Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ph.D.New School for Social Research, M.A.Reed College, B.A.
Jody Hoffer Gittell is Professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School, Faculty Director of the Relational Coordination Collaborative, Co-Founder and Board Member of Relational Coordination Analytics, and Academic Fellow at MIT Center for Information Systems Research. To understand how stakeholders achieve their desired outcomes in coordination with each other, Gittell developed Relational Coordination Theory, proposing that highly interdependent work is most effectively coordinated through relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect, supported by frequent, timely, accurate, problem-solving communication. The Relational Model of Organizational Change shows how stakeholders can design structural, relational and work process interventions to support more effective coordination of their work. Gittell is currently exploring the relational dynamics of multi-stakeholder change in ecosystems in multiple sectors around the world. With Olawale Olaleye and Tony Suchman, she is developing and testing a diversity management curriculum based on principles of relational coordination, called Relating Across Differences, funded by the Macy Foundation. Dr. Gittell currently serves as treasurer for Seacoast NAACP, on the board of trustees for Greater Seacoast Community Health, on the editorial board of Academy of Management Review, and on the board of the Organization Development and Change Division of the Academy of Management. She received her PhD from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Webpage
Outstanding Young Scholar of the Year, Labor and Employment Relations Association (1991 – 1993)
National Research Council Fellowship for dissertation research on airline performance (1993 – 1994)
Industrial Performance Center Fellowship for dissertation research on airline performance (1993 – 1994)
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant for study of coordination in the airline industry (1993 – 1994)
Harvard Business School Division of Research grant for study of patient care coordination (1996 – 1998)
Commonwealth Fund grant for study of patient care coordination (2002 – 2004)
Robert Wood Johnson and Atlantic Philanthropies grant for study of nursing home practices and outcomes (2003 – 2006)
Chair of the Board, Families First Health and Support Center (2003 – 2006)
MBA Program Director, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management (2006 – 2009)
Douglas McGregor Memorial Award, Best Article on Organizational Change, Honorable Mention, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science (2006)
Best Paper Award, Human Resources Division, Academy of Management (2008)
Douglas McGregor Memorial Award, Best Paper of the Year, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science (2009)
Board of Trustees, Endowment for Health (2012)
Associate Editor, Special Topic Forum on the Changing Nature of Work Relationships, Academy of Management Review (2016)
VA State of the Art Research Conference, Keynote Speaker (2018)
Scholarship
Gittell, Jody Hoffer and Ali, Hebatallah Naim. Relational Analytics: Guidebook for Analysis and Action. London: Routledge, 2021. (forthcoming)
Bolton, Rendelle, Logan, Caroline K., and Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “Revisiting relational coordination: A systematic review.” Journal of Applied Behavioral Science (2021): 1-33.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Methot, Jessica, Soltis, Scott and Harris, Brad, ed. Call for Papers for a Special Issue of Human Resource Management – Relational Perspectives on Human Resource Management. 2021.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer and Lauren Hajjar. “Strengthening Patient-Centered Care in the VHA: A Relational Model of Change.” Journal of General Internal Medicine (2019).
Siddique, Mohammad, Procter, Stephen and Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “The Role of Relational Coordination in the Relationship between High-Performance Work Systems (HPWS) and Organizational Performance.” Journal of Organizational Effectiveness (2019).
Torring, Birgitte, Gittell, Jody Hoffer, et al. “Communication and Relationship Dynamics in the Operating Room: An Ethnographic Study.” BMC Health Services Research 19. 1 (2019): 528.
Gittell, J.H. and Fletcher, J.. “Integrative Solutions in a Divided World: Toward a Relational Model of Change.” The Future of Progressivism: Applying Follettian Thinking to Contemporary Issues. Ed. M. Stout and J. Love. Process Century Press, 2018
Gittell, J.H., Logan, C.K., Cronenwett, J., Foster, T., Freeman, R., Godfrey, M. and Vidal, D.C.. “Impact of Relational Coordination on Staff and Patient Outcomes in Outpatient Surgical Clinics.” Health Care Management Review (2018).
Havens, D.S., Gittell, J.H. and Vasey, J.. “Impact of Relational Coordination on Nurse Outcomes: Achieving the Quadruple Aim.” Journal of Nursing Administration 48. 3 (2018): 132-140.
