Ashley Whillans, PhD

Volpert Family Associate Professor at Harvard Business School
Former Senior Consultant at Edelman

Ashley Whillans is a professor at Harvard Business School, where she teaches MBA students about motivation and incentives. She holds a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of British Columbia, with her award-winning research on time and happiness earning the 2018 CAGS Distinguished Dissertation Award. Her research has been published in leading academic journals and featured in Harvard Business Review, Time Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal.

Outside of academia, she works with major companies to improve employee experience and help teams perform at a high level. In 2020, she published Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life, which shares strategies for better time management. Her work challenges the assumption that money is our most valuable resource, showing instead that how we spend our time has a deeper impact on our well-being. Through her teaching, writing, and advisory work, Ashley continues to shift the conversation around success, productivity, and what it means to live a fulfilling life.

Attention and the Science of Storytelling

At Responsive Conference 2025, Harvard Business School professor Ashley Whillans will explore the psychology behind storytelling and its growing relevance in today’s workplace. Known for her research on time, motivation, and happiness, Ashley brings a fresh perspective on how effective narratives can shape culture, boost employee engagement, and influence behavior at every level of an organization.

Whether you're leading a team, pitching a bold idea, or navigating your own career path, this session will uncover how storytelling can become a powerful tool for connection and impact. Drawing on both research and real-world examples, Ashley will help attendees understand how the stories we tell – about our work, our goals, and ourselves – can drive better decisions, build trust, and inspire action. You'll leave with new insights on how to communicate with clarity and purpose, and why storytelling might just be one of today’s most underrated leadership skills.