Staff profile

Biography:

Karolina is Assistant Professor in Psychology at Durham University (UK). She earned her Ph.D. in Social and Organisational Psychology from Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich (Germany) and held posts at the LMU Center for Leadership and People Management (Germany) and Durham University Business School (UK).

Karolina seeks to understand leader and follower processes at work, often from a dynamic and social-cognitive perspective. In particular, Karolina's research helps to understand how individuals form and sustain their identities in relation to leadership, with a particular focus on leader-follower identity dynamics and leader identity threat. She also seeks to understand how the behaviors of formal leaders and followers affect each other, contributing to leadership and well-being outcomes. 

Karolina's research is published in outlets such as The Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Business and Psychology, and the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.

Mini-Biography:

Karolina is Assistant Professor in Social and Organisational Psychology and her research mainly focuses on social-cognition and identity in relation to leadership and followership. Prior to joining Durham University's Department of Psychology, Karolina was Postdoctoral Research Associate at Durham University Business School (2020-2022), and a Research Associate at the Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich, Germany (2015-2019).

Student Supervision

I am currently accepting applications for MRes and PhD students. Please get in touch if you are interested.

• Leader and follower identity
• Leader loneliness
• Leadership and shared leadership
• Voice behaviour

Chapter in book

• Lead today, follow tomorrow? How to manage the ebb and flow of leader and follower identities
  
  Nieberle, K. W., Acton, B. P., Fu, Y., Lord, R. G., & Braun, S. (2024). Lead today, follow tomorrow? How to manage the ebb and flow of leader and follower identities. In S. Braun, T. Keller Hansbrough, G. A. Ruark, R. G. Lord, R. J. Hall, & O. Epitropaki (Eds.), Navigating leadership: Evidence-based strategies for leadership development (pp. 9–15). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003377450
• Implicit Leadership and Followership Theories: From the leader/follower within and between to leaders/followers in plural and in flux
  
  Epitropaki, O., Acton, B., & Nieberle, K. (2023). Implicit Leadership and Followership Theories: From the leader/follower within and between to leaders/followers in plural and in flux. In D. Schedlitzki, M. Larsson, B. Carroll, M. Bligh, & O. Epitropaki (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Leadership. SAGE Publications.
• Innovationen in der Hochschullehre: Wie können Lehrende begeistern und überzeugen?
  
  Nieberle, K., & Frey, D. (2021). Innovationen in der Hochschullehre: Wie können Lehrende begeistern und überzeugen?. In D. Frey & M. Uemminghaus (Eds.), Innovative Lehre an der Hochschule. Konzepte, Praxisbeispiele und Lernerfahrungen aus COVID-19.. Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-62913-0
• Exkurs: Die Kommission überzeugen – gewusst wie!
  
  Nieberle, K. (2020). Exkurs: Die Kommission überzeugen – gewusst wie!. In D. Frey, K. Jauch, & M. Stockkamp (Eds.), Mit Erfolg zur Professur oder Dozentur: Ein Karriereratgeber mit über 180 Fragen und Antworten (pp. 145-154). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-60529-5
• Studierende motivieren: Leistung mit Wertschätzung verbinden. Erkenntnisse aus Forschung und Praxis.
  
  Pachler, D., Nieberle, K., & Frey, D. (2019). Studierende motivieren: Leistung mit Wertschätzung verbinden. Erkenntnisse aus Forschung und Praxis. In J. Noller, C. Beitz-Radzio, D. Kugelmann, S. Sontheimer, & S. Westerholz (Eds.), Methoden in der Hochschullehre: Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven aus der Praxis.. Munich: Springer VS.

