Prof. Vanessa Druskat

Vanessa is a world expert on group emotional intelligence. Together with Steven B. Wolff, she co-authored a Harvard Business Review article on Group Emotional Intelligence, which brought the concept of Team Emotional Intelligence to wider attention.

A social and organizational psychologist, Vanessa is Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the Peter T. Paul College of Business & Economics at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). Prior to joining the faculty at UNH, she spent eight years on the faculty of the Department of Organisational Behaviour at Case Western Reserve University.

Vanessa’s award-winning research examines how teams and leaders effectively manage complex interpersonal and collaboration challenges in cross-functional, cross-cultural, and self-managing work environments – which always involves aspects of emotional intelligence.

Vanessa’s research has appeared in prestigious journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Harvard Business Review, Human Relations, the Journal of Applied Psychology, Leadership Quarterly, Sloan Management Review, and Small Group Research. Harvard Business School Press published her book, The Emotionally Intelligent Team: Building Collaborative Groups that Outperform the Rest, in 2025. She was the lead editor of the book Linking Emotional Intelligence and Performance at Work (Lawrence Erlbaum, 2006).

Professor Druskat is a multi-award-winning teacher and engaging speaker.  She  speaks with audiences and conducts workshops around the world on the topics of emotional intelligence and work team effectiveness for leaders and teams in a wide variety of public and private organisations ranging from global companies to local educational establishments.

Vanessa serves on the executive board of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organisations.