Isabeau Schmidt

About

Isabeau is a PhD Candidate at Kent Business School, University of Kent. Her research focuses on leadership, well-being, and new ways of working, with a particular interest in hybrid work environments. Under the supervision of Dr Maria Balta and Prof Patricia Lewis, her doctoral research explores how new ways of working shape leaders’ experiences and well-being, examining the opportunities and challenges leaders face in increasingly flexible work environments. More broadly, she is interested in understanding leader well-being in the changing world of work.

Alongside her PhD, Isabeau is actively involved in the wider academic community. She co-organises the Advances in Qualitative Research (AQR) Seminar Series and contributes to activities within the British Academy of Management (BAM). She also has a strong interest in qualitative research methods, particularly diary methods and their potential to capture experiences as they unfold in everyday working life.

Isabeau completed her Bachelor’s degree in International Management at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences in 2022 and her Master’s degree in Organisational and Business Psychology at the University of Kent in 2024. She also brings more than four years of experience in strategy consulting, where she has supported clients with IT transformation and process optimisation projects. Her research therefore aims to contribute not only to academic conversations around leader well-being and new ways of working, but also to a better understanding of the challenges leaders encounter in practice.