Research Discipline/Bio
As the founder of Watanabe & Associates and an adult developmental psychologist, Lisa Watanabe provides coaching and consultation to leaders and organizations across the public and private sectors in diverse cultural contexts. Her approach integrates frameworks from adult developmental psychology, adaptive leadership, group dynamics, and other adult learning theories. An award-winning researcher, Certified Immunity-to-Change™ Coach, and Certified Reliable Subject-Object Interview Scorer, Lisa has also taught leadership to undergraduates in Japan. Previously, she worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, contributing to a STEM education program that employed active learning methods.
Her research interests center on adult development, transformative learning, mentoring, learning organizations, and organizational and leadership development.
Educational Background
Master of Education, Harvard University Graduate School of Education, 2013
Master of Government Administration, The Fels Institute of Government, University of Pennsylvania, 1999
Bachelor of Arts, English Literature, Sophia University (Japan), 1992
Honors/Awards
Article Award, 2021 Society Award, The Japanese Society of Persuasion and Negotiation. Awarded to “The Value of Vertical Leadership Development during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Japanese Journal of Persuasion & Negotiation, 12, 17-32,” published in a peer-reviewed journal in 2020.
Publications/Exhibitions
Watanabe, R. (2023). The Subject-Object Interview, an instrument to measure the adult developmental stages, and its role in leadership and organization development. Hogaku Kenkyu (Journal of law, politics and sociology), 96(12), 71-82.
Watanabe, R. & Watanabe, R. (2021). Kabuki Leadership: Cultivating Adaptive Leadership in a Hierarchical Collectivist Culture in Japan (Chapter 12). In M. Raei & H. T. Rasmussen (Eds.), Adaptive Leadership in a Global Economy: Perspectives for Application and Scholarship (pp. 199-220). United Kingdom: Routledge.
Last Updated: Nov 4, 2024