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Leadership

Leadership

    • 2015
    • Chapter

    Leave No Slice of Genius Behind: Selecting and Developing Tomorrow's Leaders of Innovation

    By: Linda A. Hill

    More than ever, leaders of nearly every kind of organization view their human resources teams as essential to institutional well-being and long-term growth and sustainability. That's the central and animating theme of "The Rise of HR: Wisdom from 73 Thought Leaders," a new anthology published by the HR Certification Institute. Professor Hill's essay addresses the question of how to develop leadership talent capable of building and sustaining organizations that can innovate time and again to address the challenges we face as a global community.

    • 2015
    • Chapter

    Leave No Slice of Genius Behind: Selecting and Developing Tomorrow's Leaders of Innovation

    By: Linda A. Hill

    More than ever, leaders of nearly every kind of organization view their human resources teams as essential to institutional well-being and long-term growth and sustainability. That's the central and animating theme of "The Rise of HR: Wisdom from 73 Thought Leaders," a new anthology published by the HR Certification Institute. Professor Hill's...

    • Article

    Professionalism, Fiduciary Duty, and Health-Related Business Leadership

    By: Joshua D. Margolis

    Expanding fiduciary duty to leaders of health-related businesses can help leaders meet the challenges of caring for not only the corporation and shareholders but also the patients and medical professionals. How should leaders of health-related businesses weigh the demand for efficiency and profit alongside the care of patients and the professional development of physicians? How might physicians approach these leadership roles to withstand the pressures that can divert behavior away from the espoused purposes and ethical standards of medicine?

    • Article

    Professionalism, Fiduciary Duty, and Health-Related Business Leadership

    By: Joshua D. Margolis

    Expanding fiduciary duty to leaders of health-related businesses can help leaders meet the challenges of caring for not only the corporation and shareholders but also the patients and medical professionals. How should leaders of health-related businesses weigh the demand for efficiency and profit alongside the care of patients and the professional...

    • July–August 2014
    • Article

    How the Other Fukushima Plant Survived

    By: Ranjay Gulati, Charles Casto and Charlotte Krontiris

    In March 2011, Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was devastated by three reactor explosions and two core meltdowns in the days following a 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami that produced waves as high as 17 meters. The world is familiar with Daiichi's fate; less well known is the crisis at its sister plant, Daini, about 10 kilometers to the south. As a result of nature's onslaught, three of Daini's four reactors lacked sufficient power to achieve cooldown. To prevent the disaster experienced up north, the site superintendent, Naohiro Masuda, and his team had to connect them to the plant's surviving power sources. In a volatile environment, Masuda and Daini's hundreds of employees responded to each unexpected event in turn. Luck played a part, but so did smart leadership and sensemaking. Until the last reactor went into cold shutdown, Masuda's team took nothing for granted. With each new problem they encountered, it recalibrated, iteratively creating continuity and restoring order. Daini survived the crisis without an explosion or a meltdown.

    • July–August 2014
    • Article

    How the Other Fukushima Plant Survived

    By: Ranjay Gulati, Charles Casto and Charlotte Krontiris

    In March 2011, Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was devastated by three reactor explosions and two core meltdowns in the days following a 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami that produced waves as high as 17 meters. The world is familiar with Daiichi's fate; less well known is the crisis at its sister plant, Daini, about 10 kilometers to the...

    • October 2014
    • Article

    The Transparency Trap

    By: Ethan Bernstein

    To get people to be more creative and productive, managers increase transparency with open workspaces and access to real-time data. But less transparent work environments can yield more-transparent employees. Employees perform better when they can try out new ideas and approaches within certain zones of privacy. Organizations allow them to do that by drawing four types of boundaries: around teams of people (zones of attention), between feedback and evaluation (zones of judgment), between decision rights and improvement rights (zones of slack), and for set periods of experimentation (zones of time). By balancing transparency and privacy, organizations can encourage just the right amount of "deviance" to foster innovative behavior and boost productivity.

    • October 2014
    • Article

    The Transparency Trap

    By: Ethan Bernstein

    To get people to be more creative and productive, managers increase transparency with open workspaces and access to real-time data. But less transparent work environments can yield more-transparent employees. Employees perform better when they can try out new ideas and approaches within certain zones of privacy. Organizations allow them to do that...

    • March 2015
    • Module Note

    Power and Influence in Society

    By: Julie Battilana

    This module aims to help students understand how power and influence are employed, both to reproduce the status quo and to effect change in society. It first helps them to understand why, more often than not, power is used to reproduce the existing way individuals and organizations operate in society. It then highlights what it takes to implement societal change. This includes a wide variety of initiatives ranging from attempts to change individuals' and organizations' behaviors in a given industry or sector, to efforts to change behaviors throughout a country, region, or even the world. Addressing the issue of power and influence in society in an MBA classroom is critical, especially at a time like now, when the relationship between business and society is attracting increasing attention, and when business leaders are increasingly expected to contribute not only to financial value creation, but also to social value creation. In this context, it is important to prepare business school students to lead not just in their organizations, but more broadly in society. Meeting this aspiration requires equipping them with knowledge and tools that will enable them to understand what it takes to have a positive impact in the world. In line with this objective, this module note focuses on how leaders who are not part of government or other public agencies can spark, organize, and/or guide action to bring about change at the societal level.

