Publications

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April 2012
Article

The Changing Ecology of Teams: New Directions for Teams Research

By: Ruth Wageman, Heidi K. Gardner and Mark Mortensen

The nature of collaboration has been changing at an accelerating pace, particularly in the last decade. Much of the published work in teams research, however, is still focused on the archetypal team that has well-defined membership, purposes, leadership, and standards... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Research; Change Management; Leadership; Standards; Performance Effectiveness; Theory; Civil Society or Community

December 2013 (Revised November 2015)
Case

(Re)Building a Global Team: Tariq Khan at Tek

By: Tsedal Neeley

Tariq Khan arrived home after a nearly 16-hour meeting. He was grappling with whether to take the global sales and marketing team manager position that had been offered to him, and had spent the entire day with the senior leadership of his potential new team. He wanted... View Details

Keywords: Global Teams; Language; Personal Development and Career; Decision Making; Problems and Challenges

23 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

The Power of Conversational Leadership

top assume otherwise. “Having communication that goes bottom-up is just as important as having communication that goes top-down.” "In many cases you have an executive team that's so sure about company strategy, but then you go inside the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

August 2017
Article

Effective Leadership of Surgical Teams: A Mixed Methods Study of Surgeon Behaviors and Functions

By: J. Stone, E. Aveling, M. Frean, M. Shields, C. Wright, F. Gino, T. Sundt and S.J. Singer

The importance of effective team leadership for achieving surgical excellence is widely accepted, but we understand less about the behaviors that achieve this goal. We studied cardiac surgical teams to identify leadership behaviors that best support surgical teamwork.... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Leadership; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

May 2017 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Webasto Roof Systems Americas: Leadership Through Change (A)

By: Francesca Gino and Paul Green

Webasto Roof Systems, Americas, the North American subsidiary of Germany-based Webasto Group, limped into 2014 in poor financial and operational shape. The company's early optimism emerging from the financial downturn had proven naive, and now, five years later, the... View Details

Keywords: Culture Change; Change Management; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Organizational Culture; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; North and Central America

14 Jan 2019
Op-Ed

These 4 CEOs Created a New Standard of Leadership

value. Through their leadership they encouraged other corporate leaders to embrace this multi-stakeholder approach. Harvard Business School’s Michael E. Porter called this idea “creating shared value” in January 2011. Let’s examine how... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Health; Banking; Food & Beverage; Consumer Products

2016
Teaching Note

Advanced Leadership Pathways: David Weinstein and Write the World

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Tessa Natanay Hamilton and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Teaching Note for Case 314-030. Following a successful career as a lawyer, Chief Administrative Officer of Fidelity Investments, and law school instructor, David Weinstein became a 2011 Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard University. During his Advanced Leadership... View Details

Keywords: Writing; Online Platform; Social Entrepreneurship; Education; Internet and the Web; Competency and Skills; Leadership; Change Management

07 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

Effective Leaders Share the Spotlight with Their Teams

pandemic that has upended typical team communication. “Inclusive leaders are becoming really important as companies get bigger and more complex,” says Zou, whose research defines “inclusive” to mean managers who engage colleagues, often... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

September 2019
Case

Teaming Up to Win the Rail Deal at GE (A)

By: Amy Edmondson, Ranjay Gulati and Rachna Tahilyani

In 2012, Nalin Jain, then head of GE aviation for South Asia, was given the added responsibility for GE’s transportation business in India, including bidding for a $2.5 billion contract to manufacture, service and maintain 1,000 diesel locomotives for state owned... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Groups and Teams; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Rail Industry; Transportation Industry; United States; India

27 Jul 2021
Interview

Amy Edmondson on How to Create a Psychologically-Safe Workplace and What to Do If You Don't Work in One

By: Amy C. Edmondson

Harvard Business School Professor and renowned business expert, Amy Edmondson, talks about the growing link between psychological safety at work and the results that high-performing teams accomplish. She details what psychological safety is, how to create a... View Details

Keywords: Psychological Safety; Teaming; Groups and Teams; Trust; Performance

April 30, 2020
Article

Leading Your Team Past the Peak of a Crisis

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

In the middle of a crisis, everything looks like a failure. But it’s possible to come out the other end with a strong company—and often with a plan for growth. Companies with a people-first culture can succeed by paying attention to three things: establishing clear... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Organizational Culture; Corporate Accountability; Collaborative Innovation and Invention

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January 2020
Case

A Tough Call: SEAL Team Leader in Kandahar (A)

By: George A. Riedel

The case, which is a disguised version of real events, is set in Kandahar, Afghanistan (2013) during the long running Afghan war. Lt. Paul Rickson, a Navy SEAL Platoon Commander, is leading a team of 30 U.S. and Afghan soldiers on a mission to clear hostile forces in... View Details

Keywords: War; Leadership; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Decision Choices and Conditions; Afghanistan

September 2012
Case

Sir Alex Ferguson: Managing Manchester United

By: Anita Elberse and Thomas Dye

Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in British football history, is preparing for the 2012–2013 season—his record-setting 26th as manager of one of the world's most decorated professional football clubs and one of sport's biggest franchises. Over the years... View Details

Keywords: Managing Teams; Leading Teams; European Football; Sports; Leadership; Sports Industry; England; United Kingdom; Europe

29 Mar 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Risky Trust: How Multi-entity Teams Develop Trust in a High Risk Endeavor

Keywords: by Faaiza Rashid & Amy C. Edmondson

27 Apr 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Leadership Lessons From Outer Space

Asked for leadership advice, Terry Virts thought for a moment, letting his microphone float weightless in front of him before responding. "You have to adapt your leadership style to the situation you're... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Aerospace

26 Apr 2024
HBS Case

Deion Sanders' Prime Lessons for Leading a Team to Victory

Leaders intent on boosting team performance could learn from the old-school, military-style approach of Deion Sanders, a former star athlete and now the unorthodox coach behind the revival of two college football teams. “When I’m teaching... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

November 2009 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Board Leadership at Entergy Corporation

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton

Wayne Leonard became CEO of Entergy in 1999. After serving as CEO for close to eight years, the Entergy Board named Leonard Chairman and CEO. View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Governing and Advisory Boards; Leadership

May 8, 2020
Article

Lead Your Team Into a Post-Pandemic World

By: Hubert Joly

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has tested leaders, especially as it relates to how they lead their workers. As the crisis goes on, many that the author has spoken with have begun to frame it around three distinct phases: The Shelter-in-Place Phase, the Re-opening... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Re-opening; Health Pandemics; Leadership; Employees; Communication; Human Needs

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24 Feb 2022
Other Presentation

The Fearless ICU

By: Amy C. Edmondson

The last 24 months have pushed ICU teams around the world to their limits. As we move forward, we need to heal and rebuild our critical care teams. Healthcare more than ever will require ICU teams to perform at the highest levels and to continuously innovate to deliver... View Details

Keywords: Psychological Safety; Teams; Critical Care; Health Care and Treatment; Groups and Teams; Performance Effectiveness