Professor Payal Sharma broadly studies how people experience and respond to challenges in their occupations through finding and leveraging a sense of control. Her current projects explore how men navigate masculine norms in their jobs; and the linkages between adverse childhood and adult working experiences. Her previous research has focused on workplace mistreatment dynamics, stress and trauma for leaders, as well as empowering leadership processes. In addition, she has written about and organizes workshops related to qualitative research methods. Her scholarship has been published in Group and Organization Management, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management Inquiry, Leadership Quarterly, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Organizational Dynamics.

Sharma is an award-winning instructor and regularly delivers academic keynotes and workshops for leaders across a range of sectors and industries. Through her courses and speaking engagements, she offers evidence-based toolkits which are designed to educate and empower her audiences about leadership development, power, and politics in organizations.

Before UNLV, Sharma was a visiting faculty member at the Wharton School of Business and tenure-track faculty member at Rutgers Business School, Newark and New Brunswick. She holds a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from the University of Maryland, College Park; a Master's degree in higher education administration from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; a Master's degree in organizational management from The George Washington University; and bachelor degrees in anthropology and history from the University of California, San Diego.