Overview
Background
Prof. Nicola M. Pless is an expert in Sustainability, Leadership, Leadership Development & Executive Education and a pioneer and thought leader in responsible leadership. She is listed in the Stanford University Ranking of Top 2% of World Scientists and has been recognized for outstanding performance internationally by TOP-ScholarGPS (lifetime) listed among the top 0.5% of all scholars worldwide, in leadership ranked #135 globally and #10 in Australia; in ethics ranked #58 globally and #3 in Australia.
She is a Chaired Professor of Management at the University of South Australia / Adelaide Univeristy, Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland and served on the faculties of INSEAD, EASDE and University of St. Gallen. She also held honorary positions at EBS University in Germany and at the University of Antwerp. She serves as an Advisor to the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (partnership of EFMD, AACSB and UNGC). She sits on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Perspectices and Academy of Management Collections (2023 AOM Best Reviewer Award). In additiion, she has substantial executive experience in board functions and as former Vice President International Leadership Development working for a global Fortune 100 companies in Switzerland. She also served at the World Bank Group in Washington DC.
She has published several books and over 90 academic papers, among them 18 articles classified as A/A* on the Australian ABDC-list, 15 articles on the FT50 list. Her research on responsible leadership, sustainability, global governance, ethics, diversity & inclusion, and neuroscience appeared in leading academic journals (e.g., Academy of Management Learning & Education, Academy of Management Perspectives, Human Resource Management, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Management Studies, Organizational Research Methods), received numerous awards (among them four Academy of Management Awards), and has been featured in the media (e.g., BBC, Boston Globe, Business Week, CEO Magazine, EL PAIS, Fortune, Psychology Today). She has mentored numerous PhD students and early career researchers to success. Her teaching was honoured with the Aspen Institute’s Faculty Pioneer Award. She is a certified executive coach by INSEAD and IECL, and a Fellow of the Institute of Coaching at McClean Hospital / Harvard Medical School Affiliate.
Her mission is to contribute through research, teaching and collaboration to the development of responsible global leaders.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolapless/
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SELECTION OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Books
Maak, T., M., Pless, N.M., Orlitzky, M., & Sandhu, S. (Eds.) (2023). The Routledge Companion to Corporate Social Responsibility. New York and London: Routledge.
Pless, N.M. & Maak, T. (Eds.; 2nd revised edition) (2022). Responsible Leadership. London, New York: Routledge.
Articles
Javed, M.**, Pless, N. Waldman, A. E., et al. (2024). What, When, and How of Responsible Leadership: Taking Stock of Eighteen Years of Research and Future Agenda. Journal of Management Studies. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.13157 [FT50/BW20 list; ABDC: A*; 2022: 5y IF: 10,5]
Yildiz, M.*, Pless N. M., Ceyhan, S. & Hallak, R. (2023). Responsible Leadership and Innovation during COVID-19: Evidence from the Australian Tourism and Hospitatlity Sector, Sustainability, 15(6), 1-22. [Q1 journal]
Pless, N. M., Sengupta, A.**, Wheeler, M., & Maak, T. (2022). Responsible Leadership and the reflective CEO: Resolving stakeholder conflict by imagining what could be done. Journal of Business Ethics, 180(1), 313-337. [FT50/BW20 list; ABDC: A, 5y IF: 8,086]
Wang, D.*, Waldman, Balthazard, P. A., Stikic, M., Pless, N. M., Maak, T., Berka, C. & Richardson, T. (2021). Applying Neuroscience to Emergent Processes in Teams. Organizational Research Methods. 24(3), 595-615. [ABDC list: A*, JCR 12/194 in Management, 18/226 Psychology, IF 2020: 5-year IF 9,289] *PhD at project start. **Early Career Researcher
AWARDS
2023 Academy of Management Best Reviewer Award 2023 Academy of Management Award Finalist, Honour by the League of Leadership (Division: MED, Management Education) 2022 Academy of Management Best Paper Award (Division: NEU, Neuroscience) 2011 Academy of Management Best Paper Award (Division: MED, Management Education) 2010 Academy of Management Caroly Dexter Finalist Award (all Academy of Management Award)
Aspen Institute, Aspen Faculty Pioneer Award Winner for Teaching Innovation & Excellence, NYC
Availability
- Honorary Professor Nicola Pless is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Research impacts
Professor Pless is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of responsible leadership - a topic that has shaped the agenda of the World Economic Forum since 2017 when WEF dedicated its annual summit to the topic of "Responsive and responsible leadership".
