Publications

2011
Book

What to Ask the Person in the Mirror: Critical Questions for Becoming a More Effective Leader and Reaching Your Potential

By: Robert Steven Kaplan

Successful leaders know that leadership is less often about having all the answers-and more often about asking the right questions. The challenge lies in being able to step back, reflect, and ask the key questions that are critical to your performance and your... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Organizational Development; Reaching Your Potential; Career Planning; Management Styles; Interpersonal Communication; Leadership; Performance Effectiveness; Personal Development and Career

June 2002
Background Note

Complexity Theory and Negotiation

By: Michael A. Wheeler and Gillian Morris

This case highlights an application of current thoughts in complexity science to negotiation theory. It emphasizes a provocative approach that questions much of traditional negotiation research thus far. The case explains the roots of complexity science and some broad... View Details

Keywords: Complexity; Negotiation Tactics; Outcome or Result; Interpersonal Communication

2012
Working Paper

FollowMe.IntDev.Com: International Development in the Blogosphere

By: Ryann Manning

This article explores online blogs as a new forum for discussing ideas and practices in international development. Based on a qualitative study of conversations that take place across multiple blogs, I conclude that the blogosphere combines features of a public sphere,... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Interpersonal Communication; Knowledge Acquisition; Experience and Expertise; Globalization; Blogs

13 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Ignore This Advice at Your Own Peril

School researchers: Disregarding advice from colleagues could invite harsh backlash that just might damage valued workplace relationships, according to the recent paper Seeker Beware: The Interpersonal Costs of Ignoring Advice, published... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

14 May 2009
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Teams

Sharpening Your Skills dives into the HBS Working Knowledge archives to bring together articles on ways to improve your business skills. Questions To Be Answered How does a team leader win the confidence of the group? What's the best method for developing team goals?... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

January 29, 2018
Article

How to Build Trust with Colleagues You Rarely See

By: Tsedal Neeley

Building trust is key to success for any organization. But that can be tricky when it comes to colleagues that you only interact with virtually. What does it take to build trust when you can’t meet in person? In this piece, the author suggests that professionals should... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Trust; Organizational Culture; Familiarity; Employees

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October 14, 2019
Article

Cracking the Code of Sustained Collaboration

By: Francesca Gino

When most organizations strive to increase collaboration, they approach it too narrowly: as a value to cultivate—not a skill to teach. So they create open offices, talk up collaboration as a corporate goal, and try to influence employees through other superficial means... View Details

Keywords: Collaboration; Listening; Empathy; Feedback; Organizational Culture; Interpersonal Communication; Training; Programs

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July 11, 2024
Article

Research: New Hires’ Psychological Safety Erodes Quickly

By: Derrick P. Bransby, Michael J. Kerrissey and Amy C. Edmondson

Across industries, from manufacturing to health care, the luxury of waiting years to benefit from new talent is long gone. Thriving in today’s dynamic economy means bringing new hires up the learning curve faster than ever. Yet, the authors’ latest research suggests... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Learning; Interpersonal Communication; Employees

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Article

A Fair Game? Racial Bias and Repeated Interaction between NBA Coaches and Players

By: Letian Zhang

There is strong evidence of racial bias in organizations but little understanding of how it changes with repeated interaction. This study proposes that repeated interaction has the potential to reduce racial bias, but its moderating effects are limited to the treatment... View Details

Keywords: Discrimination; Bias; Interaction; NBA; Prejudice and Bias; Race; Equality and Inequality; Interpersonal Communication; Sports

Article

The Persuasive 'Power' of Stigma?

By: Michael I. Norton, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Dana R. Carney and Dan Ariely

We predicted that able-bodied individuals and white Americans would have a difficult time saying no to persuasive appeals offered by disabled individuals and black Americans, due to their desire to make such interactions proceed smoothly. In two experiments, we show... View Details

Keywords: Persuasion; Stigma; Interactions; Interracial Relations; Power and Influence; Personal Characteristics; Interpersonal Communication; Attitudes

July 2023
Article

The Old Boys' Club: Schmoozing and the Gender Gap

By: Zoë B. Cullen and Ricardo Perez-Truglia

Offices are social places. Employees and managers take breaks together and talk about family and hobbies. In this study, we show that employees’ social interactions with their managers can be advantageous for their careers, and that this phenomenon contributes to the... View Details

Keywords: Career; Promotions; Social Interactions; Networking; Interpersonal Communication; Familiarity; Equality and Inequality; Gender

August 2011
Case

Denise Frazer and Paolo Canto: A Case Vignette on Feedback - Denise Frazer's Perspective

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Anthony J. Mayo

Denise Frazer and Paolo Canto, two HBS students, have decided to give each other feedback on their class participation. While Denise believes that she has provided concrete, actionable feedback to Paolo, she does not feel that Paolo is reciprocating. His feedback is... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Perspective; Outcome or Result; Performance Evaluation

August 1978 (Revised April 1987)
Supplement

Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B)

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management; Interpersonal Communication; Leadership Style; Emotions; Education Industry

August 1978 (Revised December 1986)
Case

Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (A)

By: C. R. Christensen

A student takes a position on a case which is in conflict with the other students' conclusions. The professor believes the student's answer is correct but does not indicate so in class. As a result, the student withdraws from further class participation. View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management; Interpersonal Communication; Leadership Style; Emotions; Education Industry

2023
Working Paper

Sending Signals: Strategic Displays of Warmth and Competence

By: Bushra S. Guenoun and Julian J. Zlatev

Using a combination of exploratory and confirmatory approaches, this research examines how people signal important information about themselves to others. We first train machine learning models to assess the use of warmth and competence impression management... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Personal Characteristics; Perception; Interpersonal Communication

2007
Chapter

Disrupting Gender, Revising Leadership

By: D. E. Meyerson, R. Ely and Laura Wernick

In this chapter, we present a case study of men on two off-shore oil platforms—a workplace that has traditionally rewarded men for their masculine displays of bravado and their interactions centered on proving masculinity—in which such displays and interactions were... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Safety; Leadership; Interpersonal Communication; Practice; Gender; Business Processes; Energy Industry

2018
Chapter

How the Other Half Thinks: The Psychology of Advising

By: Hayley Blunden and Francesca Gino

This chapter integrates research on advice interactions, motivations for advising, and the psychological consequences of serving in an advisor role to develop a more comprehensive perspective on the psychology of advising. By connecting this work, which spans various... View Details

Keywords: Advice; Advice Giving; Advisor; Self-other; Helping; Interpersonal Communication; Cognition and Thinking; Social Psychology

July 2020
Case

Karen Bruck: Growing Managers at MercadoLibre

By: Joshua D. Margolis, Fernanda Miguel and Mariana Cal

Karen Bruck, Corporate Sales Director at MercadoLibre, Latin America's largest e-commerce platform, needs to make a decision about one of her managers, who, while analytically savvy, has an approach that does not fit in with the company's culture. View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Employee Relationship Management; Decision Making; Interpersonal Communication; Organizational Culture; Retail Industry; Latin America; Argentina

December 2003 (Revised February 2004)
Case

Scott Lawson's Dilemma

By: Thomas R. Piper

The head of SysCom's test equipment division is concerned about how to answer employee and customer questions concerning the possible sale or liquidation of the division. The consequences of alternative approaches (full transparency vs. strong optimism and reassurance)... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Interpersonal Communication; Business Divisions; Corporate Governance; Ethics; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry