Author Details
Paula J. Caproni is a faculty member in the Management and Organizations Department at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Professor Caproni received her MBA from the University of Massachusetts and her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Yale University.
In addition to teaching about leadership skills, effective coaching, developing power and influence, and creating high performing teams in the University of Michigan MBA and Executive Programs, Professor Caproni served as the Academic Director of the Full-Time and Part-Time MBA Programs. She has coached over 500 executives and served as the lead Professional Development Coach for the Executive MBA Program and several Executive Education programs. She has taught for the Helsinki School of Economics, the Catho Group (Brazil), the Ross Global MBA, and Executive Education programs in Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Hong-Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, the Philippines, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. She has worked with a variety of organizations, including Asian Development Bank, Ascension Health, Avon, Bank Saudi Fransi, Bank of America, Bank Negara, Bendix, Boehringer Ingelheim, Cigna Asia, Exxon, Consumers Energy, DTE Energy, Flagstar Bank, Ford Motor Company, Ford Medical Group, Google, Internal Revenue Service, Lexmark, Management Sciences for Health, Mead Johnson, M & T Bank, Metalsa, McGraw Hill, Mopar, National Arts Strategies, the NFL, Nokia, Onninen, Philips, Phelps-Dodge, Roland Berger Chemicals, Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority, Saudi Telecom, Seminarium, S&P Capital IQ, University of Michigan Sports Management Program, and Wachovia. She received the Michigan Ross Victor Bernard award for Leadership in Teaching, the Michigan Ross Executive Education Teaching Impact Award, and the University of Michigan Collegiate Lecturer Award. She has written two books, “The Science of Success: What Researchers Know that You Should Know” and “Management Skills for Everyday Life: The Practical Coach”, now in its third edition. Her Coursera online course, The Science of Success: What Researchers Know that You Should Know, was selected by the MBA-oriented magazine, Poets and Quants, as the best MOOC (online course) in October 2017 and has had over 115,000 online participants. It has been translated into Arabic for the government of Abu Dhabi.
She has presented her research at several conferences in the U.S. and abroad. Her article, “Work Life Balance: You Can’t Get There From Here” received the McGregor Award by the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science.
Professor Caproni served as a reviewer for several academic journals, including the Academy of Management Review, Human Resource Management Journal, the Journal of Management Inquiry, Journal of Management Education, and the Journal of Business Ethics. She has served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science and the Academy of Management Journal of Learning and Education. She has also served on the Teaching Committee of the Academy of Management Organizational Behavior Division and the Board of Directors of the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society.