Dr Jutta Tobias Mortlock
Contact details
About
Overview
Jutta Tobias Mortlock, PhD, is a social psychologist with 25 years of work experience in organisational development and capacity-building in six countries on three continents.
Jutta’s research interest is focused on behaviour change initiatives in workplaces geared at generating sustainable wellbeing and performance, using "third wave" cognitive behavioural approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and other evidence-based mindfulness frameworks. She researches and teaches workplace mindfulness and leadership in collaboration with a variety of organisations and is a popular keynote speaker on the link between wellbeing and performance.
Her advisory roles include serving as Director of Research, Leadership Institute Royal Navy (LIRN), as Critical Friend to the Navy 4* Culture and Leadership Board, as Invited Friend of the Defence Mindfulness Steering Group (DMSG), and as advisor to UK thinktank The Mindfulness Initiative and to the US-based mindfulness in education non-profit Inner Explorer.
Jutta has won several academic and adult teaching and learning awards at the institutions she works, including the 2019 City University School of Arts and Social Sciences Learning & Teaching Award and People's Prize, and several Cranfield University Research and Teaching awards, in particular for her innovative work on incorporating mindfulness into academic and executive education after introducing thousands of senior managers and executive students to mindfulness. She has been investigating and delivering innovative mindfulness interventions in the British Army and the Royal Navy and currently conducts research on resilience in the Royal Marines Corps.
In partnership with her colleague Dr Trudi Edginton, Jutta co-directs City University's Centre for Excellence in Mindfulness Research (mindfulness-science.com).
Jutta's work has been published in a number of leading academic journals such as Journal of Business Venturing, Management Accounting Research, Journal of Learning and Instruction, and in the International Journal of Operations and Production Management (in which her work was awarded the 2018 best paper award).
Jutta has also featured in the popular press, including in The Times, The Sunday Times, The Financial Times, Newsweek, on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service, and in the 2015 TV documentary “The Mindful Revolution”.
In her life before academia, Jutta worked for nearly a decade as a consultant for several IT consultancies including Arthur Andersen, partnering with firms such as Goldman Sachs, Nomura and McKinsey on IT and strategy projects.
During her doctoral studies at Washington State University, Jutta was fortunate to be selected to direct a student-led project creating a sustainable community internet space in rural Rwanda on behalf of USAID. Jutta's doctoral research took her back to Rwanda where she conducted one of the first government-endorsed scientific surveys of post-genocide intergroup relations between Hutu and Tutsi and the effect of institutional reform to increase entrepreneurial opportunity in a desperate poverty post-genocide context.
Subsequently, Jutta learned the art and science of lobbying in the public interest as the post-doctorial James Marshall Public Policy Fellow for the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Society for the Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) during Washington, DC's "glory days" when President Obama introduced the Health Care Reform bill.
Jutta is a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), holds a psychotherapeutic counselling qualification from the University of Cambridge, and has volunteered in US prisons for the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP), a volunteer-run conflict transformation program.
She lives in Suffolk with her family and a pushy poodle who moonlights as a PAT (Pets As Therapy) dog.
Languages
English (can peer review), French (can write) and German (can peer review)
Expertise
Geographic Areas
- Europe
- North America
- Central Africa
Publications
Publications by category
Book
- Tobias, J. (2014). Coffee, Contact and Reconciliation: The Perspectives of Rural Rwandans. Scholars' Press.
Chapters (8)
- Tobias Mortlock, J. (2023). Well-being and work in focus. Organisational Psychology (pp. 149-166). Routledge.
- Tobias Mortlock, J. (2023). Leadership, engagement and motivation. Organisational Psychology (pp. 48-67). Routledge.
- Tobias Mortlock, J. and Strandqvist, L. (2023). Prepare for Being Unprepared. In Dhiman, S.K. (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Leadership and Change New York, US: Routledge. ISBN 9781003147305.
- Tobias Mortlock, J. (2021). More than Meditation: How Managers can Effectively put the Science of Workplace Mindfulness to Work. In Dhiman, S.K. (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Mindfulness at Work (pp. 251-265). London, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9780367200046.
