Sally Maitlis

Sally conducts research into how individuals deal with challenging issues in and around their work.

This includes studies of individuals whose careers have been derailed and identities undermined by physical injury, those who encounter intractable problems in pursuing their calling, and leaders who are dealing with mental health difficulties.

Sally specialises in qualitative research, closely observing individual and organisational processes as they unfold in real time. In 2023, she was named Distinguished Scholar by the Academy of Management’s Managerial and Organizational Cognition Division.

Key research interests:

• sensemaking in organisations
• trauma and adversity at work
• resilience and growth
• meaningful work
• compassion in organisations

Find out more about Sally's research in the below videos.

A full length seminar on Sally’s recent research on negotiating the challenges of a calling.

Sally’s research on sensemaking and meaningful work is featured in an animation on building adaptive cultures by the Harvard Learning and Innovation Laboratory.

Sally and her research are featured in the documentary Broken, an exploration of injury and identity in the world of dance.

Sally’s interests are rooted in the prevalent issues and problems of working life.

Sally is frequently invited to address practitioner audiences, translating current academic research on topics such as trauma, resilience, mental health and meaning at work. In addition to her scholarly publications, Sally’s work has been published in executive outlets such as the Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, INSEAD Knowledge and the Wharton Leadership Digest.

She has a passion for the arts and much of her research has addressed challenges that face arts organisations and those working as musicians, dancers or in other creative professions. Sally previously served as Chair of the Oxford Symphony Orchestra.

Sally also has extensive experience as a consultant and coach, previously with SHL, a firm of occupational psychologists, and currently as an executive and leadership coach in Oxford. Sally’s training as a psychotherapist has also allowed her to work in a therapeutic capacity with individuals who have experienced trauma at work, and those undergoing significant career and life transitions. She is a registered psychotherapist with the United Kingdom Council for Counselling and Psychotherapy and is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist with the British Psychological Society.

Sally’s teaching is oriented towards practice, working to increase individuals’ awareness of themselves, their interpersonal dynamics at work and key organisational concepts and frameworks that can increase their workplace effectiveness. Sally has taught MBA students and executives for over 25 years, primarily in the areas of organisational behaviour and leadership.

At Oxford Saïd, she is academic director of the Oxford High Performance Leadership Programme and contributes to a wide range of other executive education programmes, including:

• Oxford Leading Professional Service Firms Programme
• Oxford Artificial Intelligence Programme
• Oxford Executive Diploma in Organisational Leadership
• a variety of custom executive education programmes for specific clients

At the PhD level, Sally specialises in qualitative research methods. She has taught qualitative research around the world, giving presentations, workshops and short courses on topics such as interviewing, ethnography, theorising and writing.