Peter Reiley, PhD

Organizational Psychologist | Leadership Educator | Author

Dr. Peter Reiley speaking about leadership and pop culture at an event, holding a microphone, wearing a blazer over a blue T-shirt with an Autobot logo from Transformers, standing in front of a space-themed backdrop with Optimus Prime.

I use pop culture to translate behavioral science into evidence-based leadership lessons people remember.

After 20 years as a leader, professor, and researcher, I've found that an inspiring character or a great villain can offer a vivid example of leadership science in action.

I pull from film, television, comics, and more to help people lead better, follow more effectively, and build high-performing teams that last.

Book cover titled 'Prime Leadership: The Science and Practice of Leadership in Transformers' by Peter J. Reiley, PhD, with a sci-fi illustration of a large robot in space with smaller figures underneath, stars in the background.

Prime Leadership Coming Soon

Prime Leadership Coming Soon

Great leadership is more than meets the eye. Prime Leadership: The Science and Practice of Leadership in Transformers uses the epic war between Autobots and Decepticons to teach evidence-based leadership concepts that apply well beyond Cybertron.

Part of the Exploring Effective Leadership Practices Through Popular Culture series, this book challenges leadership myths and translates established theory and current research into practical lessons through iconic characters and stories. Optimus Prime reveals how transformational, ethical, and servant leadership earn a team’s commitment. Megatron shows what happens when destructive leaders abuse power and toxic personalities poison an organization from within. Together with characters drawn from across the Transformers franchise, they demonstrate how followers help shape the leadership dynamic, how effective leaders adapt to complex situations and develop others through mentorship, and how high-performing teams are forged.

Through examples from films, animated series, and comics, readers gain a deeper understanding of leadership as a process and explore research-backed approaches they can use in their own roles.

For leaders, educators, students, and Transformers fans alike, Prime Leadership delivers practical insights that make leadership principles easier to understand and apply.

coming Spring 2027

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Dr. Peter J. Reiley