Michelle Barton, PhD

Michelle A. Barton, PhD is an Associate Professor of Management & Organization at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School with expertise in organizational and team resilience, managing uncertainty, and interpersonal effectiveness during adversity.

Michelle’s research often draws from ‘extreme’ environments (e.g., wildland firefighting, expedition racing) to understand how groups make sense of ambiguous situations, how they coordinate, learn, and share knowledge in the midst of confusion and how they mitigate and recover from adversity. She is especially focused on the relational dynamics that enable these practices. Michelle’s work has appeared in premier academic journals (e.g., Academy of Management Review, Organization Studies, Human Relations) as well as leading practitioner journals (e.g., Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review) and several edited volumes. She has presented her research in a wide range of professional venues from NASA to the Children’s Hospital Association, and leads workshops on cultivating organizational and team resilience.

At the Carey Business School, Michelle teaches MBA and Executive Education courses on leadership and organizational behavior including topics such as leading in times of uncertainty, power and influence, and leading change. Before her academic career, Michelle spent ten years with Harvard Business Publishing, where she was a co-founder of their eLearning business and the global Product Director for Leadership and Management Development programs. While there, she helped produce over 20 interactive learning programs for managers. Prior to that, she was an Associate at the Boston Consulting Group. Michelle earned her PhD in management and organizations from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and a BA in psychology from Pomona College.