Publications

2021
White Paper

Hidden Workers: Untapped Talent

By: Joseph B. Fuller, Manjari Raman, Eva Sage-Gavin and Kristen Hines

Companies are increasingly desperate for workers. As they continue to struggle to find people with the skills they need, their competitiveness and growth prospects are put at risk.

At the same time, an enormous and growing group of people are unemployed or... View Details

Keywords: Hiring; Talent; Skills Gap; Selection and Staffing; Diversity; Talent and Talent Management; Competency and Skills

Article

Unconscious Bias Training That Works

By: Francesca Gino and Katherine Coffman

To become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive, many companies have turned to unconscious bias (UB) training. By raising awareness of the mental shortcuts that lead to snap judgments—often based on race and gender—about people’s talents or character, it strives to... View Details

Keywords: Implicit Bias; Social Integration; Empathy; Prejudice and Bias; Employees; Training; Attitudes; Behavior; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Find at Harvard

August 2021
Supplement

Dirk Nowitzki: Changing the Game

By: Boris Groysberg

NBA Superstar Dirk Nowitzki was unsure whether the 2018–2019 season would be his last as an NBA player. He had not faced such uncertainty since 1998, when he had navigated a difficult decision regarding the timing of his move to the NBA. He also did not know what he... View Details

Keywords: Career Decisions; Career Journey; ＂Sports Organizations,; Mentoring; Retirement; Sports; Performance; Training; Personal Development and Career; Decision Making; Talent and Talent Management; Sports Industry; United States

August 2021
Technical Note

Brand You: Crafting Your Personal Brand

By: Jill Avery and Rachel Greenwald

Selling oneself is something that we have to do every day in both professional and personal settings. We face it when we apply for a job, advocate for a promotion or a raise, vie for a leadership position, attempt to land a new client, write a dating profile, or meet a... View Details

Keywords: Personal Brand; Brand Management; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Identity; Opportunities; Talent and Talent Management; Jobs and Positions; Strength and Weakness; Communication

2021
Working Paper

Multi-location Workers in Multinational Firms? Tradeoffs in Contextual Specialization of Employees and Organizational Outcomes

By: Hise O. Gibson, Ryan W. Buell and Prithwiraj Choudhury

We study how “contextual specialization,” the act of focusing workers’ organizational tasks within a particular locational context, and “contextual non-specialization,” the practice of diversifying workers’ organizational tasks among multiple locational contexts,... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Performance; Experience and Expertise; Selection and Staffing; Strength and Weakness; Personal Development and Career

August 2021
Case

Andreessen Horowitz’s Cultural Leadership Fund (A)

By: Anita Elberse, Briana Richardson and Cydni Williams

In May 2020, Chris Lyons, a partner at leading venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz receives the news that his company has reached a verbal agreement with one of Silicon Valley’s hottest social-media startups to lead its ‘Series A’ funding round, in a deal that... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Talent Management; General Management; Inclusion; Talent and Talent Management; Diversity; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Networks; Nonprofit Organizations

August 2021
Supplement

Andreessen Horowitz’s Cultural Leadership Fund (B): Kevin Hart and Clubhouse

By: Anita Elberse, Briana Richardson and Cydni Williams

In May 2020, Andreessen Horowitz secures an agreement with Clubhouse, one of Silicon Valley’s hottest startups, to lead its ‘Series A’ funding round. One of the factors that insiders saw as pivotal in the race to be Clubhouse’s VC firm of choice was Andreessen... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Talent Management; General Management; Inclusion; Talent and Talent Management; Diversity; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Networks; Nonprofit Organizations

August 2021
Article

Improving Sales Hiring

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Sales hiring presents inherent challenges not found to the same extent in talent management in other functional areas. Moreover, common hiring practices make a tough job needlessly harder. This article suggests practical ways to improve sales hiring: Hire for the Task,... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Selection and Staffing

2021
Working Paper

T-Shaped Managers—One Size Does Not Fit All: Exploratory Study from the Military

By: Hise O. Gibson

People are an organization’s most important resource. Managers who are collaborative and innovative ensure that organizations remain competitive. This type of manager has been referred to as a T-shaped manager. “T” given that the vertical portion represents the depth... View Details

Keywords: T-shaped Management; Leader Development; Talent Management; Leadership Style; Leadership Development; Management Skills; Talent and Talent Management

July 2021
Case

Kevin D. Johnson: To Be a Venture Capitalist or an Operator?

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

In May of 2021, Kevin D. Johnson had just graduated from a rigorous Executive MBA program, and he quickly needed to decide on his next career move. Johnson was the founder and CEO of a successful media company, Johnson Media Inc., but his career goals had shifted while... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Goals and Objectives; Race; Wealth; Decisions; Venture Capital; Personal Development and Career; United States

June 30, 2021
Article

Rosabeth Moss Kanter: Let Employees Take the Lead on ESG

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Companies that don’t give rank-and-file workers a central role in their environmental, social and governance (ESG) work are making a mistake. They risk alienating values-oriented employees who question company practices, and they miss a big opportunity for employee... View Details

Keywords: ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Leaders; Talent Acquisition; Talent Retention; Engagement; Organizations; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Employees; Leadership; Talent and Talent Management

June 2021
Teaching Note

Michael Phelps: 'It's Okay to Not Be Okay'

By: Boris Groysberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Michael Norris

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 421-044. In 2020, Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, with 28 medals in various swimming events, was now retired. As he looked back on his 20+ year athletic career, he considered what had gone into making him the... View Details

Keywords: Mental Health; Talent and Talent Management; Training; Health; Success; Performance Improvement; Personal Development and Career; Family and Family Relationships; Sports; Competition; Sports Industry; United States; Baltimore; Arizona; Sydney; Athens; Beijing; London

June 2021
Teaching Note

Amazon: Cult or Culture?

By: Boris Groysberg, Kerry Herman and Amy Klopfenstein

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 421-008. Amazon was one of the first entrants in e-commerce. Under the leadership of founder Jeff Bezos, Amazon had expanded beyond books to manufacturing and selling a wide range of products and services globally. Bezos had built a... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Organizational Culture; Growth Management; Information Technology; Human Resources; Talent and Talent Management; Retail Industry; Technology Industry