HBR On Leadership

Latest Episodes:

How to Coach an Employee Who’s Struggling to Perform Jul 24, 2024

Show notes

Do you have a difficult employee on your team— someone who might be underperforming or resistant to taking feedback? Do you know how to help them?

Melvin Smith says that coaching can be harder than you realize. First you must figure out which approach will work well for that specific employee. But you also need to know how to measure the success of your coaching and when it’s time to move on to other options—like performance management.

In this episode, he takes questions from listeners who are struggling to coach some of their employees. He offers advice for what to do when your new employee is slacking off, or when they’re struggling to adjust to your organization’s culture and communication style. He also has suggestions for coaching two direct reports who are in conflict with each other.

Smith is a professor at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and coauthor of the book Helping People Change: Coaching with Compassion for Lifelong Learning and Growth.

Key episode topics include: leadership, careers, career coaching, managing people, organizational culture, difficult conversations.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Listen to the original Dear HBR episode: Coaching Problem Employees (2020)
Find more episodes of Dear HBR.
Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

How to Embrace Ambiguity When Making Decisions Jul 17, 2024

Show notes

Making business decisions often means choosing one path over another—but that doesn’t always need to be the case. Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis argue that leaders should move beyond “either/or” choices and try to come up with solutions that embrace ambiguity and paradox.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to reframe the question you’re asking in order to get more creative answers. You’ll also learn how to shift your own internal thinking away from oppositional relationships and instead focus on interdependencies.

Smith is a management professor at the University of Delaware, and Lewis is dean of the University of Cincinnati Lindner College of Business. Together they’re coauthors of the book Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems.

Key episode topics include: leadership, decision making and problem solving, tradeoffs, reframing.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Decisions Don’t Have to Be Either-Or (2022)
Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast.
Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

What Is Psychological Safety, Really? Jul 10, 2024

Show notes

You’re probably familiar with the term “psychological safety.” But do you know what it really means?

HBR contributing editor and workplace conflict expert Amy Gallo says both the idea and the value of psychological safety are commonly misunderstood. Gallo cohosts HBR’s Women at Work podcast, and her most recent book is Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People).

In this episode, you’ll learn how to define psychological safety, how to figure out if your team has it, and what to do if it doesn’t.

Key episode topics include: leadership, organizational culture, psychology, teams, leading teams, psychological safety, emotional intelligence.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Watch the original HBR Guide episode: What Is Psychological Safety? (2023)
Find more episodes of the HBR Guide series on YouTube.
Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

Getting Project Management Right Jul 03, 2024

Show notes

Many of us manage projects—even if “project manager” isn’t in our official job title. We try to learn the basics as we go: how to manage multiple stakeholders, adapt as circumstances change, and set realistic deadlines. It’s not easy, and it’s no wonder that people get certified in project management: it’s a discipline that’s surprisingly deep, from planning to close-out.

In this episode, you’ll hear from a former clinical social worker who recently pivoted to project management and has already experienced several of the most common challenges, including uncertainty, interpersonal conflict, and lack of responsiveness from the team. She talks with Tamara McLemore, an experienced project manager who shares tips for motivating and influencing others, communicating effectively, and solving problems.

You’ll also learn how to use some essential project managements tools, like a project charter and a work breakdown structure, as well as how to divide any project into four core phases and then work through them effectively.

Key episode topics include: leadership, project management, leading teams, motivating people, agile, communication, collaboration.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Listen to the original Women at Work episode: The Essentials: Managing Projects (2023)
Find more episodes of Women at Work.
Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

Leadership Lessons from Adventurer and Environmentalist Rick Ridgeway Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

Mountains are often used as metaphors for the challenges that arise in business and leadership. But when Rick Ridgeway compares mountaineering to risk management, he’s speaking from deep experience navigating both the boardroom and some of the world’s highest slopes.

Ridgeway is an outdoor adventurer, writer, and advocate for sustainability and conservation initiatives. He’s also the former vice president of environmental initiatives at Patagonia.

In this episode, Ridgeway explains why good communication, ambitious goal setting, and meticulous planning are essential in both mountaineering and business. He also emphasizes the importance of recruiting a strong team — whether you’re leading an uphill battle to make apparel manufacturing more sustainable or summiting K2. (Spoiler alert: Ridgeway has done both.)

