CPO inspires successful researcher and author
October 26, 2020
CPO inspires successful researcher and author
Scott Sonenshein
“The faculty at the Center have taught me how to approach research in a way that’s been helpful for my own work, encouraging me to focus on questions that really matter.”
Scott Sonenshein says he has the Center for Positive Organizations (CPO) to thank for his successful and fulfilling career. Scott is professor of management at Rice University and a prolific author, writing for both academic and mainstream publications including Fast Company, Inc., The New York Times, and Time.
The faculty pioneering the field of Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS)—who would go on to found CPO—were a big reason he chose the PhD program at Michigan Ross. He saw synergy between using a positive lens to improve organizations and his research interests. While many scholars explore unethical behavior, Scott focuses on what’s working right. “I was able to take what was a seed of interest and really cultivate it into something richer,” he said.
After receiving the 2012 Award for Outstanding Published Article in POS, he recalls that Jane Dutton, one of the co-founders of CPO, said to him, “This is amazing. You should write a book about this.” The result was Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less, which became a Wall Street Journal best seller.
Stretch focused on how to activate resourcefulness to solve problems and it led to a collaboration with Marie Kondo, the world-renowned expert in de-cluttering. Their book, Joy at Work: Organizing Your Professional Life, focuses on organizing a physical workspace and providing guidance on such tasks as how to run a meeting that keeps people energized.
“Many of the ideas in the book, including how to build high-quality connections that matter, draw off of POS research,” he said. “Even the title speaks to POS principles.”
Scott is grateful for the support of his CPO colleagues. “The faculty at the Center have taught me how to approach research in a way that’s been helpful for my own work, encouraging me to focus on questions that really matter. Almost every piece of research I have published, I have presented at Center gatherings,” he said. “You get the most amazing, nurturing feedback. It’s had a huge impact on my work.
“This is an organization whose mission I strongly believe in,” he said. “I think it’s had a tremendous impact in shaping conversations in organizational behavior. Being involved in the Center is the most important contribution I can make.”
Scott Sonenshein (PhD ‘07) is the Henry Gardiner Symonds Professor of Management at Rice University and a faculty affiliate of the Center for Positive Organizations.
This story and others appear in the Center for Positive Organizations 2020 Impact Report.