The Busch Lecture: Building Connection and Belonging at Work through Deliberate Play
Featuring: Isabel (Izzy) Bilotta, Ph.D.
Friday, November 1, 2024 | 3pm | McGuire Hall East
Join Dr. Izzy Bilotta, ‘18, as she leads an interactive session focused on how engaging in deliberate play helps to foster inclusivity at work by promoting connection and feelings of belongingness among employees. This session will include an audience Q&A with Dr. Bilotta and panelist Dr. Michael Tews.
About the Featured Speaker
Dr. Izzy Bilotta is the Head of Learning and Innovation at Deutser, a change management consultancy that tackles complex organizational, team, and leadership challenges via strategic, culture-driven, creative approaches. Dr. Bilotta received her Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Rice University. Her research centers on fostering belonging, enhancing performance and well-being, and developing effective leaders in organizations. Dr. Bilotta’s research is published in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Applied Psychology, the Journal of Business & Psychology, the Annual Review of Law and Social Science, and Behavioral Science & Policy.
Full Bio
In a recent study, Dr. Bilotta and her team analyzed data from nearly 7,000 employees in a large healthcare system and found that inclusive leaders (i.e., managers who make their team members feel seen, heard, supported, and valued) have healthier and higher performing teams. In another research project, Dr. Bilotta and her team evaluated nearly 13,000 electronic health records, engaging in sentiment analysis to determine that the language physicians use to describe interactions with patients differs depending on the patient’s race/ethnicity. Physicians use fewer positive adjectives and trust words in interactions with Hispanic/Latino patients and more fear and disgust verbs in interactions with African American patients relative to White patients. Her recent work on the power of belonging in the workplace, where her team examined ~15,000 responses from employees across industries and demonstrated that people’s perceptions of belonging matter more for their engagement, effort, and satisfaction than their perceptions of organizational culture or strategy, can be found in popular press outlets including Big Think and Fast Company.
Dr. Bilotta has also consulted with NASA as a Selection Specialist since 2019. During her time with NASA, she has focused on building fairer and more effective astronaut selection methods and processes, as well as designing leadership development curriculums that effectively develop astronauts’ leadership and teamwork competencies. Recipient of the Doerr Innovation Award, BRIDGE Seed Award, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship honorable mention, and Lodieska Stockbridge Vaugh Fellowship (earning more than $60,000 in scholarship funding for research on diversity and leadership), as well as the HHPC Bravo Award for outstanding contributions to astronaut selection at NASA, Dr. Bilotta has been recognized extensively for her commitment to advancing organizational science and practice.
Dr. Bilotta also coaches leaders in one-on-one and group settings. A trusted confidante and advisor, Dr. Bilotta provides a unique combination of challenge and support to her clients, leaning on science-based guidance to help them live, lead, and work better. She coaches executives and high performers across roles in venture capital firms, hedge funds, healthcare organizations, aviation and defense organizations, universities, NFL teams, and others.
In addition to leadership and performance coaching, Dr. Bilotta builds curriculums, tools, and products for Deutser’s Learning Labs, and facilitates interactive, engaging workshops for leaders and teams.
Panelist
Michael Tews, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Hospitality Management, Pennsylvania State University
Michael J. Tews is an Associate Professor in the School of Hospitality Management at Penn State University, where he teaches courses in human resource management. Michael earned his PhD from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, specializing in human resource management and organizational behavior. Michael also earned his BS from Cornell University and his MS from the Department of Industrial Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Michael’s research focuses on the application of industrial and organizational psychology to the hospitality industry. His work examines issues relating to employee recruiting and selection, training and development, and employee retention. His work has appeared in journals such as Personnel Psychology, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Organizational Research Methods, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, and the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. On an applied front, Michael has conducted management opinion surveys, developed employee selection systems, and designed management development programs for a variety of organizations. Michael has also worked as a recruiter and trainer in the hospitality, biotechnology, and information technology industries.
About the Busch Lecture
The Busch Lecture, which is supported by the Anheuser-Busch Foundation, features business leaders at the forefront of innovative and entrepreneurial initiatives who are of interest to the academic, business, and civic communities.
The Anheuser-Busch Foundation also designates a Busch Scholar, a faculty member who conducts and publishes high-quality research in a business discipline. John Michel, Ph.D., associate professor of management is the current Busch Scholar.
Undergraduate Programs
Graduate Programs
Explore our Programs
Preparing the next generation of business leaders