Key episode topics include: leadership, sustainable business, environmental sustainability.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Tenacious Leadership on the Mountain and in the Organization (2011)
Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast
Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org

How to Solve Your Company’s Toughest Problems Jun 19, 2024

Show notes

You’ve likely heard the phrase, “Move fast and break things.” But Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei says speed and experimentation are not enough on their own. Instead, she argues that you should move fast and fix things. (That’s also the topic and title of the book she coauthored with Anne Morriss.)

In this episode, Frei explains how you can solve any problem in five clear steps. First, she says, start by identifying the real problem holding you back. Then move on to building trust and relationships, followed by a narrative for your solution — before you begin implementing it.

Key episode topics include: leadership, strategy execution, managing people, collaboration and teams, trustworthiness, organizational culture.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Learn more about HBR’s “Future of Business” virtual conference (November 2023)
Find more Harvard Business Review live events
Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org

How GitLab Leads Its Fully Remote Workforce Jun 12, 2024

Show notes

GitLab, which builds and manages an open-source software development application, started off with employees fully dispersed and has stayed that way. Now with more than 1,300 people spread across more than 60 countries, it’s said to be the world’s largest all-remote company.

In this episode, the company’s CEO Sid Sijbrandij shares the lessons he’s learned about how to manage a distributed workforce. He explains how to recruit talent who are well-suited for remote work and how to onboard them effectively. He also shares how GitLab leaders reinforce company culture remotely and how they create virtual space for informal relationship building.

Key episode topics include: leadership, remote work, managing people, teams, dispersed work, culture, communication, recruitment, talent management, innovation.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Advice from the CEO of an All-Remote Company (2022)
Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast.
Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

Deloitte’s Pixel: A Case Study on How to Innovate from Within Jun 05, 2024

Show notes

In 2014, Deloitte launched Pixel to facilitate open talent and crowdsourcing for client engagements that need specific expertise — like machine learning or digital production. But uptake across the organization was slow, and some internal stakeholders resisted outsourcing consulting work to freelance talent.

In this episode, Harvard Business School professor Mike Tushman discusses his case, “Deloitte’s Pixel (A): Consulting with Open Talent,” which breaks down the challenges the firm’s leadership faced in growing Pixel within the firm — and how they overcame them.

He explains how the firm selected a leader for Pixel who already had credibility and strong social networks within Deloitte. He also shares how Pixel established credibility by collaborating with early adopters within the firm to generate positive client results.

Key episode topics include: leadership, disruptive innovation, innovation, organizational change, talent management, business consulting services, crowdsourcing, freelance talent, intrapreneurship.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Listen to the original Cold Call episode: Transforming Deloitte’s Approach to Consulting (2022)
Find more episodes of Cold Call
Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org

How to Make Your Leadership Potential More Visible May 29, 2024

Show notes

Do people see your leadership potential?

Suzanne Peterson says many talented professionals miss out on leadership roles for relatively intangible reasons. But she argues that aspiring leaders can learn to alter their everyday interactions in small ways to have a big influence on their professional reputation.

Peterson is an associate professor of leadership at Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, and the coauthor of the HBR article “How to Develop Your Leadership Style: Concrete Advice for a Squishy Challenge.”

In this episode, she explains how to adopt markers of different leadership styles, so that you can be seen as both influential and likable. She also discusses why it’s important to focus on relationship building as you progress in your career. As she says, “Mid-career and rising senior level, now it’s all about the relationships. It’s all about how you’re perceived.”

Key episode topics include: leadership, leadership development, managing yourself, power and influence, leadership style, reputation management, aspiring leaders, careers.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Defining and Adapting Your Leadership Style (2020)
Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast.
Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at org.

Is Your Team Keeping You Up at Night? May 22, 2024

Show notes

Managing difficult personalities, stalled productivity, and conflict are inevitable parts of leading a team. But how do you know if your leadership is part of the problem?

Melanie Parish says that many leaders see problems on their team as external without considering the impact of their own behavior on team dynamics. As she says, “There are so many different challenges. They circle. You have one challenge one week, and another challenge another week. That’s the work of leadership.”

Parish is a leadership coach and the author of the book, The Experimental Leader: Be a New Kind of Boss to Cultivate an Organization of Innovators.

She takes questions from listeners who are struggling to manage tough teams and offers advice for what to do when you lead a team that refuses to follow company processes or when your growing team of managers is clamoring to weigh in on key decisions. She also has suggestions for how to improve morale if your team is frustrated.

Key episode topics include: leadership, leading teams, managing people, collaboration and teams, organizational culture.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Listen to the original Dear HBR episode: Tough Teams (2020)
Find more episodes of Dear HBR.
Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

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