Publications

September 2013
Article

Great Leaders Who Make the Mix Work

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly

Business leaders send a powerful message when they make a commitment to diversity that goes beyond rhetoric. But what motivates them to do so, and how do they actually create inclusive cultures? To find out, the authors interviewed 24 CEOs whose firms were known for... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Working Conditions; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Diversity; Gender

14 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Andy Grove on the Confident Leader

According to Andrew S. Grove, chairman and co-founder of Intel, when a company's understanding of itself shifts, when it changes its strategic paradigm, it sets out on a journey akin to moving from one mountain peak to another through what he calls a "valley of... View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kiechel; Technology

January 2020 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Leader Bank in 2020 and Beyond

By: David S. Scharfstein

summer 1999
Article

The Enduring Skills of Change Leaders

By: R. M. Kanter

Keywords: Change; Leadership; Competency and Skills

July 2020
Background Note

Leadership for Change: Seven Enduring Skills for Experienced and Aspiring Change Leaders

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Leaders use seven leadership skills in conceiving and managing change projects, whether innovations in established organizations, culture and process changes, or entrepreneurial ventures for industry or social change. The skills leaders need are different at various... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Leading Change; Management Skills

January–February 2024
Article

Leaders Must React: A Framework for Responding to Unforeseen Events

By: Nitin Nohria

To be successful, CEOs must articulate a compelling vision, align people around it, and motivate them to execute it. But there’s one thing that can make or break them: how they respond in real time to unforeseen events.

On average, addressing unexpected... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Management Skills; Leadership Style

Register to Read

2021
Chapter

Systems Thinking and the Engineering Leader

By: James Schreiner, Ricardo Morales and Hise O. Gibson

April 3, 2020
Article

Real Leaders Are Forged in Crisis

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Keywords: Leadership

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February 1998 (Revised November 1998)
Case

Novartis (A): Being a Global Leader

By: Srikant M. Datar and Carin-Isabel Knoop

For the Novartis leaders, the decision to "use stretch budgets again next year" highlights the tension between candor and empowerment and command-and-control, between the new and the old, between high performance and business as usual, between Ciba and Sandoz.... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Performance; Budgets and Budgeting

May 2013
Case

Unilever's Paul Polman: Developing Global Leaders

By: Bill George, Krishna G. Palepu, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Matthew Preble

January 2012
Article

How Leaders Kill Meaning at Work

By: Teresa Amabile and Steven J. Kramer

Senior executives routinely undermine creativity, productivity, and commitment by damaging the inner work lives of their employees in four avoidable ways. This article is based on analysis of hundreds of work diaries from professionals describing everyday events that... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Creativity; Performance Productivity; Motivation and Incentives; Innovation Strategy; Performance; Strategic Planning; Leading Change; Balanced Scorecard; Mission and Purpose

Read Now

06 Jul 2007
Conference Presentation

Where Have All the Leaders Gone?

By: William W. George

Keywords: Leadership

autumn 2003
Article

Where Have All the Leaders Gone?

By: William W. George

Keywords: Leadership

December 15, 2003
Article

Authentic Leaders Needed to Restore Trust

By: William W. George

Keywords: Leadership; Trust

24 Oct 2023
HBS Case

From P.T. Barnum to Mary Kay: Lessons From 5 Leaders Who Changed the World

What makes a leader great? A dose of luck, for sure. But specific leadership traits mark extraordinary individuals time and time again and help elevate the standouts from the vast middle. That’s the overarching takeaway from an extensive... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

21 Sep 2015
Book

What It Takes to Learn to Be a Leader

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

2020
Book

Hidden Truths: What Leaders Need to Hear But Are Rarely Told

By: David G. Fubini

Hidden Truths delivers profound and rarely discussed insights about C-suite jobs that provide aspiring leaders with practical, new skills that will equip them for the immense challenges of their desired jobs. Through 14 illuminating chapters, accomplished... View Details

Keywords: Executive Development; Leadership; Managerial Roles; Competency and Skills