Publications

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March 2016
Technical Note

Lighting the Fire: Crafting and Delivering Broadly Inspiring Messages

By: Tsedal Neeley and Tom Ryder

Communicating persuasively is a critical skill for leaders of any team or organization. Yet, connecting and resonating with an audience can nevertheless be a challenging task. We outline how to effectively mobilize groups through the power of communication. This note... View Details

Keywords: Messaging; Communication; Leading; Public Speaking; Persuasion; Rhetorical Devices; Communication Intention and Meaning; Forms of Communication; Communication Strategy

July 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Case

AT&T, Retraining, and the Workforce of Tomorrow

By: William R. Kerr, Joseph B. Fuller and Carl Kreitzberg

By the late 2000s, rapid changes in the telecommunications industry forced AT&T’s management team to take on a task that CEO Randall Stephenson called the “biggest logistical challenge” they had ever seen: retraining 100,000 workers by 2020. In 2012, internal company... View Details

April 2011
Case

Kay Sunderland: Making the Grade at Attain Learning

By: Linda A. Hill and Heather Beckham

Kay Sunderland is an account director at Attain Learning Inc., a business training solutions company. In January 2011, one of Attain's most important clients, Juan Nunez of Gramen Equipment Company, contacts Sunderland with a request: Nunez would like Attain content... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Interpersonal Relations; Personal Strategy ＆ Style; Creativity; Conflict; Interdepartmental Relations; Talent Management; Management Style; Interpersonal Communication; Talent and Talent Management; Relationships; Conflict and Resolution; Communication Strategy; Power and Influence; Service Industry

2020
Book

Think Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Over a decade ago, renowned innovation expert Rosabeth Moss Kanter co-founded and then directed Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative. Her breakthrough work with hundreds of successful professionals and executives, as well as aspiring young entrepreneurs, identifies... View Details

Keywords: Leaders; Advanced Leadership; Advanced Leadership Initiative; Community; Change Leadership; Innovation; Problem Solving; Cross-sector Collaboration; Institutional Change; Leadership; Change; Leading Change; Communication; Innovation Leadership; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business and Community Relations; Civil Society or Community

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December 2018 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Fishbowl: Scaling Up

By: Leslie K. John

Fishbowl is a social media app that allows professionals to connect with other relevant professionals both within their company and across industry. Unlike many other social media apps, on which users typically present idealized portraits of themselves, on Fishbowl,... View Details

September 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Teaching Note

Fishbowl: Scaling Up

By: Leslie K. John

Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.

Teaching Note for HBS No. 919-013. Fishbowl is a social media app that allows professionals to connect with other relevant professionals both within their company and... View Details

2014
Tool

Girls Arise! Working Together for a Better Future: Negotiation Curriculum

By: Kathleen McGinn, Corinne Low and Nava Ashraf

This negotiation curriculum provides a reference guide to train Zambian girls to adopt the communication skills needed to negotiate health and education decisions with power figures in their lives. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Communication; Competency and Skills; Gender; Age; Training

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2012
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Shelly London and Ethics Education—'Strengthening Our Moral Compass'

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Anne Arlinghaus

Shelly London and Ethics Education — 'Strengthening Our Moral Compass' 2009 AL Fellow
Following a successful career as a Senior Vice President, Vice President, and Chief Communications Officer at two large corporate companies, Shelly London set out to promote... View Details

November 2015
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Beatriz Cardoso and Education in Brazil

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Daniella Suarez and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Beatriz Cardoso, founder of Laboratório de Educação (Education Laboratory) had a dream to propel Brazilian education. However challenges in fundraising made it difficult to scale up her project, based on helping adults help children improve their literacy skills. To... View Details

Article

Political Skill: Explaining the Effects of Nonnative Accent on Managerial Hiring and Entrepreneurial Investment Decisions

By: Laura Huang, Marcia Frideger and Jone L. Pearce

We propose and test a new theory explaining glass-ceiling bias against nonnative speakers as driven by perceptions that nonnative speakers have weak political skill. Although nonnative accent is a complex signal, its effects on assessments of the speakers' political... View Details

Keywords: Spoken Communication; Prejudice and Bias; Competency and Skills; Selection and Staffing; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Decisions

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17 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Teaming in the Twenty-First Century

progress without a blueprint. The skill set involves interpersonal awareness, skillful inquiry, and an ability to teach others what you know. Teaming is very different from the idea of building a... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

05 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

The Middle Manager of the Future: More Coaching, Less Commanding

need for good social skills.” But, Zhang also notes, social skills can have varied definitions, particularly in a global economy. What’s successful in one company or country might not be successful in the next one. "A lot of these come... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