Heaphy, E.D., Byron, K., Ballinger, G.A., Gittell, J.H., Leana, C. & Sluss, D.M.. “Introduction to Special Topic Forum: The Changing Nature of Work Relationships.” Academy of Management Review 43. 4 (2018): 558-569.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer and Thomas Kochan. “A New Social Contract.” Stanford University Press Blog, Columbia University Press Blog (2017)
Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “An Unexpected Detour from Ivory Tower to Action Research.” In Praise of Detours: Cultivating Creativity in Methodology and Research. Ed. Wegener, C., Meier, N., Masio, E.. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017
Perloff, Jennifer, Rushforth, Alice, Daudelin, Denise, Suchman, Anthony, Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Santos, Hannah, Beswick, Joanne, Moore, Saleema and Selker, Henry. “Intervening to Enhance Collaboration in Translational Research: A Relational Coordination Approach.” Journal of Clinical and Translational Science (2017).
Gittell, Jody Hoffer and Jacob Storch. “Building a Relational Public Sector.” Stanford Social Innovations Review (2016).
Gittell, Jody Hoffer and Janet Boguslaw. “Relational Coproduction and Relational Welfare: Asset Based Approaches to Social Well-Being.” Kognition and Paedagogic 26. 2 (2016).
Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “Creating the Health Care Team of the Future: A Book Review.” Rev. of Creating the Health Care Team of the Future: The Toronto Model for Interprofessional Education and Practice, by Siobhan Nelson, Maria Tassone, and Brian D. Hodges. Industrial and Labor Relations Review 2016
Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “How Interdependent Parties Build Relational Coordination to Achieve Their Desired Outcomes.” Negotiation Journal 31. 4 (2016): 387-392.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “Relational Coordination Offers Seven Principles to Connect Across Roles at Work.” Huffington Post (2016)
Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “Rethinking Autonomy: Relationships as a Source of Resilience in a Changing Health Care System.” Health Services Research 51. 5 (2016).
Gittell, Jody Hoffer. Transforming Relationships for High Performance: The Power of Relational Coordination. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2016.
Resnick, Joan, Temkin, Eliana, Lax, Sarah and Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “Building Relational Coordination Across Front-Line Work Groups at Kaiser Permanente.” The Evolving Healthcare Landscape: How Employees, Organizations, and Institutions Adapt and Innovate. Ed. Ariel Avgar and Timothy Vogus. Labor and Employment Relations Association Press, 2016
Rubinstein, Saul A., Martin-Rios, Carlos, Erhardt, Niclas, Gittell, Jody Hoffer and George, Varghese. “Organizational Responses to Uncertainty in the Airline Industry: Changes in Patterns of Communication Networks.” Journal of Air Transport Management 57. (2016): 217-227.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Von Nordenflycht, Andrew, Kochan, Thomas, McKersie, Robert and Bamber, Greg. “Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management in the Airline Industry.” The Global Airline Industry. 2nd ed. Ed. Belobaba, Peter, Barnhardt, Cynthia, Odoni, Amadeo. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2015
Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Beswick, Joanne, Goldmann, Don and Wallack, Stanley. “Teamwork Methodologies for Accountable Care: Relational Coordination and TeamSTEPPS.” Health Care Management Review 40. 2 (2014).
Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Godfrey, Marjorie and Thistlethwaite, Jill. “Interprofessional Collaborative Practice and Relational Coordination: Improving Healthcare Through Relationships.” Journal of Interprofessional Care 27. 3 (2013): 210-213.
Bamber, Greg and Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “A Tale of Two Airlines: Can Low-Cost Carriers be Sustainable and Good Places to Work?.” The Conversation (2012)
Douglass, Anne and Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “Transforming Professionalism: Relational Bureaucracy and Parent-Teacher Partnerships in Child Care Settings.” Journal of Early Childhood Research (2012).
Gittell, Jody Hoffer and Douglass, Anne. “Relational Bureaucracy: Structuring Reciprocal Relationships Into Roles.” Academy of Management Review 37. 4 (2012).
Gittell, Jody Hoffer and Suchman, Anthony. “Relational Leadership and Organizational Change.” Leading Change and Changing the Way We Lead. Ed. Gene Beyt and Margaret Plews-Ogan. London: Radcliffe Publishing, 2012
Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Patrick Flood and Yseult Freeney. “Relational Coordination.” Encyclopedia of Management: Organizational Behavior. 2012.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “New Directions for Relational Coordination Theory.” Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship. Ed. Kim S. Cameron and Gretchen Spreitzer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011
Godwyn, Mary and Gittell, Jody Hoffer. Sociology of Organizations: Structures and Relationships. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2011.
