Adaora Ubaka

My research explores how people recognize, evaluate, and sometimes withdraw recognition from leaders, and the consequences these perceptions hold for inclusion, careers, and organizational life. I study leadership as a cognitive and social process—how prototypes shift, polarize, or expand, and how these shifts affect who gets seen as a leader, who retains legitimacy, and whose contributions are overlooked.

Across my work, I examine both the dynamics of leader perceptions and the experiences of those who do not fit traditional prototypes, including racial minorities, women, and quiet or nontraditional leaders. I also investigate the micro-social mechanisms that enable inclusion, such as psychological safety and peer dynamics.

Methodologically, I use diverse approaches—conceptual theory building, experiments, archival field studies, replications, and qualitative inquiry—to pair theoretical precision with practical insight. My goal is to generate research that not only advances leadership theory but also offers actionable pathways for building more inclusive and adaptive organizations.