Joanie Connell

Joanie earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. in Engineering from Harvard University.  Coaching and Assessment: Hogan Personality assessments (Advanced Certification), MSCEIT, EQ-i, and TalentSmart emotional intelligence, Positive Intelligence, The Attentional and Interpersonal Style Inventory (TAIS), Watson-Glaser critical thinking assessment, CliftonStrengths, 360-degree feedback, Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, Mental Fitness Coach. Awards: Exemplary Impact Commendation, Society of Consulting Psychology, 2025; Fellow, American Psychological Association (elected 2023), Women of Influence in Technology 2021, San Diego Business Journal. Elected Positions: President Elect, Society of Consulting Psychology (Div. 13 of APA), 2025; Education Domain Lead and Board Member, Society of Consulting Psychology, 2023.

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• Assessment: Her evidence-based approach to assessing leadership potential is guided by her strong industrial-organizational psychology background and extensive experience in developing and running executive assessment centers.
• Coaching: Her experience coaching industry leaders and insights in the technical sector, combined with her investment in understanding each client as a person, results in clients achieving significant personal and professional growth. 
• Team Building: Her understanding of group dynamics and ability to facilitate meaningful discussion among technical teams results in higher trust, greater accountability, better communication, and positive resolution of conflict.
• Presenting & Training: Joanie delivers inspiring, engaging keynote presentations, workshops, and webinars on a variety of topics ranging from personal growth to leadership to artificial intelligence.
• Writing: Joanie is the author of two books: Consulting to Technical Leaders, Teams, and Organizations: Building Leadership in STEM Environments and Flying without a Helicopter: How to Prepare Young People for Work and Life; and many articles including Unethical and harmful effects of AI on human interactions and well-being: What organizational consultants can do.

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• Topic Areas: talent management strategies, leadership assessment and development, employee engagement, coaching and mentoring, team building, communicating and influencing, presentation skills, emotional intelligence, building resilience, neurodiversity, generational differences, women leaders, Strengths-based leadership, increasing mental fitness, managing remote teams, and the human side of artificial intelligence. 

• Project Examples: Designed and facilitated leadership development programs for engineering, biotech, and healthcare organizations, including assessment centers, strategic offsites, and executive forums. Led organizational culture and talent strategy engagements, including AI-readiness assessments, change management initiatives, and performance management redesign. Facilitated workshops and consulting engagements focused on neurodiversity awareness, inclusive work design, and supporting neurodivergent team strengths. Advised technical teams and executives on communication, trust, and cross-functional collaboration to support large-scale organizational transformation.
• Teaching: Taught organizational psychology courses at the Rady School of Management at the University of California San Diego, California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, and at National University.  

• Industries: Banking and finance, Tech, Automotive, Infrastructure and/or Engineering, Construction, Energy, Food, Telecom, MedTech, Pharma, Professional Services (Law), Nonprofit, Health, Academic Medicine, Local Gov, Fed Gov, Higher Ed.

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• Coached C-suite and senior technical leaders navigating role transitions, scaling challenges, conflict, organizational strategy, politics, burnout recovery, and leadership identity development.
• Coached neurodivergent executives and emerging leaders to build on strengths, navigate workplace challenges, and develop sustainable leadership practices.
• Supported engineering and product leaders in developing executive presence, influence, and strategic communication.

• Coached leaders in AI-driven and innovation-focused organizations on ethical decision-making and leading in high-complexity environments
  

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