Julianna Pillemer
Stern School of Business
New York University
“The only professor I’ve ever had who manages to make a no-laptops class genuinely enjoyable. Her lesson plans are always interactive and fun while still being highly educational. She really values a ‘show, don’t tell’ teaching style—if there’s an Management & Organizations-adjacent experiment that would help us students understand a concept, she doesn’t just tell us about the one done 50 years ago; she reruns it using us as the subjects. She truly cares so much about engaging her students and leaving them with more than they entered with. She also makes a significant effort to build strong one-on-one relationships with her students. Easily my favorite Stern professor by a huge margin. Can’t recommend her enough.” – Massimo Montgomery
Julianna Pillemer, 39, is an Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations at NYU Stern School of Business, where she teaches Introduction to Management and Organizations to undergraduate students. She joined Stern in 2019, and her research examines the complex dynamics of interpersonal connections at work.
Pillemer studies the complexities of close workplace relationships. Specifically, she examines relational phenomena that are often treated as uniformly positive – such as authenticity, friendship, helping and widespread audience appeal – by highlighting the challenges that can accompany these phenomena and offering strategies for workers and leaders. Her research has been published in leading management journals including Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Experimental Psychology – General, Organization Science, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Research in Organizational Behavior. To increase the practical reach of her research, she has coauthored multiple Harvard Business Review articles, and her insights have been featured in Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, and Sloan Management Review and other outlets.
She earned her PhD in Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and her BA in Psychology from Pomona College. Prior to obtaining her PhD, she worked as a researcher at Harvard Business School and the Center for Creative Leadership.
BACKGROUND
At current institution since what year? 2019
Education: Ph.D. in Management (2019) University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business; B.A in Psychology (2009), Pomona College
List of Undergraduate courses you teach: Intro to Management and Organizations
TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR
I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when … I was first exposed to business school research and teaching at Harvard Business School where I worked as a research associate prior to getting my PhD. I honestly was amazed that exploring fascinating questions related to how to help people thrive at work AND getting to have deep conversations with brilliant people was an actual job you could get paid to do, and I decided then that this would be a gig worth pursuing!
What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? I have a forthcoming paper (in Administrative Science Quarterly) on how creative workers using social media to share their work manage the pressures of having a large audience. Many of these workers experience what we call “audience entanglement” – a state that can involve dysfunctional relationships with both their audience and the platform. Remaining in this place too long can lead to a crisis or meaning and a sense that their work is unsustainable. Our research also outlines strategies that workers used to develop a healthier relationship to both their followers and the platform itself, and a more optimistic sense of the sustainability of their work in the future. I hope that our findings will be really helpful to folks engaging in this type of creative work, as well as public figures managing their audience more generally.
If I weren’t a business school professor, I’d be … Probably either an executive coach or a writer of some kind. If money (and any kind of experience or operational expertise) was no object – I’d also love to be the owner of an eco-resort with a sanctuary for rescue cats.
What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? I aspire to create a classroom culture that encourages connections between students. The hour or so that students spend off of their devices, debating ideas and bouncing thoughts off one another feels increasingly rare yet precious. I am staunchly low-tech in my classroom approach, limiting technology and prioritizing experiential learning and face-to-face interaction above all else. The most gratifying thing for me is when my students come up to me after the semester ends and actually thank me for banning their phones and laptops during class!
One word that describes my first time teaching: Humbling
Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: The students you get to teach are incredibly smart and driven, and often have a very defined career path in mind as early as freshman year. The real challenge (and fun) is in opening their eyes to other pursuits that may be an even better fit for their goals and values, and watching them shine as they embrace these new horizons.
Professor I most admire and why: This is a tough question because I have been lucky to be exposed to many incredible mentors during my career. But Teresa Amabile (HBS), Adam Grant (Wharton), and Nancy Rothbard (Wharton) are all major sources of inspiration and were central to my development as a teacher and a scholar.
TEACHING BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENTS
What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? The moments of collective effervescence – when the room is buzzing with energy (or we are “vibing” as the kids say…at least I think they are still saying this).
What is most challenging? When there is a lull in engagement and I can’t pinpoint the cause of it.
In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Proactive
In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: Checked-out
When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as … Reasonably fair and transparent
LIFE OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
What are your hobbies? I love living in New York and exploring the city – going on long “urban hikes,” trying to dodge the lines at the best cafes and bagel shops, and finding some time to cook, read fiction, and spend time with friends. My husband and I are welcoming our first child any day now, so I’ve been told that I can add changing diapers to my main list of hobbies for the foreseeable future.
How will you spend your summer? My husband used to live in Berlin and we are lucky enough to still own an apartment there, so we love to spend July outside of the NYC heat amongst the Berliners in a park or biergarten.
Favorite place(s) to vacation: My extended family has been renting the same house in Gloucester, Massachusetts for more than 30 years over Labor Day weekend – watching the ocean from the porch with a lobster roll in hand is my happy place!
Favorite book(s): “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver is the best book I’ve read in the last year (choosing a single favorite is too hard)!
What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? I’ve been loving the show “Severance.” The themes of separating your professional and personal lives, navigating complicated workplace relationships, and the stresses of modern knowledge work come up both in my research and teaching so I figure I can count binge-watching the show as homework.
What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? I am a musical omnivore, and I dabble in everything from “yacht rock” to 90s hip-hop to 2010s indie to the occasional Taylor Swift ballad.
THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS
If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this … with everyone talking about AI and automation, I think that business schools should continue to prioritize real human interactions and cultivating connections among students and professors. I believe leaders of tomorrow need to be equipped with these skills more than ever.
In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at … treating their employees like humans.
I’m grateful for … my incredible community at NYU Stern!
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