Journal Article

• A Commentary on Choudhury and Maupin (2025): Revisiting the Downsides of Shared Leadership From a Multilevel and Resource-Oriented Perspective
  
  Güntner, A. V., Klasmeier, K. N., Schleu, J. E., & Nieberle, K. W. (2025). A Commentary on Choudhury and Maupin (2025): Revisiting the Downsides of Shared Leadership From a Multilevel and Resource-Oriented Perspective. Group & Organization Management. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10596011251337521
• Voice echoes: A critical review and future research agenda on the consequences of employee voice for voicers, their co-workers, and managers
  
  Nieberle, K. W., & Fladerer, M. P. (2025). Voice echoes: A critical review and future research agenda on the consequences of employee voice for voicers, their co-workers, and managers. Organizational Psychology Review. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/20413866251317929
• It’s Not All About the Self: Exploring the Interplay Between Self-leadership and the Social Work Environment
  
  Bracht, E. M., Nieberle, K. W., & van Dick, R. (2024). It’s Not All About the Self: Exploring the Interplay Between Self-leadership and the Social Work Environment. Journal of Change Management, 24(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2024.2367454
• Leader Identity on the Fly: Intra-personal Leader Identity Dynamics in Response to Strong Events
  
  Nieberle, K. W., Acton, B. P., Braun, S., Lord, R. G., & Fu, Y. A. (2024). Leader Identity on the Fly: Intra-personal Leader Identity Dynamics in Response to Strong Events. Journal of Business and Psychology, 39(3), 755-778. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-023-09906-7
• When identification with your group matters: Leader consultation in response to constructive follower voice
  
  Nieberle, K. W., Schyns, B., Kuonath, A., & Frey, D. (2024). When identification with your group matters: Leader consultation in response to constructive follower voice. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 33(6), 759-776. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2024.2392901
• Vulnerable narcissistic leadership meets Covid-19: The relationship between vulnerable narcissistic leader behaviour and subsequent follower irritation
  
  Schyns, B., Gauglitz, I. K., Gilmore, S., & Nieberle, K. (2023). Vulnerable narcissistic leadership meets Covid-19: The relationship between vulnerable narcissistic leader behaviour and subsequent follower irritation. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 32(6), 816-826. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2023.2252130
• Is Someone Looking Over My Shoulder? An Investigation into Supervisor Monitoring Variability, Subordinates’ Daily Felt Trust, and Well-being
  
  Zheng, X. (Janey), Nieberle, K. W., Braun, S., & Schyns, B. (2023). Is Someone Looking Over My Shoulder? An Investigation into Supervisor Monitoring Variability, Subordinates’ Daily Felt Trust, and Well-being. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 44(5), 818-837. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2699
• Servant Leadership: How Daily and General Behaviors Interact
  
  Kuonath, A., Nossek, J., Nieberle, K., Kreitmeir, D., & Frey, D. (2021). Servant Leadership: How Daily and General Behaviors Interact. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 20(4), 187-197. https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000282
• Modeling Identities in Context: A Dynamical Systems Approach to Leader-Follower Identities
  
  Nieberle, K., Acton, B., Braun, S., & Lord, R. G. (2021). Modeling Identities in Context: A Dynamical Systems Approach to Leader-Follower Identities. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2021(1). https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2021.13413abstract
• Mentale Gesundheit: Alles andere als nur gestresst am Arbeitsplatz.
  
  Kugler, S., & Nieberle, K. W. (2021). Mentale Gesundheit: Alles andere als nur gestresst am Arbeitsplatz. Personal in Hochschule Und Wissenschaft Entwickeln.
• Innovationen herbei führen? Gemeinsam statt einsam! Shared Leadership für die (Hochschul-) Praxis.
  
  Nieberle, K. (2019). Innovationen herbei führen? Gemeinsam statt einsam! Shared Leadership für die (Hochschul-) Praxis. Personal in Hochschule Und Wissenschaft Entwickeln, 5, 89-103.
• Authentic leadership extends beyond work: A multilevel model of work-family conflict and enrichment
  
  Braun, S., & Nieberle, K. (2017). Authentic leadership extends beyond work: A multilevel model of work-family conflict and enrichment. Leadership Quarterly, 28(6), 780-797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.04.003
• Authentische Führung – Ein Überblick und aktuelle Entwicklungen
  
  Haas, K., Fladerer, M., & Nieberle, K. (2017). Authentische Führung – Ein Überblick und aktuelle Entwicklungen. Wirtschaftspsychologie, 19(1), 5-13.