HBR On Leadership
Leadership isn’t just a personality trait, it’s a set of skills that you can build. Whether you’re managing up or motivating a team, HBR On Leadership is your destination for insights and inspiration from the world’s top leadership practitioners and experts. Every Wednesday, the editors at the Harvard Business Review hand-picked case studies and conversations with global business leaders, management experts, academics, from across HBR to help you unlock the best in those around you.
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How to Speak with Confidence When You’re Put on the Spot
<p>We all know that leaders need to captivate audiences and effectively convey their ideas. But not every speaking opportunity can be prepared and practiced. That’s why it’s so important to learn the skill of speaking off-the-cuff, and Matt Abrahams, lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and host of the podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart, has advice to help. He explains how to stay calm in these situations, craft a compelling message, and ensure you’ve made a good impression. Abrahams is author of the book Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put o...
How to Strengthen Your Focus When Demands Never Let Up
<p>If you’re feeling distracted, mentally fogged, and unable to pay attention to the task at hand, you’re not alone. The human brain is highly susceptible to often unproductive mind-wandering, and modern technology has only made the problem worse. But we all know that the best work comes when you’re able to really zero in on an idea or problem for a sustained period of time. So, we need better strategies for blocking out the external and internal noise. Dr. Amishi Jha, a neuroscientist and professor of psychology at the University of Miami and the author of Peak M...
What Actually Works to Change Someone’s Mind
<p>Jonah Berger, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, says that most of us aren’t approaching persuasion the right way. Pushing people to behave how you’d like them to or believe the same things you do just doesn’t work, no matter how much data you give or how many emotional appeals you make. Studying both psychology and business, he’s found better tactics for bringing people over to your side. One of the keys? Asking questions so people feel like they’re making the decision to change. Berger is the author of the book The C...
How the Best Leaders Develop and Spend “Innovation Capital”
<p>Nathan Furr, professor of strategy at INSEAD, researches what makes great innovative leaders, and he reveals how they develop and spend “innovation capital.” Like social or political capital, it’s a power to motivate employees, win the buy-in of stakeholders, and sell breakthrough products. Furr argues that innovation capital is something everyone can develop and grow by using something he calls “impression amplifiers.” Furr is the coauthor of the book Innovation Capital: How to Compete—and Win—Like the World’s Most Innovative Leaders.</p> <p>Key episode topics include: leadership, innovation, power and influence, persuasion</p> <p>● Listen to the original HB...
What Jargon Says About Your Company Culture
<p>Anne Curzan, English professor at the University of Michigan, studies the evolution of language. While many of us roll our eyes at bizspeak—from synergy to value-add to operationalize—Curzan defends business jargon. She says the words we say around the office speak volumes about our organizations and our working relationships. She shares how to use jargon more deliberately, explains the origin of some annoying or amusing buzzwords, and discusses how English became the global business language and how that could change.</p> <p>Key episode topics include: business communication, leadership, organizational culture</p> <p>● Listen to the original HBR Id...
Setting Goals for Your Team When the Path Isn’t Clear
<p>In this Coaching Real Leaders session, a leader who has worked in the higher education sector for decades seeks guidance on how to set direction and maintain momentum for her team when so much of their long-term work depends on shifting priorities and partners outside of her control. As she steps into her first role managing managers, she’s unsure how fast to push, how to divide her time, and how to judge progress when the path ahead isn’t fully defined.</p> <p>Host Muriel Wilkins helps her sort through those questions, identify what she can move forward now...
Bring More Discipline to Your Decision-Making
<p>Corey Phelps, the dean of Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, says great problem solvers are hard to find. Even seasoned professionals at the highest levels of organizations regularly fail to identify the real problem and instead jump to exploring solutions. Phelps identifies the common traps and outlines a research-proven method to solve problems effectively. He’s the coauthor of the book Cracked It! How to Solve Big Problems and Sell Solutions Like Top Strategy Consultants.</p> <p>Key episode topics include: leadership, decision making and problem solving, strategy</p> <p>● Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: The Ri...
Communicating Clearly When You’re Under Stress
<p>Communicating clearly and persuasively sets you up to have the impact and influence you’re after. But what if you’re running on empty or under a lot of stress? Expressing your ideas and giving direction when you’re time-strapped, overwhelmed, or exhausted can feel nearly impossible. Add to that, having to deliver a message you don’t agree with. So, what then?</p> <p>Leadership development coach Muriel Wilkins talks us through communication techniques that meet you where you’re at mentally and emotionally so that you can rise to the moment (even when you’re worried you can’t).</p> ...
How to Scale What’s Working at Your Company
<p>If you’re thinking about scaling an initiative, an innovation, a strategy, or even a successful part of your company culture, Bob Sutton has advice for how to face this difficult leadership challenge. He’s an organizational psychologist who’s taught management science at Stanford for more than 40 years. Along with his colleague Huggy Rao, he’s studied leaders who’ve scaled something successfully, as well as those who’ve failed at it. In doing so, they identified the habits that help spread what works and the patterns that keep early wins from catching on.</p> <p>In this 2014 conversation...
The “Hidden Blockers” That Are Limiting Your Leadership Potential
Many of us have internal beliefs—I need it done now, I know I’m right, I need to be involved—that feel like truth but actually hold us back as leaders. Executive coach Muriel Wilkins calls these counterproductive beliefs “hidden blockers,” and she talks Women at Work hosts Amy Gallo and Amy Bernstein through the process of identifying theirs and then reframing them. They also look at how blockers show up in team and organizational behavior, like when lack of trust results in too many meetings, and discuss how leaders can shift culture by first examining and adjusting their own assump
