
Overview
Background
Nik is Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Business and Organisational Psychology (CBOP) at UQ's School of Psychology. After studying and working in Germany, the UK, and Spain, he completed his PhD at the University of Exeter (UK) and joined UQ in 2012.
His research unpacks the psychology of teams and organisations: how shared identity and team processes shape leadership and followership, motivation and creativity, and health and well-being. He combines experiments, field, survey, and archival research, intervention trials, psychometric development, and systematic reviews / meta-analyses to generate informative and practical insights.
His work has been supported by industry–research partnerships with public and private organisations, Government, and the Australian Research Council (including a DECRA fellowship). With colleagues and industry collaborators, he co-developed the 5R leadership programme—recognised with the APS Workplace Excellence Award (Leadership Development)—to help develop people's leadership ability and enhance team functioning and well-being (https://tinyurl.com/adfu7xbu).
He is a co-founder of the Global Identity Leadership Development (GILD) network and serves on the editorial boards of The Leadership Quarterly and the European Journal of Social Psychology. He is co-editor (with Michelle Ryan and Floor Rink) of Organisational Psychology: Revisiting the Classic Studies (SAGE, 2023) (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/organisational-psychology/book269849).
Through research–practice partnerships, he offers data- and evidence-based consulting and organisational coaching (certified by the Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership), helping organisations translate research into performance and wellbeing gains.
Availability
- Associate Professor Nik Steffens is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Exeter
Works
Search Professor Nik Steffens’s works on UQ eSpace
2015
Journal Article
Believing in ‘us’: exploring leaders’ capacity to enhance team confidence and performance by building a sense of shared social identity
Fransen, Katrien, Haslam, S. Alexander, Steffens, Niklas K., Vanbeselaere, Norbert, De Cuyper, Bert and Boen, Filip (2015). Believing in ‘us’: exploring leaders’ capacity to enhance team confidence and performance by building a sense of shared social identity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 21 (1), 89-100. doi: 10.1037/xap0000033
2015
Journal Article
There is no leadership if no one follows: Why leadership is necessarily a group process
Platow, Michael J., Haslam, S. Alexander, Reicher, Stephen D. and Steffens, Niklas K. (2015). There is no leadership if no one follows: Why leadership is necessarily a group process. International Coaching Psychology Review, 10 (1), 20-37.
2015
Journal Article
'Of the group' and 'for the group': How followership is shaped by leaders' prototypicality and group identification
Steffens, Niklas K, Schuh, Sebastian, Haslam, S. Alexander, Perez, Antonia and van Dick , Rolf (2015). 'Of the group' and 'for the group': How followership is shaped by leaders' prototypicality and group identification. European Journal of Social Psychology, 45 (2), 180-190. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2088
2015
Journal Article
Why a nudge is not enough: a social identity critique of governance by stealth
Mols, Frank, Haslam, S. Alexander, Jetten, Jolanda and Steffens, Niklas K. (2015). Why a nudge is not enough: a social identity critique of governance by stealth. European Journal of Political Research, 54 (1), 81-98. doi: 10.1111/1475-6765.12073
2015
Journal Article
The neuroscience of inspirational leadership: the importance of collective-oriented language and shared group membership.
Molenberghs, Pascal, Prochilo, Guy, Steffens, Niklas K., Zacher, Hannes and Haslam, S. Alexander (2015). The neuroscience of inspirational leadership: the importance of collective-oriented language and shared group membership.. Journal of Management, 43 (7), 2168-2194. doi: 10.1177/0149206314565242
2014
Journal Article
Organizational tenure and employee performance: a multilevel analysis
Steffens, Niklas K., Shemla, Meir, Wegge, Juergen and Diestel, Stefan (2014). Organizational tenure and employee performance: a multilevel analysis. Group and Organization Management, 39 (6), 664-690. doi: 10.1177/1059601114553512
2014
Book Chapter
To lead, ASPIRe: Building organic organizational identity
Peters, Kim, Haslam, S. Alexander, Ryan, Michelle K. and Steffens, Niklas K. (2014). To lead, ASPIRe: Building organic organizational identity. Towards inclusive organizations: Determinants of successful diversity management at work. (pp. 87-107) edited by Sabine Otten, Karen van der Zee and Marilynn B. Brewer. New York, United States: Psychology Press.
2014
Other Outputs
Incentives and Australians’ passport care
Greenaway, Katharine, Peters, Kim, Steffens, Niklas, Haslam, S. Alexander, Sanderson, Penelope and Tangen, Jason (2014). Incentives and Australians’ passport care.
2014
Journal Article
Leaders enhance group members' work engagement and reduce their burnout by crafting social identity
Steffens, Niklas K., Haslam, S. Alexander, Kerschreiter, Rudolf, Schuh, Sebastian C. and van Dick, Rolf (2014). Leaders enhance group members' work engagement and reduce their burnout by crafting social identity. Zeitschrift fur Personalforschung, 28 (1-2), 173-194. doi: 10.1688/ZfP-2014-01-Steffens
2013
Journal Article
Leader performance and prototypicality: their inter-relationship and impact on leaders' identity entrepreneurship
Steffens, Niklas K., Haslam, S. Alexander, Ryan, Michelle K. and Kessler, Thomas (2013). Leader performance and prototypicality: their inter-relationship and impact on leaders' identity entrepreneurship. European Journal of Social Psychology, 43 (7), 606-613. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.1985
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Nik Steffens is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
The Role of Social Identity in Leadership Coaching
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alex Haslam
-
Doctor Philosophy
From Privilege to Autocracy: The Hidden Costs of Inequality in Resource Distribution on Leadership Behaviors
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alex Haslam
-
Doctor Philosophy
Identity leadership in action: An ethnographic approach to identify leadership behaviours in a professional football team
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alex Haslam, Professor Cliff Mallett
-
Doctor Philosophy
Scaling identity leadership: Pathways to the implementation of a social identity-based leadership development program
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alex Haslam
-
Doctor Philosophy
Social identity processes affecting retirement from sport
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Catherine Haslam, Professor Alex Haslam
Completed supervision
-
2025
Master Philosophy
Leadership in Group Exercise
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alex Haslam
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding what it means to be 'us': Collective identity content and clarity.
Principal Advisor
-
2023
Master Philosophy
What Does it Mean to Follow? Exploring Theories, Definitions, and Measures of Followership
Principal Advisor
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
How leaders fall: Exploring the process of leadership destabilization
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alex Haslam
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
From Intent to Impact: Spotlighting the Understudied Role of Employee Inclusivity
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Stacey Parker, Professor Tyler Okimoto
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Social Connectedness and Retirement Adjustment: The Contribution of Social Participation and Social Group Memberships
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Catherine Haslam
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
An Examination of Players' Shared Leadership in the Australian Men's Professional Football League
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Steven Rynne, Professor Cliff Mallett
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Who Aspires to Have More? The Impacts of Social Class and Economic Inequality on People's Desire for Wealth and Status
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jolanda Jetten
-
2017
Master Philosophy
A Social Identity Perspective on the Management of Confidential Information in Organisational Contexts
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alex Haslam
Media
Enquiries
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