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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Combatting Cynicism in Your Organization
<p>Around the world, we’ve become increasingly cynical about other people, public institutions, and corporations. Back in 2022, Edelman’s Trust Barometer found that nearly 60% of respondents across 27 countries reported that their default is to distrust. And that’s bad for business, says Stanford University associate professor of psychology Jamil Zaki. He says that cynics damage trust, and in workplaces they breed toxicity and lead to poor outcomes. He explains how to identify and change this kind of behavior at your organization. Zaki wrote the HBR article, “Don’t Let Cynicism Undermine Your Workplace.”</p> <p>Key episode topics include: leadership, man...
Why Most Projects Fail—and How to Achieve Better Outcomes
<p>Companies of every size in every industry and part of the world are basing more of their work around projects. And yet research shows that nearly two-thirds of those efforts fail. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, who has studied projects and project management for decades, explains how we can do better. He offers advice on the right way to frame projects, how to structure organizations around them, and pitfalls to avoid. Nieto-Rodriguez is the author of the Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook and author of the article “The Project Economy Has Arrived.”</p> <p>Key episode topics include: project management, operations stra...
Asking for Help When Others Look to You for Answers
<p>Wayne Baker, professor emeritus at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, has spent much of his career researching the best way to effectively ask for help at work. Whether you’re soliciting support on a tricky assignment or more resources for your team, it can feel uncomfortable to approach bosses and colleagues with hat in hand. But we rarely get what we need or want without asking for it. Baker highlights some of the most effective strategies for defining your goal, figuring out who to ask, and crafting your message so it will be positively re...
Where to Look for Ethical Risk Inside a Company
<p>Eugene Soltes, professor at Harvard Business School, studies white-collar crime and has even interviewed convicts behind bars. While most people think of high-profile scandals like Enron, he says every sizable organization has lapses in integrity. He shares practical tools for managers to identify pockets of ethical violations to prevent them from ballooning into serious reputational and financial damage. Soltes is the author of the HBR article “Where Is Your Company Most Prone to Lapses in Integrity?”</p> <p>Key episode topics include: business ethics, risk management, business management, cross-cultural management, organizational culture</p> <p>● Listen to the original HBR IdeaCa...
When Leading a Global Team, Don’t Leave Connection to Chance
<p>Leading people across countries and time zones means dealing with communication gaps and friction that can easily throw a team off course. Tsedal Neeley, a professor at Harvard Business School, explains why global teams are especially vulnerable to misunderstandings and why leaders often don’t realize there’s a problem until collaboration starts to suffer. She has advice for getting everyone to understand one another so that they have enough trust and context to contribute fully. </p> <p>Key episode topics include: collaboration and teams, cross-cultural management, leading teams</p> <p>● Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Communicate Better...
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...