17 Jan 2020
In Practice

6 Traits That Set Top Business Leaders Apart

clarify the complex "They can communicate very clearly and succinctly—usually with short words and short sentences—and even on complex issues. They've developed the skills necessary to really get to the... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

February 2020
Technical Note

Talent Management and the Future of Work

By: William R. Kerr and Gorick Ng

The nature of work is changing—and it is changing rapidly. Few days go by without industry giants such as Amazon and AT&T announcing plans to invest billions of dollars towards retraining nearly half of their respective workforces for jobs of the future. What changes... View Details

Keywords: Human Resource Management; Human Capital Development; Human Resource Practices; Talent; Talent Acquisition; Talent Development; Talent Development And Retention; Talent Management; Talent Retention; Labor Flows; Labor Management; Labor Market; Strategy Development; Strategy Management; Strategy Execution; Strategy And Execution; Strategic Change; Transformations; Organization; Organization Alignment; Organization Design; Organizational Adaptation; Organizational Effectiveness; Management Challenges; Management Of Business And Political Risk; Change Leadership; Future Of Work; Future; Skills Gap; Skills Development; Skills; Offshoring And Outsourcing; Investment; Capital Allocation; Work; Work Culture; Work Force Management; Work/life Balance; Work/family Balance; Work-family Boundary Management; Workers; Worker Productivity; Worker Performance; Work Engagement; Work Environment; Work Environments; Productivity; Organization Culture; Soft Skills; Technology Management; Technological Change; Technological Change: Choices And Consequences; Technology Diffusion; Disruptive Technology; Global Business; Global; Workplace; Workplace Context; Workplace Culture; Workplace Wellness; Collaboration; Competencies; Productivity Gains; Digital; Digital Transition; Competitive Dynamics; Competitiveness; Competitive Strategy; Data Analytics; Data; Data Management; Data Strategy; Data Protection; Aging Society; Diversity; Diversity Management; Millennials; Communication Complexity; Communication Technologies; International Business; Work Sharing; Global Competitiveness; Global Corporate Cultures; Intellectual Property; Intellectual Property Management; Intellectual Property Protection; Intellectual Capital And Property Issues; Globalization Of Supply Chain; Inequality; Recruiting; Hiring; Hiring Of Employees; Training; Job Cuts And Outsourcing; Job Performance; Job Search; Job Design; Job Satisfaction; Jobs; Employee Engagement; Employee Attitude; Employee Benefits; Employee Compensation; Employee Fairness; Employee Relationship Management; Employee Retention; Employee Selection; Employee Motivation; Employee Feedback; Employee Coordination; Employee Performance Management; Employee Socialization; Process Improvement; Application Performance Management; Stigma; Institutional Change; Candidates; Digital Enterprise; Cultural Adaptation; Cultural Change; Cultural Diversity; Cultural Context; Cultural Strategies; Cultural Psychology; Cultural Reform; Performance; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Management; Performance Evaluation; Performance Appraisal; Performance Feedback; Performance Measurement; Performance Metrics; Performance Measures; Performance Efficiency; Efficiency; Performance Analysis; Performance Appraisals; Performance Improvement; Automation; Artificial Intelligence; Technology Companies; Managerial Processes; Skilled Migration; Assessment; Human Resources; Management; Human Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Retention; Demographics; Labor; Strategy; Change; Change Management; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Working Conditions; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Disruption; Economy; Competition; Globalization; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Transformation

05 May 2022
HBS Case

College Degrees: The Job Requirement Companies Seek, but Don't Really Need

who possess not only the hard skills to do technical work, but soft skills, such as communicating and managing, the note asserts. On the flip side, employees who are over-educated for their work tend to... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

16 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

As AI Upends Recruiting, Job Seekers Need a Waze App for Careers

becoming more important at all levels of the labor force as we move from a more mechanical engineering, manufacturing economy to a post-industrial society. Retaining and cultivating those skills as part of learning on the job is becoming... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology; Technology

07 Jul 2021
Book

Good News for Disgraced Companies: You Can Regain Trust

because the goals conflict,” Sucher says. Means: A company’s means are not merely its business methods, but whether it takes “the fair path to get there,” Sucher says, in creating equitable practices for employees and communicating with... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

26 Oct 2021
Research & Ideas

What Companies Want Most in a CEO: A Good Listener

skills who can: actively listen to others; empathize genuinely with others’ experiences; persuade people to work toward a common goal; and communicate clearly—or, as Sadun puts it, “touch the chords of... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

October 2021
Background Note

How to Write an Action-Planning Memo

By: Ryan Raffaelli and Akshaya Varghese

The ability to communicate an action plan through writing is essential for advancing ideas, earning credibility, and garnering support. Research has shown that leaders who write formal plans are more likely to execute successfully—written plans help members of an... View Details

Keywords: Writing; Action Plan; Communication; Competency and Skills; Planning