About

Gail Berger was a Clinical Professor of Management and Organizations and the Deputy Director of the Center for Executive Women at Kellogg School of Management. She was an alumna of Kellogg, having received her master's in management and organizations in 2001 and her PhD in 2003. Her career at Northwestern began as an adjunct professor with the School of Education and Social Policy, and she joined Kellogg as an adjunct in 2003, eventually becoming a clinical professor. Gail was known for her kindness, generosity, and deep commitment to helping people succeed and reach their full potential. She taught a wide range of courses including communication, conflict resolution, negotiations, and leading with purpose, working with organizations across sectors such as nonprofits and family businesses. She was particularly dedicated to women's leadership, serving as a key figure in the Women's Senior Leadership Program, Women's Director Development Program, and was a principal architect of the Kellogg Global Women's Summit and Women's Forums. Gail's work focused on creating spaces for women to build community, succeed professionally, and navigate personal challenges, transforming academic research into active practice. She was highly regarded for her teaching excellence, receiving high student evaluations, and her influence extended beyond her professional work through her personal devotion to her family and faith. Despite her illness, she continued to serve her students and colleagues, demonstrating unwavering dedication and inspiring many with her courage, strength, and kindness.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Public relations
• Social psychology
• Political science

Selected publications

• Laura Rodriguez at OutSite: Playing the “Game” of Professional Advancement (B)

  Kellogg School of Management eBooks · 2023-01-01

  book1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Laura Rodriguez at OutSite: Playing the “Game” of Professional Advancement (A)

  Kellogg School of Management eBooks · 2023-01-01

  book1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Laura Rodriguez at OutSite: Playing the “Game” of Professional Advancement (B)

  Kellogg School of Management Cases · 2022-10-06

  article1st authorCorresponding

  After reading and analyzing the case, students should be able to: identify obstacles women face when trying to advance their careers; assess gaps women should address to increase their likelihood of advancement; design interventions that will help position women for promotion opportunities; develop a deeper appreciation of the challenges that face working women; and better position themselves for advancement opportunities, as well as support other women on their professional journeys.

  PublisherDOI

• Laura Rodriguez at OutSite: Playing the “Game” of Professional Advancement (A)

  Kellogg School of Management Cases · 2022-10-06

  article1st authorCorresponding

  After reading and analyzing the case, students should be able to: identify obstacles women face when trying to advance their careers; assess gaps women should address to increase their likelihood of advancement; design interventions that will help position women for promotion opportunities; develop a deeper appreciation of the challenges that face working women; and better position themselves for advancement opportunities, as well as support other women on their professional journeys.

  PublisherDOI

• Cristo Rey St. Martin College Preparatory School: Promoting a Culture of Continuous Improvement

  Kellogg School of Management Cases · 2019-03-08

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Cristo Rey St. Martin College Preparatory (CRSM), a school with a unique educational model, has built a culture of accountability and student achievement. Founded in 2004 with a mission of serving “young people of limited economic means,” the school had a rocky start. It was plagued with student failure, high teacher turnover, and a total lack of accountability on the part of both students and teachers. In 2008, a new principal, Michael Odiotti, was hired to turn around the school. During his early years as principal, Mr. Odiotti faced many challenges, including poor academic results, lack of discipline, the threat of bankruptcy, and insufficient employers to support the school's work-study program. By 2018, the school had overcome some of these obstacles, and its metrics were exemplary. The question CRSM currently faces is how it can bolster a new culture of continuous improvement to avoid complacency while continuing to push accountability to achieve even greater results. This case (though it may stand on its own) is a continuation of the events described in “Creating a Culture of Empowerment and Accountability at St. Martin de Porres High,” Cases #5-410-755(A) and (B) (KEL514 and KEL515) (Kellogg School of Management, 2010).