Bamber, Greg, Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Kochan, Thomas A. and von Nordenflycht, Andrew. “Contrasting Employment Relations Strategies in European Airlines.” Journal of Industrial Relations 51. 5 (2010): 635-652.
Bamber, Greg, Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Kochan, Thomas A., von Nordenflycht, Andrew. “Contrasting Strategic Choices in the Airline Industry: Deregulation and Employment Relations in the Asia Pacific Region and the Middle East.” Aviation Security and Safety: Some Legal Dimensions. Ed. R. Jilla. Icfai: Icfai University Press, 2010
Bond, Brenda and Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “Cross-Agency Coordination of Offender Reentry: Testing Outcomes of Collaboration Policies.” Journal of Criminal Justice (2010).
Gittell, Jody Hoffer and Bamber, Greg. “High and Low Road Strategies for Competing on Costs and Their Implications for Employment Relations: Studies in the Airline Industry.” International Journal of Human Resource Management 21. 2 (2010): 165-179.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Seidner, Rob and Wimbush, Julian. “A Relational Model of How High-Performance Work Systems Work.” Organization Science 21. 2 (2010): 490-506.
Sullivan, Donna Havens, Vasey, Joseph, Gittell, Jody Hoffer and Lin, Wei Ting. “Relational Coordination among Nurses and other Disciplines: Impact on the Quality of Patient Care.” Journal of Nursing Management (2010).
Appelbaum, Eileen, Gittell, Jody Hoffer and Leana, Carrie. “High Performance Work Practices and Economic Recovery.” LERA Commons (2009)
Bamber, Greg, Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Kochan, Thomas A. and von Nordenflycht, Andrew. Up in the Air: How the Airlines Can Improve Performance by Engaging Their Employees. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009.
Carmeli, Abraham and Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “High Quality Relationships, Psychological Safety and Learning from Failures in Work Organizations.” Journal of Organizational Behavior 30. 6 (2009): 709-729.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Seidner, Rob. “Human Resource Management in the Service Sector.” Handbook of Human Resource Management. Ed. A. Wilkinson, T. Redman, S. Snell and N. Bacon. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2009
Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Von Nordenflycht, Andrew, Kochan, Thomas A., McKersie, Robert and Bamber, Greg. “Labor Relations and Human Resource Management in the Airline Industry.” The Global Airline Industry. Ed. Peter Belobaba, Cynthia Barnhardt and Amadeo Odoni. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2009
Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “Lack of Coordination Hampers U.S. Healthcare System.” Modern Healthcare August 20.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer. High Performance Healthcare: Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve Quality, Efficiency and Resilience. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Weinberg, Dana Beth, Pfefferle, Susan, Bishop, Christine. “Impact of Relational Coordination on Job Satisfaction and Quality Outcomes: A Study of Nursing Homes.” Human Resource Management Journal 18. 2 (2008): 154-170.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “Relationships and Resilience: Care Provider Responses to Pressures from Managed Care.” Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 44. 1 (2008): 25-47.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer; Weinberg, Dana, Bennett, Adrienne and Miller, Joseph A.. “Is the Doctor In? A Relational Approach to Job Design and the Coordination of Work.” Human Resource Management 47. 4 (2008): 729-756.
Kautz, Cori, Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Lusenhop, Will, Weinberg, Dana Beth, Wright, John. “Patient Benefits from Participating in an Integrated Delivery System: Impact on Coordination of Care.” Health Care Management Review 32. 3 (2007): 1-11.
Miller, Joseph A., Dorsey, Joseph, Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “Establishing a Teamwork Model of Care for Hospital Medicine.” Comprehensive Hospital Medicine: An Evidence-Based and Systems Approach. Ed. M.V. Williams and R. Hayward. New York: Elsevier Publishing, 2007
Weinberg, Dana, Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Lusenhop, Will, Kautz, Cori, Wright, John. “Beyond Our Walls: Impact of Patient and Provider Coordination Across the Continuum on Outcomes for Surgical Patients.” Health Services Research 42. 1 (2007): 7-24.
Weinberg, Dana, Lusenhop, Will, Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Kautz, Cori. “Coordination between Formal Care Providers and Informal Caregivers.” Health Care Management Review 32(2). 140-150 (2007).
Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Briscoe, Forrest. “Layoffs and Organizational Resilience: Lessons for Workers, Managers and Investors.” Perspectives on Work 10. 1 (2006): 6-8.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Cameron, Kim, Lim, Sandy, Rivas, Victor. “Relationships, Layoffs and Organizational Resilience: Airline Industry Responses to September 11.” Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 42. 3 (2006): 300-329.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “Connecting with Employees Through Front-Line Leadership: Lessons from Southwest Airlines.” What Managers Say, What Employees Hear. Ed. R. Maruca. New York: Praeger Publishing, 2006
Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “Relational Coordination: Coordinating Work Through Relationships of Shared Goals, Shared Knowledge and Mutual Respect.” Relational Perspectives in Organizational Studies: A Research Companion. Ed. O. Kyriakidou and M. Ozbilgin. London: Edward Elgar, 2006
Pfefferle, Susan, Gittell, Jody Hoffer, Hodgkin, Dominic, Ritter, Grant. “Pediatrician Coordination of Care for Children with Mental Illnesses.” Medical Care 44. 12 (2006): 1085-1091.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer and Weiss, Leigh. “Coordination Networks Within and Between Organizations: A Multi-Level Framework.” Journal of Management Studies 41. 1 (2004): 127-153.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer, von Nordenflycht, Andrew and Kochan, Thomas. “Mutual Gains or Zero Sum? Labor Relations and Firm Performance in the Airline Industry.” Industrial and Labor Relations Review 57. 2 (2004): 163-179.
Gittell, Jody Hoffer. “The Power of Relationships.” Sloan Management Review 45. 2 (2004): 16-17.
Perlow, Leslie, Gittell, Jody Hoffer and Katz, Nancy. “Contextualizing Patterns of Work Group Interaction: Toward a Nested Theory of Structuration.” Organization Science 15. 5 (2004): 520-536.
Gittell,Jody Hoffer. “A Theory of Relational Coordination.” Positive Organizational Scholarship: Foundations of a New Discipline. Ed. Kim S. Cameron, Jane E. Dutton and Robert E. Quinn. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2003
Gittell,Jody Hoffer. “Achieving Focus in Hospital-Based Health Care: The Role of Relational Coordination.” Consumer Driven Health Care: Implications for Providers, Payers and Policy-Makers. Ed. Regina Herzlinger. John Wiley and Sons., 2003
Gittell,Jody Hoffer. “Options for Rebuilding Labor Relations.” Perspectives on Work 7. 2 (2003).
Gittell,Jody Hoffer. The Southwest Airlines Way: Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.
Austin, Rob and Gittell,Jody Hoffer. “When It Should Not Work but Does: Anomalies of High Performance.” Business Performance Measurement. Ed. Andy Neely. Cambridge University Press, 2002
Gittell,Jody Hoffer. “Coordinating Mechanisms in Care Provider Groups: Relational Coordination as a Mediator and Input Uncertainty as a Moderator of Performance Effects.” Management Science 48. 11 (2002): 1408-1426.
Gittell,Jody Hoffer. “Relationships between Service Providers and their Impact on Customers.” Journal of Service Research 4. 4 (2002): 299-311.
Gittell,Jody Hoffer. “Investing in Relationships.” Harvard Business Review 79. 6 (2001).
Gittell,Jody Hoffer. “Supervisory Span, Relational Coordination, and Flight Departure Performance: A Reassessment of Post-Bureaucracy Theory.” Organization Science 12. 4 (2001): 467-482.
Gittell,Jody Hoffer with Martin Charns. “Work Design.” Healthcare Management: Organization Design and Behavior. Ed. Stephen Shortell and Arnold Kaluzny. Delmar Press, 2000
Gittell,Jody Hoffer, Fairfield, Kathleen, Bierbaum, Benjamin, Head, William, Jackson, Robert, Kelly, Michael, Laskin, Richard, Lipson, Stephen, Siliski, John, Thornhill, Thomas and Zuckerman, Joseph. “Impact of Relational Coordination on Quality of Care, Post-Operative Pain and Functioning, and Length of Stay: A Nine Hospital Study of Surgical Patients.” Medical Care 38. 8 (2000): 807-819.
Gittell,Jody Hoffer. “Organizing Work to Support Relational Coordination.” International Journal of Human Resource Management 11. 3 (2000): 517-539.
Gittell,Jody Hoffer. “Paradox of Coordination and Control.” California Management Review 42. 3 (2000): 177-183.
Gittell,Jody Hoffer with Thomas A. Kochan and Brenda Lautsch. “Total Quality Management and Human Resource Systems: An International Comparison.” International Journal of Human Resource Management 6. 2 (1995): 201-222.
Gittell,Jody Hoffer. “Cost/Quality Tradeoffs in the Departure Process? Evidence from the Major U.S. Airlines.” Transportation Research Record 1480. (1995): 25-36.