Professor Peter O'Connor

Biography

Peter O’Connor is Professor of Management and Head of the School of Management at QUT Business School. He leads initiatives that connect research, learning, and industry to strengthen leadership and organisational capability, and his research focuses on how personality and psychological traits shape leadership, performance, and adaptability in complex environments.

Peter’s research explores how personality and psychological traits shape leadership and performance, especially when people face uncertainty or change. He studies traits such as emotional intelligence, introversion and extraversion, tolerance of ambiguity, and the ways individuals adjust their behaviour to meet new challenges. His work combines experimental and field-based approaches to understand how these traits influence real leadership outcomes. Peter’s research has been published in leading journals including Psychological Bulletin, The Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Personality, and Human Relations, and has been featured in Scientific American, The Washington Post, and The International Business Times. His work has also been supported by funding from the Australian Research Council and through industry collaborations on leadership development, emotional intelligence, and workforce capability.

In his teaching, Peter emphasises evidence-based practice and analytical thinking. He encourages students to approach leadership with clarity, curiosity, and a focus on real impact. His teaching spans leadership development and research methods, where he integrates current scholarship with practical application to help students build the capability and confidence to lead in complex environments.