About

Deborah J. Barrett is a professor in the practice of writing and communication at Rice University, where she teaches graduate courses in creative writing and literature. She was awarded the John Freeman Faculty Teaching Award in 2019 for her work in the GLS Program, which she joined as faculty in 2009. She has served as the director of MBA communication at the Jones School and as director of the Program for Communication Excellence for Rice undergraduates after joining Rice faculty in 1998. Deborah Barrett holds a Ph.D. in English from Rice University and has published scholarly articles on literature, communication, and leadership, as well as a textbook titled Leadership Communication (McGraw-Hill). She has participated in several major writing conferences, including the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences for creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Additionally, she has published creative nonfiction essays under the name Deborah Burch-Lavis and authored a chapbook of poetry, The Desert Speaks to the Dreamer (Finishing Line Press, 2019). Currently, she engages in poetry workshops with the Circle of Wise Women at Stanford University and is working on publishing her novel. Her creative writing and photography can be viewed at her personal website, and her academic publications and presentations are available through Rice University.

Research topics

• Public relations
• Psychology
• Business
• Philosophy
• Computer science

Selected publications

• The Global Visions Case: Determining the Best Practices for Managing Expats and Intercultural Differences in a Multinational Corporation

  NeilsonJournals Publishing eBooks · 2011-01-01

  book1st authorCorresponding
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• Leadership communication, 2nd ed.

  2008-01-01 · 9 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  Publisher

• Strong communication skills a must for today’s leaders

  Handbook of Business Strategy · 2006-01-01 · 80 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Purpose This article is designed to help senior managers be better leaders by being better communicators. The article explains my original concept of “leadership communication” and provides an original framework to help map out the levels of communication ability business leaders need, including developing a positive ethos and emotional intelligence. Design/methodology/approach The objectives are achieved by providing specific and practical definitions and illustrations. The article is based on research on leadership, communication, and emotional intelligence and on extensive experience coaching and working with executives. Findings I found that the best business leaders share similar, specific characteristics of good communication that fall into three major groups: core (strategy, writing, speaking), managerial (emotional intelligence, listening, coaching, teams, meetings), and corporate (communicating with all internal and external stakeholders). Research limitations/implications Future research could include further developing the leadership communication concept by adding to the framework as I discover other major capabilities needed by business leaders. Practical implications All managers can apply my definition of leadership communication and my framework. I have witnessed the improvement managers can make in their leadership ability by focusing on the communication capabilities discussed in my article. Originality/value My concept, definition, and framework are all new. The value is in helping managers improve their communication abilities and recognize the importance of emotional intelligence in effective business communication. It is important for all managers and for teachers/coaches who work with them as well.

  PublisherDOI

• Successful Cross-Cultural Communication During Major Change

  The International Journal of Knowledge Culture and Change Management Annual Review · 2006-01-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
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• Leadership Communication: The Current State and the Future of MBA Communication

  Rice Digital Scholarship Archive (Rice University) · 2005-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The survey sample includes all students entering the MBA program at Rice each fall 2000 -2005 for a total of 978 students.

  Publisher

• The Power of PowerPoint: Providing MBAs a Leadership Edge

  Rice Digital Scholarship Archive (Rice University) · 2004-01-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Edward Tufte (2003) argues that PowerPoint is so flawed that it is impossible to communicate
\nanything meaningful using it. The medium is not flawed; the users are. Instead of condemning
\nPowerPoint, we owe it to the MBAs to teach them how to use this powerful communication tool.
\nKnowing how to use PowerPoint effectively can give MBAs a leadership edge. This article
\ndiscusses what we should be teaching the MBAs to allow them to take advantage of PPT and use
\nit to deliver powerful presentations.

  Publisher

• A best-practice approach to designing a change communication programme

  2004-04-22 · 5 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Change is difficult, and organizational change is particularly challenging, thus the huge amount of research on managing organizational change, usually called ‘change management’. What is change management? Some might say that it is an oxymoron since change is too unpredictable and chaotic to control or manage. However, good managers must attempt to manage it. Change management is the executive skill or art of leading or supervising the people involved in the transformation of or in an organization. PeopleNothing happens in an organization without communication. As Eccles and Nohria say in Beyond the Hype: Discovering the Essence of Management, ‘Without the right words, used in the right way, it is unlikely that the right actions will ever occur . . . Without words we have no way of expressing strategic concepts, structural forms, or designs for performance measurement systems. In the end, there is no separating action and rhetoric’ (1992). Thus, without effective employee communication and a rigid approach to communication during major change, a change programme has little chance to succeed.

  PublisherDOI

• Change communication: using strategic employee communication to facilitate major change

  Corporate Communications An International Journal · 2002-11-18 · 243 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Whether organizational change results from a merger, acquisition, new venture, new process improvement approach, or any number of flavors‐of‐the‐day management fads, employee communications can mean the success or failure of any major change program. The Strategic Employee Communication Model with the best practice definitions, which are composites of effective employee communication examples collected from researching selected Fortune 500 companies, help management understand the strategic role of employee communication in a high‐performing company. The model functions as an analytical tool to diagnose a company’s strengths and weaknesses in employee communication so that the company can structure the change communication program and position communication to facilitate the overall change program. In this paper, I explain the Strategic Employee Communication Model and best practice definitions, demonstrate a change communication approach to improving employee communications using the Strategic Employee Communication Model, and provide a case study of the successful use of the model and approach during a major change program.

  PublisherDOI

• Achieving Results in MBA Communication

  Business Communication Quarterly · 2002-09-01 · 6 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  How we achieve this mission is the focus of this article. After a brief overview of the program, I discuss three keys to the success of the program: individual coaching, integrated team instruction, and constant assessment of the students and the program. Although in place only four years, the program has been judged a success by the students, faculty, administration, and business community. The program accomplishes its mission and achieves the desired results— producing MBAs with strong leadership communication ability.

  PublisherDOI

• A bestiary of my heart: Cautionary tales

  Women s Studies · 2001-04-01

  articleSenior author
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Frequent coauthors

• Victoria Nelson

  1 shared

• Melinda Knight

  Montclair State University

  1 shared

Awards & honors

• John Freeman Faculty Teaching Award (2019)