- Listed in the Stanford University Ranking of Top 2% of World Scientists (authors single year list)
- Named TOP ScholarGPS (lifetime) for being in the top 0.5% of all scholars worldwide; recognized for outstanding performance across disciplines; in Leadership ranked 135 out of 57.191, 0.1% of researchers)
- Publications: ˃ 90 academic contributions, 15 articles on FT50 list, 18 classified as A/A*, Australian ABDC-list
Works
Search Professor Nicola Pless’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Journal Article
Editorial: Special collection on responsible leadership in emerging economies
Pless, Nicola, Smit, Arnold and Winkler-Titus, Natasha (2025). Editorial: Special collection on responsible leadership in emerging economies. South African Journal of Business Management, 56 (1) a5312. doi: 10.4102/sajbm.v56i1.5312
2024
Journal Article
What, when, and how of responsible leadership: Taking stock of eighteen years of research and a future agenda
Javed, Muzhar, Pless, Nicola, Waldman, David A., Garavan, Thomas, Gull, Ammar Ali, Akhtar, Muhammad Waheed, Mouri, Nacef, Sengupta, Atri and Maak, Thomas (2024). What, when, and how of responsible leadership: Taking stock of eighteen years of research and a future agenda. Journal of Management Studies. doi: 10.1111/joms.13157
2023
Book Chapter
Juggling the interests of different stakeholders?: The roles of responsible leadership and human resource management
Sengupta, Atri and Pless, Nicola M. (2023). Juggling the interests of different stakeholders?: The roles of responsible leadership and human resource management. Readings and cases in international human resource management. (pp. 513-521) edited by Sebastian B. Reiche, Günter K. Stahl, Mark E. Mendenhall and Gary R. Oddou. New York, NY USA: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003247272-37
2023
Journal Article
On the global emergence of responsible leadership: purpose and social identity
Pless, Nicola M. (2023). On the global emergence of responsible leadership: purpose and social identity. Emerald Open Research, 5, 15. doi: 10.35241/emeraldopenres.15078.1
2023
Journal Article
On the global emergence of responsible leadership: purpose and social identity
Pless, Nicola M. (2023). On the global emergence of responsible leadership: purpose and social identity. Emerald Open Research, 1 (11). doi: 10.1108/eor-11-2023-0003
2023
Journal Article
Responsible leadership and innovation during COVID-19: evidence from the Australian tourism and hospitality sector
Yildiz, Mehmet, Pless, Nicola, Ceyhan, Semih and Hallak, Rob (2023). Responsible leadership and innovation during COVID-19: evidence from the Australian tourism and hospitality sector. Sustainability, 15 (6) 4922, 1-21. doi: 10.3390/su15064922
2022
Journal Article
Media representation of COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Australian hospitality businesses
Yildiz, Abdullah, Guzel, Oktay, Yildiz, Mehmet, Ceyhan, Semih, Pless, Nicola and Aytekin, Ihsan (2022). Media representation of COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Australian hospitality businesses. Anatolia, 34 (4), 593-611. doi: 10.1080/13032917.2022.2109051
2022
Book Chapter
In pursuit of dignity and social justice: Changing lives through 100 percent inclusion-an example of responsible leadership and sustainable rural development
Pless, Nicola M. and Appel, Jenny (2022). In pursuit of dignity and social justice: Changing lives through 100 percent inclusion-an example of responsible leadership and sustainable rural development. The Routledge Companion to Corporate Social Responsibility. (pp. 226-241) edited by Thomas Maak, Nicola Pless, Marc Orlitzky and Sukhbir Sandhu. New York, NY United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003152651-22
2022
Book Chapter
Global governance CSR and the role of the UN Global Compact
Voegtlin, Christian and Pless, Nicola M. (2022). Global governance CSR and the role of the UN Global Compact. Routledge companion to corporate social responsibility. (pp. 150-167) edited by Thomas Maak, Nicola Pless, Marc Orlitzky and Sukhbir Sandhu. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
2022
Book Chapter
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) bringing society back in
Maak, Thomas and Pless, Nicola M. (2022). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) bringing society back in. Global governance CSR and the role of the UN Global Compact. (pp. 1-13) edited by Thomas Maak, Nicola Pless, Marc Orlitzky and Sukhbir Sandhu. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
2021
Journal Article
Responsible leadership and the reflective CEO: resolving stakeholder conflict by imagining what could be done
Pless, Nicola M., Sengupta, Atri, Wheeler, Melissa A. and Maak, Thomas (2021). Responsible leadership and the reflective CEO: resolving stakeholder conflict by imagining what could be done. Journal of Business Ethics, 180 (1), 313-337. doi: 10.1007/s10551-021-04865-6
2020
Book Chapter
Development of employee engagement through CSR
Kidd, Andy, Maak, Thomas, Pless, Nicola and Harris, Howard (2020). Development of employee engagement through CSR. Employee Engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility. (pp. 28-46) edited by Debbie Haski-Leventhal, Lonneke Roza and Stephen Brammer. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.4135/9781529739176.n3
2019
Book Chapter
Responsible leadership: reconciling people, purpose, and profit
Maak, Thomas and Pless, Nicola M. (2019). Responsible leadership: reconciling people, purpose, and profit. Good dividends: responsible leadership of business purpose. (pp. 30-36) edited by Steve Kempster, Thomas Maak and Ken Parry. New York, United States: Routledge.
