About me

Hello, my name is Min Young Lee. I am a postdoctoral research associate at Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill.

I take an interdisciplinary, multi-method approach to understanding how workplace experiences shape people’s self-perception—and how these internal shifts influence their motivation, engagement, and behavior at work.

My research centers on two interconnected streams:

• Self-diminishment, in which individuals internalize marginalizing experiences and come to overestimate their limitations and undervalue their contributions. 
• Self-empowerment, in which individuals internalize affirming experiences and develop a strengthened sense of agency and capability—sometimes accompanied by reduced sensitivity to context and feedback.

At the heart of my research is a curiosity in how the everyday social fabric of work shapes who we believe ourselves to be, whether we feel acknowledged or dismissed. In my research, I find that these internal shifts can lead to profound implications for how individuals engage, grow, and act with agency at work. I aim to understand the forces that hold people back at work and those that help them thrive.

In addition to my research and teaching, I manage the Center for Decision Research at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, which supports both empirical research on individual, team, and organizational dynamics.

I received my PhD in Management from Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business, MA in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and my BA in Psychology and Sociology from Emory University.