Dr. Robert Livingston is a world-renowned social psychologist and leading expert on the science underlying bias and racism in organizations. He serves as a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, where his work focuses on institutional leadership, social justice, and systemic equity. Before joining Harvard in 2015, he established an international academic career, holding faculty appointments as Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Associate Professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Sussex, where he served as Area Chair and founder and faculty director of the Centre for Leadership, Ethics, and Diversity (LEAD).
His empirical research explores the dynamics of implicit bias, social hierarchy, and institutional power. Dr. Livingston’s scholarship has been published in top-tier academic journals, including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Psychological Science, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Journal of Social Issues, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and Leadership Quarterly. Beyond academic literature, his insights have been featured across major international media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, BBC, Newsweek, USA Today, TIME, and MSNBC, as well as high-impact podcasts such as Armchair Expert, Beyond Busy, and The Business of Giving.
As a dedicated practitioner, Dr. Livingston bridges the gap between rigorous social psychological theory and real-world organizational execution. For more than two decades, he has operated as a trusted executive consultant, advising scores of Fortune 500 companies, public-sector agencies, and global non-profit institutions on evidence-based diversity strategies. His landmark Harvard Business Review article, “How to Promote Racial Equity in the Workplace,” earned the 2020 Warren Bennis Prize for the year’s best article on leadership and was selected for inclusion in HBR at 100, a curated anthology showcasing the most influential articles published in Harvard Business Review over the past century.
Dr. Livingston’s systemic approach to combating organizational racism is fully articulated in his book, The Conversation: How Seeking and Speaking the Truth about Racism Can Radically Transform Individuals and Organizations (Penguin Random House, 2021). The work earned widespread critical acclaim, being selected from among 600 entries as one of six finalists for the Financial Times & McKinsey Best Book of the Year Award and earning a nomination for a 2022 NAACP Image Award in the “Outstanding Literary Work—Instructional” category. His framework outlines how organizations can move past goodwill and implement measurable, structural equity.
In recognition of his contributions to the field, Dr. Livingston is an elected Fellow of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, an honor bestowed upon individuals who have made extraordinary and unique contributions to personality and social psychology. He was also selected by Thinkers50 and Deloitte for the Radar Class of 2022, recognizing an exceptional group of global thinkers whose ideas and research drive meaningful real-world transformation.
Having resided in six countries and speaking four languages, Dr. Livingston brings a broad global perspective to his executive advisory work and academic leadership.