2019
Book Chapter
Planetary dividend: leadership as stewardship
Maak, Thomas and Pless, Nicola M. (2019). Planetary dividend: leadership as stewardship. Good dividends: responsible leadership of business purpose. (pp. 139-153) edited by Steve Kempster, Thomas Maak and Ken Parry. New York, United States: Routledge.
2017
Book Chapter
Mindfulness, reperceiving, and ethical decision making: A neurological perspective
Pless, Nicola, Sabatella, Filomena and Maak, Thomas (2017). Mindfulness, reperceiving, and ethical decision making: A neurological perspective. Research in Ethical Issues in Organizations. (pp. 1-20) edited by Michael Schwartz and Howard Harris. Bingley, United Kingdom: Emerald Publishing. doi: 10.1108/s1529-209620170000017001
2017
Book Chapter
Applying neuroscience to business ethics
Sabatella, Filomena, Pless, Nicola M. and Maak, Thomas (2017). Applying neuroscience to business ethics. Cambridge handbook of research approaches to business ethics and corporate responsibility. (pp. 199-209) edited by Patricia H. Werhane, R. Edward Freeman and Sergiy Dmytriyev. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781316584385.014
2016
Book Chapter
Levi Strauss & Co.: Addressing child labour in Bangladesh
Pless, Nicola and Maak, Thomas (2016). Levi Strauss & Co.: Addressing child labour in Bangladesh. Readings and Cases in International Human Resource Management. (pp. 466-476) edited by Sebastian B. Reiche, Günter K. Stahl, Mark E. Mendenhall and Gary R. Oddou. New York, NY United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315668703-35
2014
Journal Article
Comparative analysis of international service learning programs
Pless, Nicola M. and Borecká, Markéta (2014). Comparative analysis of international service learning programs. Journal of Management Development, 33 (6), 526-550. doi: 10.1108/JMD-04-2014-0034
2014
Book Chapter
Leader mindfulness and ethical decision making
Eisenbeiss, Silke Astrid, Maak, Thomas and Pless, Nicola M. (2014). Leader mindfulness and ethical decision making. Advances in authentic and ethical leadership. (pp. 191-208) edited by Linda L. Neider and Chester A. Schrieshiem. Charlotte, NC, United States: Information Age Publishing.
2014
Journal Article
Global Governance: CSR and the Role of the UN Global Compact
Voegtlin, Christian and Pless, Nicola M. (2014). Global Governance: CSR and the Role of the UN Global Compact. Journal of Business Ethics, 122 (2), 179-191. doi: 10.1007/s10551-014-2214-8
Supervision
Availability
- Honorary Professor Nicola Pless is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Transformational learning in practice the exploration of teachers and school leaders role in the design of professional learning
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Terrance Fitzsimmons, Professor Thomas Maak
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Doctor Philosophy
Sustainability at a Crossroad: Responsible Leadership in Australian Mining
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Peter Do, Professor Thomas Maak, Professor Kathleen Herbohn
Media
Enquiries
Contact Honorary Professor Nicola Pless directly for media enquiries about their areas of expertise.
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