Thinking Big Book Club - The Conversation

Dr. Robert W. Livingston is a Lecturer of Public Policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Prior to joining Harvard, he held full-time faculty positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and the University of Sussex in England, where he was also Director of the Centre for Leadership, Ethics, and Diversity (LEAD). In addition, he has held visiting faculty positions at Princeton University and Carnegie Mellon University.

Broadly speaking, Dr. Livingston’s research focuses on diversity, leadership, and social justice. His work has been published in multiple top-tier academic journals such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Psychological Science, and the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and has been featured in prominent media outlets such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC, Newsweek, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, Financial Times, ABC News, The Guardian, CNN, Yahoo, and MSNBC. He has also authored several book chapters and co-edited an award-winning book on social identity and intergroup relations (with Roderick Kramer at Stanford University).

More specifically, Dr. Livingston’s research ranges from micro-level experimental investigations of the psychological and physiological processes that underlie implicit bias (e.g., stereotyping, prejudice)—to more macro-level examinations of discrimination in society and the workplace, particularly in upper-level leadership positions. For example, his research on the “Teddy Bear Effect”, finding that Black CEO’s (but not White CEOs) uniquely benefit from “disarming mechanisms” (e.g., babyfaceness) that make them appear warmer and less threatening, has been widely cited. He is also known for his research on “intersectionality” which explores variability in perception and treatment of individuals within the same gender (e.g., Black women--White women) or racial (e.g., Black men--Black women) categories.

Dr. Livingston has delivered diversity training and has served as a management consultant for numerous Fortune 500 companies, as well as public-sector agencies/municipalities and non-profit organizations. He also teaches in executive education programs and has received multiple awards and recognition for excellence in teaching. In his spare time, he enjoys jazz, wine and whiskey tasting, philosophy, art and interior design, real estate investing, outdoor activities, and wildlife documentaries. He has resided in five countries and is fluent in four languages.