https://sites.google.com/site/uwagillianyeo/

Gillian Yeo is currently Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Head of Department, Management & Organisations at the UWA Business School and Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Psychology. She completed her PhD in 2003 at the School of Psychology, University of Queensland. She then spent two years as a postdoctoral research fellow and three years as a Lecturer in Organisational Psychology at the University of Queensland before moving to UWA. 

Professor Yeo's research relates to self-regulation - she examines dynamic self-regulatory processes related to motivation, emotion and cognition in relation to learning, performance and well-being. She conducts this research in the laboratory and in the field. Her work is published in a wide range of top-tier journal outlets including Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Management and Journal of Organizational Behavior.  

Head of Department, Management and Organisations Department

Associate Editor for Journal of Applied Psychology

(for  full list, see CV on personal website; https://sites.google.com/site/uwagillianyeo/)

2015-2017 ARC Discovery: $237,000

Yeo & Griffin

The dynamics of goal-oriented leader behaviour in action teams

2012-2014 ARC Discovery: $320,000

Griffin, Yeo, Day & Gibson

How leaders integrate safety goals for employees to build adaptive safety capabilities in organisations

2012-2014 ARC Discovery: $270,000

Neal, Yeo, Zacher, Vancouver & Schmidt

Developing and testing dynamic models of goal striving in approach

and avoidance contexts

2009-2011 ARC Discovery: $139,000

Yeo, Loft & Smillie

Goal orientations, self-regulation and performance: Implications for accelerating

learning via goal-setting interventions

2008-2010 ARC Discovery: $336,000

Neal, Yeo & Kwantes

Developing and testing a dynamic model of the proximal and distal motivational

processes responsible for the regulation of task-directed effort

Contributing Editor, Journal of Applied Psychology (2008-2019)
Contributing Editor, Personnel Psychology (2017-2019)

One example of ongoing work relates to dynamic leader behavior. In this project, Professor Yeo and her team are examining incident commanders. They have integrated the self-regulation principles and methods developed in the laboratory with those from the team leadership and team process literatures to generate and test predictions regarding dynamic trajectories of leader behaviour. Results indicate that a) the frequencies of behavioural displays of leader behaviours increase over time at a diminishing rate, b) this pattern of change for any given leader behaviour is most evident across the goal-regulation phases for which it is most relevant, and c) this pattern of change is most evident for leaders rated as effective by subject matter experts. This research is significant because it shifts the focus from questions regarding which team leader behaviours are effective in which goal-regulation phase, to a focus on how frequently various behaviours should be displayed over time as an incident unfolds, which has direct implication for training and performance management. Project results are also being used to inform industry-wide training curriculum and design, and to develop prescriptive guidelines for the training and management of action team leaders.

Another ongoing project relates to recovery and well-being. Over the past few years, Professor Yeo and her team have run a number of activities with employees (400+ over multiple cohorts) which incorporate interventions designed to enhance recovery and well-being (e.g., taking work breaks without the use of a smartphone and "digital detox" evenings). All participants receive personalised reports based on self-report and physiological measurements (e.g., from heart-rate monitors). Reports are provided to participants in workshops designed to enhance employees’ self-awareness and commitment to making changes at work and/or home based on their personalised findings. 

Professor Yeo's research relates to self-regulation. She examines dynamic self-regulatory processes related to motivation, emotion and cognition in relation to learning, performance and well-being. The extent to which and manner in which individuals regulate these processes is increasingly viewed as essential for understanding valued outcomes in a range of work-relevant settings. Her research informs theory and practice in training and development, work design, performance management and employee health and wellbeing, in a variety of work settings that aim to accelerate learning and optimise performance and wellbeing.

Due to the dynamic, multi-level nature of self-regulatory processes, Professor Yeo believes it is essential to examine their complexities in tightly controlled settings, but is equally committed to generalising these theories and their results to field settings. A key innovation in her work lies in applying theories and methods developed in the laboratory to field contexts. Her Strategic Basic Research program is primarily conducted in the laboratory but also tests key principles in the field; and she has a complementary Applied Research program conducted solely in the field.