought-after guest speaker and advisor to organizations in a wide range of industries, from pharmaceuticals, retail and finance to film and theatre.
Before joining academia, Dr. Hewlin was a vice president and branch manager in Citi’s New York City retail business. A native New Yorker, Dr. Hewlin holds a BA in Spanish and English from Binghamton University, as well as a master’s in business administration in finance and a PhD in organizational behavior from New York University’s Stern School of Business.