Meet Lioba, our most recent international visitor at the centre.
Lioba is a PhD student at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management (Chair of Leadership) under the supervision of Professor Dr Fabiola. H. Gerpott. In her research, she focuses on the interaction dynamics of leaders and followers in meetings.
She visited the centre for seven weeks as part of the CTWD Visiting Scholarship program to encourage collaboration with CTWD researchers and help advance work design research.
It was always fun to talk about research with her, according to our Research Fellow Dr Florian Klonek who closely collaborated with Lioba during her visit.
Her presence, and her enthusiasm to explore the Australian culture will be greatly missed.
Lioba generously answered some of our questions to learn more about her, her research and her experience in Perth:
⭐ Who did you work with? What did you work on?
I worked together with Dr. Florian Klonek on a paper in which we research entrainment processes in one-on-one meetings between leaders and followers in the workplace.
⭐ What are some of the highlights of your visit? What did you learn and what did you enjoy?
What I enjoyed most during my stay at FOWI was the passion with which the team supports each other’s research projects and the value that is seen in collaborating and exchanging expertise.
For instance, I had the opportunity to present my research on leader-follower interactions at the institute’s weekly seminar, from where I received valuable insights and additional ideas.
Overall, I experienced my time at FOWI as a very enriching phase during my PhD, during which I was able to continue collaboration and expand my international network.
⭐Are there any particular achievements/developments that were a result of your visit?
Next to substantially moving my research projects forward, I also had the chance to present my research findings on organizational context factors that are beneficial for female leaders to the Athena Swan project group. One particular observation that I made was that at FOWI, everyone is not only aiming for high quality publications but also at translating research insights into practice.
⭐ Where did you stay?
Coming to Perth by myself, I wanted to live in a shared apartment to meet other people. I looked for shared apartments on FlatmateFinders, flatemate.com.au and in various Facebook groups. In the end, I found the home for my stay through a Facebook group.
I lived in East Perth and I can definitely recommend it; public transportation is good, it’s walking distance to the office and close to the river – ideal for morning runs. :) Although I have to say I did miss the beach a bit…
⭐What did you think about Perth and Western Australia? Do you have any special memory, highlights and recommendations you would like to share?
I loved my time in Perth and at FOWI in particular. The friendly character of the people combined with the sunny weather is a perfect match and makes Perth a fantastic city to live in. I can just echo previous visiting researchers in saying that Rottnest Island and Margaret River are great places to visit! Something I’d like to add are the great opportunities to become active outdoors. As a runner, I enjoyed the great running path in Kings Park as well as along Swan River and the coast.