Cat’s Track #74 – Laura Hambley
Welcome to Cat’s Track Episode 74, with guest Laura Hambley.
Dr. Laura Hambley is an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist and a serial entrepreneur based in Calgary, Alberta. She is a sought-after thought leader on workplace psychology and career development in Canada, and is regularly interviewed by the media on current trends – in addition to writing and speaking in public forums. Dr. Laura has 20 years of experience providing organizational consulting to public and private organizations in Canada, as well as internationally. Above all else, she is a leader and mentor who is passionate about making a difference in people’s work lives. Dr. Laura was nominated and selected as a Woman of Distinction in Canada in 2014, and recently won a Canadian Woman of Inspiration Award as a Global Influencer (2018).
Beginning with her Doctorate from the University of Calgary in 2002, Laura has specialized in the human dynamics of distributed or remote leadership and teamwork. This is now a global topic due to COVID-19, and Laura is a sought after authority on workplace transformation. She has completed and published extensive research on the critical success factors for effectively leading distributed teams. Laura also coordinated a major telework research project through the Haskayne School of Business in Calgary (2004-05), and has co-authored a book on the topic (Growing the Virtual Workplace, 2008). She cofounded Work EvOHlution five years ago, a consultancy that has developed assessments for leaders, teams and individuals in mobile or flexible workplaces. Their Distributed Work Profiler was written about in Scientific American magazine as the world’s first personality profile of a remote worker. Work EvOHlution was also selected as one of Alberta’s most innovative start-ups by Alberta Venture magazine in 2015, and selected to present twice at South by Southwest, the innovation megaconference, in Austin, Texas.
In addition to Work EvOHlution, Dr. Laura owns several psychology practices based in Calgary, Ontario and BC: Calgary Career Counselling, Canada Career Counselling, and The Leadership Success Group. She leads a team of career psychologists and consultants that help thousands of Canadians navigate career decisions. Further, her team of Industrial/Organizational Psychology consultants support leader, team, and culture development across hundreds of small and large organizations over the last decade.
Laura also enjoys teaching, mentoring and supervising students through her role as an Adjunct Professor with the Department of Psychology at the University of Calgary. She is also advocating for Canada’s energy industry through recently Chairing the 69th year of the Canadian Energy Executive Association (formerly the Oilmen’s) along with her husband, Scott Lovett. Raising nearly $300,000 in funds for children’s charities through this association and other charities is a true passion of hers.
In addition to her businesses, under her pen name Laura Lovett, she has published two psychological thrillers, Losing Cadence and Finding Sophie, that are being represented by a Hollywood Producer. She hopes to both entertain and raise awareness on important topics around mental health and domestic violence/sex trafficking of women. Laura has a busy and fun household in Calgary, with three children – two boys and a girl – ages 14, 12 and 10. She enjoys travel, competitive squash, hiking and downhill skiing.