- Tobias Mortlock, J.M. and Robinson, J. (2020). Mindful leadership. In Ivtzan, I. (Ed.), Handbook of Mindfulness-Based Programmes: Mindfulness Interventions from Education to Health and Therapy (pp. 297-312). Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9781138240940.
- Mortlock, J.T. (2019). Audio-guided Mindful-Based Social Emotional Learning (MBSEL) training in school classrooms: The inner explorer program. Handbook of Mindfulness Based Programmes Mindfulness Interventions from Education to Health and Therapy (pp. 251-263).
- Tobias Mortlock, J.M. (2019). Achtsamkeitstraining für die Firma? Gerne, aber bitte nachhaltig. In Englert, M. and Ternes, A. (Eds.), Nachhaltiges Management Nachhaltigkeit als exzellenten Managementansatz entwickeln (pp. 439-457). Springer Gabler. ISBN 9783662576939.
- Tobias, J., Rose, J., Robinson, K. and Tobias Mortlock, J. (2007). International Technology and Business Development: The case of an innovative Telecenter established in rural Rwanda. In Garg, R. and Mahadeo, J. (Eds.), Bridging Digital Divide (pp. 111-125). Delhi: Macmillan India Ltd. ISBN 9780230630352.
Journal articles (23)
- Mortlock, J.T., Turner, N., Plagnol, A.C., Beaumont, A. and Bourne, M. (2026). From complexity responses to enacted practice: Mindfulness as a multi-level metacognitive capability in project leadership. International Journal of Project Management, 44(2), pp. 102830-102830. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102830
- Haywood, S., Padurean, L., Ralph, R. and Tobias Mortlock, J. (2025). From Intimidation to Innovation: Cross-Continental Multiple Case Studies on How to Harness AI to Elevate Engagement, Comprehension, and Retention. Education Sciences, 15(7), pp. 902-902. doi:10.3390/educsci15070902
- Tobias Mortlock, J.M., Alapati, H.H. and Edginton, T. (2025). How to create a mindful community of practice: exploring the social functions of group-based mindfulness practices facilitated via Zoom during COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychology, 16. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1356057
- Tobias, J. (2024). How to Create a Mindful Community of Practice: Social Functions of Group Mindfulness During COVID-19. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2024(1). doi:10.5465/amproc.2024.13773abstract
- Tobias Mortlock, J. (2023). Next‐generation mindfulness: A mindfulness matrix to extend the transformative potential of mindfulness for consumer, organizational, and societal wellbeing. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 57(2), pp. 721-756. doi:10.1111/joca.12543
- Tobias Mortlock, J., Carter, A. and Querstret, D. (2022). Extending the Transformative Potential of Mindfulness Through Team Mindfulness Training, Integrating Individual With Collective Mindfulness, in a High-Stress Military Setting. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.867110
- Lechner, A. and Tobias Mortlock, J. (2022). How to create psychological safety in virtual teams. Organizational Dynamics, 51(2), pp. 100849-100849. doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2021.100849
- Krisberga-Sinigoi, S., Reinmoeller, P., Denyer, D. and Tobias, J. (2021). Staying in a dying organisation: stigmatisation and organisational identificatification. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2021(1), pp. 16028-16028. doi:10.5465/ambpp.2021.16028abstract
- Tobias Mortlock, J.M. (2019). More than Meditation: How to make mindfulness work for you. Psychology in Practice, 1(4), pp. 12-16
- Krisberga-Sinigoi, S., Reinmoeller, P. and Tobias, J. (2019). Insufficient Change: A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Emotions, Change and Routines. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2019(1), pp. 18510-18510. doi:10.5465/ambpp.2019.18510abstract
