2025 Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors: Hayley Blunden, Kogod School of Business, American University

Hayley Blunden
Kogod School of Business, American University

“Professor Blunden’s enthusiasm and ability to make complex topics engaging set her apart as an outstanding educator. Even though  Management and Organizational Behavior was a core curriculum class with set assignments, Professor Blunden brings creativity to both in-class activities and the general coursework, making the learning experience more tangible. For example, in our final paper, we were tasked with evaluating a company facing an HR related issue and proposing a solution for the company. She took it a step further by having us research the associated costs of our proposed solutions and how they could be profitable for a corporation in the long run. This extra layer of analysis made the assignment more applicable to real-world decision-making and gave us a deeper understanding of how business strategy and HR intersect.

Beyond Professor Blunden’s expertise and research accomplishments, what stands out most is her ability to communicate complex ideas in a way that excites students—many of whom (including me) take the class just to fulfill a general requirement. I started with no interest in management and am now pursuing a minor in it.” – Megan Williams

Hayley Blunden, 39, is an Assistant Professor of Management at American University’s Kogod School of Business. Her research focuses on how leaders can make workplace interaction more productive, examining both developmental interactions like advice, feedback, and voice, and collaborative ones like communicating virtually.

Her work has been published in leading academic journals such as Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, and The Journal of Management. Her research has also been featured in leading outlets including The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, ABC 7 News, and NBC’s Today Show.

Blunden currently teaches the core management course in Kogod’s MBA program, where she received a Kogod Teaching Award. She has led trainings and consulted for a variety of professionals, including government delegations, startup founders, and the U.S. Senate Chiefs of Staff. She previously taught The Art of Communication at Harvard Extension School.

Prior to pursuing her career in academia, Hayley worked in a range of organizational contexts, holding positions in internal strategy, consulting, and finance, with experience working in organizations ranging from a small startup to a Fortune 100 firm.

BACKGROUND

At current institution since what year? 2022

Education: Ph.D. Harvard Business School, M.B.A. Columbia Business School, B.A. University of Virginia 

List of MBA courses you currently teach: Organizational Effectiveness Through People

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when… Having started my career in economics and finance – and observing the centrality of people in driving organizational success – I returned to school to pursue my MBA with a focus on human capital. It was there that I was exposed to my first Management class, taught by the late Kathy Phillips, a renowned researcher and phenomenal instructor. Learning about decision biases, group processing errors, and the strength of weak ties from her for the first time sparked my interest in the field. I asked Kathy – is this something you think I could do? She said yes. I will forever be grateful for her inspiration and support.

What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? My research focuses on how leaders can improve workplace interaction. I view organizations as an amalgamation of relationships, and relationships as the collective sum of a series of interactions. One stream of my work focuses on developmental interactions in particular, centering on how people can glean valuable insight into how they can improve. People will often talk about this as improving “feedback,” which is what people most commonly ask for when they’re trying to develop. Despite this “feedback-seeking” tendency, in one of my papers, we show that people receive developmental input that is more helpful when instead of asking for “feedback,” they ask for “advice,” which orients input providers on the future rather than the past.

If I weren’t a business school professor… I’d pursue a career focused on supporting people to be effective and engaged in their work. This was the path I was initially on when the lure of management research led me elsewhere.

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? Students comment on my energy and enthusiasm – having been inspired by what I learned in my first MBA management class, I feel so privileged to get to be the person to tell them about these findings, and I’m happy to hear that shines through.

One word that describes my first time teaching: Rewarding

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: Your students’ journeys will move you.

Professor I most admire and why: Beyond Professor Phillips – whose class inspired me to go into the field, I admire so many of my colleagues. When I made the pivot into academia, I was really surprised by the level of support and openness I was met with, from doctoral students (who are now faculty), all the way up to senior faculty, who were willing to discuss ideas with me, a novice research assistant. This community is not just full of strong researchers, but outstanding humans.

TEACHING MBA STUDENTS

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? I love their engagement and commitment. Kogod students come from the full range of industries, and I think their desire to get the most out of the experience and apply our learnings to their own context leads them to ask unexpected questions that push my thinking. 

What is most challenging? Fitting everything in! There are so many valuable and interesting findings I want to cover together. 

In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Reflective

In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: Distracted. My class is very interactive, and often discussion-based. I don’t want students to miss out on the rich ideas their classmates have to offer.

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as… wordy! As someone who researches employee development, I strive to provide my students with a lot of developmental input.

LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

What are your hobbies? I love history, so I really enjoy visiting historical sites, which we have a wealth of in the D.C. area. 

How will you spend your summer? In addition to focusing on my research, I have two young swimmers, and I’m looking forward to cheering them on (go Dolphins!) and volunteering to support the team.

Favorite place(s) to vacation: (1) Anywhere warm, and (2) “Up North” in Michigan (not to be confused with the Upper Peninsula)

Favorite book(s): Anything by Eric Larson. He makes history come to life.

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? There is nothing like the initial symbol crash of John Williams’ score that opens the original Star Wars movie. I recently had the chance to experience it at an outdoor showing with a live orchestra, and it was a thrilling shared experience. I also love the film’s backstory, overcoming rejection by multiple studios to become a widely successful cultural touchpoint.

What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? My music taste is all over the place, but I’m often drawn to meaningful or clever lyrics. I like to start my classes with music (of any type) related to the day’s topic. So, when we cover conflict management, I’ll play “We can work it out” by the Beatles, and when we cover motivation, I’ll play “She works hard for the money” by Donna Summer.

THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this…Given the rapidly shifting technology landscape, I think two things will be increasingly important. First, I think giving students in-depth experience with technology as it emerges will help accustom them to adapting quickly and not shying away from it. In this vein, it’s been a really exciting time to be at Kogod, which has rapidly transformed its curriculum and offerings to integrate AI. 

Second, I think it will be more vital to hone students’ individual communication and presentation skills. Technology can be leveraged to strengthen analyses and reports, meaning that a key differentiator going forward will be people’s abilities to connect with others to communicate and present those findings. In my class, I endeavor to give students ample opportunities and developmental input to sharpen these skills. Beyond my own investment, Kogod actually has a team of professionals, with whom I work closely, who focus specifically on students’ development of these skills, providing them with 1:1 opportunities to practice and improve. 

In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at…providing employees with opportunities to connect with each other on a human level. With the rapid introduction of new technologies at work, the increased pace of the global marketplace, and an “always on” culture, it can be easy to overlook investing in people’s connections. But these connections are the heart of an organization, and worthy of time and effort. 

I’m grateful for… my supportive family.  

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