David A. Thomas

• Curriculum Vitae
• Publications

To this end, David first began research on inter-group relations and organizational change as a graduate student at Yale University, where he sought to understand the dynamics of identity and diversity in organizations. For more than a decade, Thomas has embarked on groundbreaking research. He has published widely in academic journals and books, lectured at numerous universities and conferences and consulted for companies and organizations across the U.S.

David’s work combines three strands of intellectual interest. His first interest in mentoring, the core of his work from 1986 to 1993, looked at the influence of race on developmental relationships in organizations. “Mentoring seems to be profoundly different in cases where lines of race and gender cross, as opposed to cases in which they do not,” says Thomas. To delve into this phenomenon, he surveyed and interviewed mentor-protégé pairs at telecommunications companies, law firms and financial services organizations over the course of eight years. His findings have been published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, Administrative Science Quarterly and other periodicals.

David’s second interest deals with the broader question of career development and advancement of racial minorities in organizations. The centerpiece of this research is Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executive in Corporate America co-authored with Harvard Business School Professor John J. Gabarro (Harvard Business School Press 1999). Hailed by The Boston Globe as "a massive primer for professionals seeking to understand success and employers who wish to foster diversity in their upper ranks," Breaking Through has received critical acclaim from The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and many other publications.

The third stream of research examines how organizations shape the racial dynamics of individuals and groups within. Through his research, David found that the issue of how to facilitate positive outcomes that benefit both the individual and company is most pressing. “The demographics of the work force are widening and organizations are moving toward total quality, cross-functional integration, and empowerment,” he says. “The role of leadership is evolving out of the ‘command and control’ paradigm. In this environment, managers are going to have to know how to address issues of diversity effectively.” David’s work in this area has been published in Harvard Business Review and other publications.

As an undergraduate at Yale University, David was himself inspired by a mentor. “This man was a Ph.D. candidate in organizational behavior at Yale and was the first African American academic with whom I developed a close relationship,” he recalls. “He opened up for me a whole new way of thinking about what I could do and how I could fulfill my desire to make the world a better place.”

After receiving his B.A., David worked as the director of a counseling and training program for underprivileged youth in New York City before continuing with graduate level studies. He earned a master’s degree in organizational psychology from Columbia and M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees in organizational behavior from Yale.

Before joining the faculty of Harvard Business School in 1990, David was assistant professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. At HBS he taught the popular second-year elective, Self Assessment and Career Development from 1993-1998. Currently he teaches in the Required Course, Leadership and Organizational Behavior, as well as lecturing in several of the school's Executive Programs. David also participates as a core faculty in Harvard Graduate School of Education's Urban Superintendent Program and in Harvard Divinity School's Leadership Development Institute.