- Bakosh, L.S., Tobias Mortlock, J.M., Querstret, D. and Morison, L. (2018). Audio-guided mindfulness training in schools and its effect on academic attainment: Contributing to theory and practice. Learning and Instruction, 58, pp. 34-41. doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2018.04.012
- Robinson, J., Sinclair, M., Tobias, J. and Choi, E. (2017). More Dynamic Than You Think: Hidden Aspects of Decision-Making. Administrative Sciences, 7(3), pp. 23-23. doi:10.3390/admsci7030023
- Guo, L., Tobias, J., Bendoly, E. and Hu, Y. (2017). Different departments, different drivers. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 37(8), pp. 1031-1053. doi:10.1108/ijopm-01-2016-0046
- Tobias Mortlock, J. and Carter, A. (2017). Insights from Research – Collective Practice. International Journal of Mindfulness and Compassion, 1(1), pp. 32-33
- Bakosh, L.S., Snow, R.M., Tobias, J.M., Houlihan, J.L. and Barbosa-Leiker, C. (2016). Maximizing Mindful Learning: Mindful Awareness Intervention Improves Elementary School Students’ Quarterly Grades. Mindfulness, 7(1), pp. 59-67. doi:10.1007/s12671-015-0387-6
- Choi, E. and Tobias, J. (2015). Mind the Gap: The Link Between Mindfulness and Performance at Work Needs More Attention. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 8(4), pp. 629-633. doi:10.1017/iop.2015.90
- Melnyk, S.A., Bititci, U., Platts, K., Tobias, J. and Andersen, B. (2014). Is performance measurement and management fit for the future? Management Accounting Research, 25(2), pp. 173-186. doi:10.1016/j.mar.2013.07.007
- Tobias Mortlock, J.M. and Pavlov, A. (2014). Mindful meetings. Cranfield University Alumni Focus magazine, (Spring), pp. 8-9
- Tobias, J.M., Mair, J. and Barbosa-Leiker, C. (2013). Toward a theory of transformative entrepreneuring: Poverty reduction and conflict resolution in Rwanda's entrepreneurial coffee sector. Journal of Business Venturing, 28(6), pp. 728-742. doi:10.1016/j.jbusvent.2013.03.003
- Tobias Mortlock, J.M. (2013). Sharper decision-making. Training Journal, Dec 20, pp. 13-17
- Tobias, J. and Tobias Mortlock, J. (2012). The links between material well-being, intergroup contact, and post-conflict reconciliation: The case of Rwanda’s coffee farmers. The Business Review, Cambridge, 20(1)
- Tobias, J.M. and Boudreaux, K.C. (2011). Entrepreneurship and Conflict Reduction in the Post-Genocide Rwandan Coffee Industry. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 24(2), pp. 217-242. doi:10.1080/08276331.2011.10593535
- Ingrams, A. and Tobias Mortlock, J.M. (2010). Creating a Different Kind of Innovator: Using health communication theory in entrepreneurship education to foster behavior change among entrepreneurship students in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Education for International Development, 4(3), pp. 1-20
Reports (4)
- Tobias Mortlock, J. and Gray, D. (2021). Exploring mental resilience in Royal Marine recruit training..
- Tobias Mortlock, J. and Gray, D. (2020). What are the mental challenges associated with being a Principal Warfare Officer (PWO), and how can the PWO course be amended to mitigate against these?.
- Carter, A. and Tobias Mortlock, J.M. (2019). Mindfulness in the military: Improving mental fitness in the UK Armed Forces using next generation team mindfulness training. Brighton, UK: Institute of Employment Studies.
- Carter, A., Tooias, J., Spiegelhalter, K. and Tobias Mortlock, J. (2016). Mindfulness in organisations: Case studies of organisational practice. Institute of Employment Studies.
Working paper
- Krisberga-Sinigoi, S., Reinmoeller, P., Denyer, D. and Tobias Mortlock, J. (2023). Traumatic Experiences in a Dying Organisation: Causes and Coping.
Other (2)
- Tobias, J., Gray, D. and Tobias Mortlock, J.(2012). A Rollercoaster Journey: Culture, Leadership, and Performance at AIT - Part 1: Relative Values.
- Tobias Mortlock, J. and Gray, D.(2012). A Rollercoaster Journey: Culture, Leadership, and Performance at AIT - Part 2: Demise and Distress.