Justin F. Willett | Department of Health Sciences, University of Missouri

About Me

I am an Associate Teaching Professor in the Master of Health Administration program at the University of Missouri, where I prepare future health leaders to communicate in ways that strengthen the organizations they serve.

My teaching and research focus on two connected questions: How do leaders communicate in ways that help people thrive at work? And how can health organizations communicate more ethically and effectively with the publics they serve?

On the first, my research consistently finds that everyday leadership communication is positively associated with employee well-being and retention. How leaders communicate influences whether people feel respected, stay engaged, and do their best work. On the second, I examine how healthcare organizations use patient success stories as strategic assets, and how audiences respond to a story’s evidence and structure in distinct ways. Because healthcare is hard for consumers to evaluate, how organizations tell stories can have an outsize influence on consumer decisions.

My goal is to turn that research into practice: healthier, more respectful organizations, and health communication that earns the public’s trust.

Research

Willett, J. F., LaGree, D., Shin, H., Houston, J. B., & Duffy, M. (2026). The role of leader communication in fostering respectful workplace culture and increasing employee engagement and well-being. International Journal of Business Communication, 63(2), 361–385. https://doi.org/10.1177/23294884231195614

Willett, J. F., LaGree, D., Warner, B. R., Houston, J. B., & Duffy, M. (2024). Flourishing with flexibility: Leader communicative support of flexible work arrangements (FWA) enhances employee engagement and well-being. International Journal of Business Communication. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/23294884241291531

Willett, J. F., Rodgers S., Stemmle, J. (2024). Seeking the public health angle in Missouri newspaper coverage of the opioid crisis. Newspaper Research Journal, 45(3), 311-331. https://doi.org/10.1177/07395329241255158

Zhang, W., Tsou, T. H., Rodgers, S., & Willett, J. F. (2024). Comparing personalization strategies in social network advertising: The role of impression motivation in persuasion outcomes. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 24(3), 247–264. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2024.2337057

See my publications on Google Scholar.

In The Media

Knight, R. (2025, August 18). Building Employee Buy-In for Strategic Change. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2025/08/building-employee-buy-in-for-strategic-change

Diedrich, S. (2025, January 16). Thriving with flexibility. Show Me Mizzou. https://showme.missouri.edu/2025/thriving-with-flexibility/

McCuien, P. (2023, October 17). How leaders communicate with employees sets the tone for a respectful workplace culture. Show Me Mizzou. https://showme.missouri.edu/2023/how-leaders-communicate-with-employees-sets-the-tone-for-a-respectful-workplace-culture/

Teaching

Current

Health Administration 8470: Strategic Planning and Marketing for Health Care Organizations (3 Credit Hours)
Analysis of strategic planning, services management, and marketing concepts in healthcare. Covers environment analysis, organizational assessment, and implementing strategy through service management and marketing.

Health Administration 7544: Managerial Epidemiology: Population Health Management (3 Credit Hours)
Examination of basic epidemiological concepts and methods as they apply to health services management, with an emphasis on practical applications of epidemiology to health services planning, problem solving, policy development, and systems-thinking.

Certifications

Online Teaching
Inclusive Teaching
Writing Intensive (WI)

Past

Journalism 4242W/7242W: Strategic Communication Leadership (3 Credit Hours)
Strategic communication leadership course focused on marketing, multi-media storytelling, advertising, and social platforms. Students learn practical strategies to lead teams and develop positive relationships in organizations. (Writing intensive course)

Professional Experience

I have over 20 years of professional experience in journalism, healthcare communication, and academic leadership.

Department of Health Sciences, University of Missouri, 2026-present

Associate Teaching Professor Teach graduate courses in healthcare strategy and marketing and managerial epidemiology in the Master of Health Administration program. Conduct research on leadership communication and health communication, and contribute to program accreditation and student mentorship.

Novak Leadership Institute, University of Missouri, 2022-2026

Program/Research Director Lead the institute’s leadership research agenda, focusing on how leadership communication shapes workplace culture and enhances employee engagement and well-being. Contributed to leadership development programming and promotion.

University of Missouri Health Care and School of Medicine, 2015-2022

Led strategic health communications and managed COVID-19 communication response that increased website engagement by nearly 1200% in 2021.

Journalism, 2001-2014

Newspaper reporter and editor at publications in Missouri and North Carolina, developing storytelling expertise that now informs my narrative persuasion research.

Areas of Expertise

Leadership and organizational communication
Health communication and narrative persuasion
Strategic communication research and application
Student mentorship and academic development
Digital content strategy and development
Journalistic storytelling and reporting

Education

Ph.D. in Journalism (2025)
Strategic Communication
School of Journalism, University of Missouri

Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.) (2021)
School of Medicine, University of Missouri

Bachelor of Journalism (B.J.) (2001)
School of Journalism, University of Missouri