Jack Goncalo

Jack Goncalo is a Professor of Business Administration and Area Chair of Organizational Behavior/Business Law at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Gies College of Business. He holds the A. Robert & Helen P. Seass Fellowship and has been affiliated with the institution since 2016. Previously, he served as a Full Professor at Cornell University (2015–2016) and held tenured positions there from 2004 to 2016.

Dr. Goncalo earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from the University of California, Berkeley (2004), following an M.S. (2001) and B.A. (1999) in Psychology from the same institution. His research focuses on creativity, group dynamics, power dynamics, and the psychological underpinnings of social behavior in organizational settings.

His work explores how factors like social rejection, power, and cultural norms influence creativity. Notable areas include the link between creativity and self-disclosure, the impact of political correctness on mixed-sex groups, and the cognitive effects of religious beliefs on innovation. His studies often highlight unexpected consequences of creativity, such as increased indulgent behaviors post-creative tasks or the paradoxical stifling of creativity by divine thinking.

Dr. Goncalo has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and conference papers. His awards include the A. Robert and Helen P. Seass Fellowship. He teaches courses like ‘Leading Individuals and Teams,’ focusing on employee motivation and organizational strategies. His research has been featured in outlets like Psychological Science, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

Current research interests include the interplay between authenticity and creativity, the costs of creative freedom, and the role of status and power in collective creativity.