By Madeleine Fuselier and Manlin Yao

Molly Kilcullen is a first-year Industrial and Organizational Psychology PhD student here in the Consortium for Organizational Resilience and Effectiveness (CORE) Lab at Rice University with overall research interests in teamwork and, in particular, individual selection in teams. Molly is especially passionate about looking at teams in stressful environments, such as in hospitals, space, and the military.

Hailing from northern Virginia, near the Washington, D.C. area, Molly moved to Houston in August of last year. She previously completed her Master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Additionally, she was involved with research at the U.S. Army Research Institute, an experience which motivated her to apply to and pursue PhD programs. Now at Rice, Molly is working with Dr. Eduardo Salas on NASA programs and has also started to do research with hospitals.

Currently, Molly and her fellow graduate student, Denise Reyes, are working in collaboration with Doerr Institute for New Leaders to develop leadership trainings for graduate students. Fully funded by the Doerr Institute, Molly and Denise have launched initial pilot trainings on influencing others and conflict management. In terms of leadership development, the ability to influence others and to navigate conflicts is an extremely valuable skill set. While those pilots have already gained footing, they are simultaneously creating trainings on active listening and learning agility.

The training programs were purchased from another organization by the Doerr Institute, and Molly and Denise have been working to modify them specifically for graduate students. The pilot only just began this semester, and roughly 70 Rice graduate students from various fields of study have already undergone training from professional coaches. Participant reviews of the trainings have been overwhelmingly positive.

Molly and Denise will soon begin the process of examining the data they have collected to see if the participating graduate students have improved in the targeted areas. Participants completed tests before they began training and after they completed training to assess their knowledge and abilities. Each participant will also be asked to nominate a peer or advisor who works closely with them to rate them on the target behaviors to identify if they have changed after completing the training.