  PublisherDOI

• Cristo Rey St. Martin College Preparatory School: Promoting a Culture of Continuous Improvement

  Kellogg School of Management eBooks · 2019-01-01

  book1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• The illusion of transparency in performance appraisals: When and why accuracy motivation explains unintentional feedback inflation

  Institutional Knowledge (InK) - Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University (Singapore Management University) · 2018-01-01

  preprint
  Publisher

• The illusion of transparency in performance appraisals: When and why accuracy motivation explains unintentional feedback inflation

  Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · 2017-10-14 · 44 citations

  articleOpen access

  The present research shows that managers communicate negative feedback ineffectively because they suffer from transparency illusions that cause them to overestimate how accurately employees perceive their feedback. We propose that these illusions emerge because managers are insufficiently motivated to engage in effortful thinking, which reduces the accuracy with which they communicate negative feedback to employees. Six studies (N = 1883) using actual performance appraisals within an organization and role plays with MBA students, undergraduates, and online participants show that transparency illusions are stronger when feedback is negative (Studies 1–2), that they are not driven by employee bias (Study 3), and occur because managers are insufficiently motivated to be accurate (Studies 4a–c). In addition, these studies demonstrate that transparency illusions are driven by more indirect communication by the manager and how different interventions can be used to mitigate these effects (Studies 4a–c). An internal meta-analysis including 11 studies from the file drawer (N = 1887) revealed a moderate effect size (d = 0.43) free of publication bias.

  PublisherDOI

• Creating a Culture of Empowerment and Accountability at St. Martin de Porres High School (B)

  Kellogg School of Management Cases · 2017-01-20 · 1 citations

  article

  Change is hard for all but perhaps more difficult for school leaders and other nonprofit organizations. The role that culture plays in a mission-driven organization can often be an impediment to change. This case uses a unique education institution, St. Martin dePorres School of the Cristo Rey Network, to illustrate the importance of culture in implementing change. It demonstrates how leaders can articulate a vision and create a strategy to change an organization and move toward success. The case focuses on the leadership team of Principal Mike Odiotti and Assistant Principal Judy Seiberlich and how they used cultural change as the key driver to school success. That success was defined by improved academic performance, greater accountability for students, teachers and staff and stronger empowerment of constituents. It includes an overview of how the school's leadership team used data to drive decision making. This case is ideal for MBA students, executives in nonprofit management or school leadership and can be used to illustrate change management, nonprofit leadership, culture change, mission-driven strategy or school leadership. It addresses critical issues that organizations face and provides tools and tactics that can be applied to mission-driven enterprises. Understand the role culture plays in creating change in an organization Gain an appreciation and comprehension for the relevance of shaping culture when implementing a vision Recognize norms guide people's behavior in organizations. Learn to identify the norms that promote positive cultures and those that create toxic environments Learn how to diagnose organizational culture using the “Iceberg Model” Build a repertoire of skills needed to successfully change and shape an organization's culture

  PublisherDOI

• Creating a Culture of Empowerment and Accountability at St. Martin de Porres High School (A)

  Kellogg School of Management Cases · 2017-01-20

  articleSenior author

  Change is hard for all but perhaps more difficult for school leaders and other nonprofit organizations. The role that culture plays in a mission-driven organization can often be an impediment to change. This case uses a unique education institution, St. Martin dePorres School of the Cristo Rey Network, to illustrate the importance of culture in implementing change. It demonstrates how leaders can articulate a vision and create a strategy to change an organization and move toward success. The case focuses on the leadership team of Principal Mike Odiotti and Assistant Principal Judy Seiberlich and how they used cultural change as the key driver to school success. That success was defined by improved academic performance, greater accountability for students, teachers and staff and stronger empowerment of constituents. It includes an overview of how the school's leadership team used data to drive decision making. This case is ideal for MBA students, executives in nonprofit management or school leadership and can be used to illustrate change management, nonprofit leadership, culture change, mission-driven strategy or school leadership. It addresses critical issues that organizations face and provides tools and tactics that can be applied to mission-driven enterprises. Understand the role culture plays in creating change in an organization Gain an appreciation and comprehension for the relevance of shaping culture when implementing a vision Recognize norms guide people's behavior in organizations. Learn to identify the norms that promote positive cultures and those that create toxic environments Learn how to diagnose organizational culture using the “Iceberg Model” Build a repertoire of skills needed to successfully change and shape an organization's culture

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Liz Livingston Howard

  6 shared

• Victoria Husted Medvec

  Ulrich Medical (Germany)

  6 shared

• Sachin Waikar

  4 shared

• Mary C. Kern

  Baruch College

  4 shared

• Michael Schaerer

  Singapore Management University

  3 shared

• Roderick I. Swaab

  3 shared

• Margaret A. Neale

  Stanford University

  2 shared

• Leigh Thompson

  1 shared

Labs

• Gail Berger's LabPI

Awards & honors

• Reimagine Education Award Finalist