    • March 2015
    • Module Note

    Power and Influence in Society

    By: Julie Battilana

    This module aims to help students understand how power and influence are employed, both to reproduce the status quo and to effect change in society. It first helps them to understand why, more often than not, power is used to reproduce the existing way individuals and organizations operate in society. It then highlights what it takes to implement...

Leadership Initiative

The Leadership Initiative undertakes cutting-edge research and course development projects about leadership and leadership development, both within HBS and through collaborations with other organizations.
Leadership

As our world grows increasingly global, intricate, and ever-changing, the role of leaders is becoming more and more complex and critical to business success. In the 1950s and 1960s, Fritz Roethlisberger and Elton Mayo's contributions to the "Hawthorne effect," and work by Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch on organizational integration, sparked the field of Organizational Behavior. Early work by Michael Beer on leading organizational change, Rosabeth Kanter on innovation for productivity, John Kotter on power and influence, and Michael Tushman on innovation management helped shape today's understanding of organizational transformation. With an interest in Leadership that spans our academic units, our approach to research is collaborative and multi-disciplinary. We leverage a wide range of research methodologies – from onsite field research to surveys, experiments, and extensive longitudinal studies.

Leadership Initiative

The Leadership Initiative undertakes cutting-edge research and course development projects about leadership and leadership development, both within HBS and through collaborations with other organizations.

Leadership

Recent Publications

What People Get Wrong About Psychological Safety

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Michaela J. Kerrissey
  • May–June 2025 |
  • Article |
  • Harvard Business Review
Psychological safety—a shared belief among team members that it’s OK to speak up with candor—has become a popular concept. However, as its popularity has grown, so too have misconceptions about it. Such misunderstandings can lead to frustration among leaders and employees, stymie constructive debates, and ultimately harm organizational performance. In this article the authors identify the following six common misperceptions: Psychological safety means being nice; it means getting your way; it means job security; it requires a trade-off with performance; it’s a policy; and it requires a top-down approach. They explain why each misperception gets in the way and give advice on how to counter it. They also offer leaders a blueprint for building the kind of strong, learning-oriented work environment that is crucial for success in an uncertain world. Leaders should clearly communicate what psychological safety is and what it isn’t, and take steps to improve the quality of conversations and to establish structures and rituals that will help teams assess their progress in building a psychologically safe environment.
Keywords: Leadership; Organizational Culture; Employees; Interpersonal Communication
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Edmondson, Amy C., and Michaela J. Kerrissey. "What People Get Wrong About Psychological Safety." Harvard Business Review 103, no. 3 (May–June 2025): 52–59.

Lisa Su and AMD (A)

By: Joshua D. Margolis, Matthew Preble and Dave Habeeb
  • April 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
This multimedia case study focuses on CEO Lisa Su’s turnaround and subsequent transformation of the technology company Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD). When Su accepted the top position in 2014, AMD was on the verge of collapse. Su focused the company’s culture, simplified its product roadmap, repaired relationships with key stakeholders, and placed a big bet on innovations in high performance computing and Artificial Intelligence to make AMD a tech powerhouse by late 2023. Lisa Su and AMD (A) and Lisa Su and AMD (B) are not standalone case studies. They are designed to be taught together. Lisa Su and AMD (A) explores AMD’s successes and challenges prior to Lisa Su becoming CEO. Lisa Su and AMD (B) helps students understand the key elements of the transformation, and how Su is positioning the company for the future.
Keywords: Turnaround; Artificial Intelligence; Semiconductors; Change Management; Transformation; Decision Making; Globalized Markets and Industries; Government and Politics; AI and Machine Learning; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Innovation Leadership; Leadership; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Management; Product Design; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Strategic Planning; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Research and Development; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Semiconductor Industry; Computer Industry; United States; California; Texas
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Margolis, Joshua D., Matthew Preble, and Dave Habeeb. "Lisa Su and AMD (A)." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Case 425-704, April 2025.

Joe Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics (A)

By: Linda A. Hill, James I. Cash and Lydia Begag
  • April 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Joe Mazzulla's leadership journey with the Boston Celtics began in 2016 when he served as an assistant coach for their NBA G-League affiliate. In 2019, he was promoted to a "behind-the-bench" assistant coaching role with the Celtics, before being asked to become the interim head coach in September 2022 following the suspension of the head coach. All throughout the 2022-2023 NBA season, Mazzulla discovered the demands of the role, learning what his players and coaching staff needed from him as well as how to manage relationships with the Boston sports fanbase and the media. Despite the Celtics falling short in the 2023 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Mazzulla used the offseason to recalibrate and refine his leadership and communication strategies for the upcoming 2023-2024 season. By June 2024, Mazzulla's hard work and evolution had paid off, with the Celtics reaching the NBA Finals for the second time in three years. As Game 4 of the Finals approaches (with the Celtics being up 3-0), Mazzulla finds himself at a crossroads, contemplating his pre-game message to the team. Should he rally them with an aggressive “go for the kill” mindset, or choose language that is more aligned with their “joyous intensity” culture? Mazzulla knows his rhetoric matters and how he communicates could determine if the franchise secures their 18th championship or not.
Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Change Management; Communication; Values and Beliefs; Innovation and Invention; Decision Making; Innovation Leadership; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Leading Change; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Crisis Management; Management Skills; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Performance Efficiency; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States
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Hill, Linda A., James I. Cash, and Lydia Begag. "Joe Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics (A)." Harvard Business School Case 425-059, April 2025.

#FutureFresenius: Implementing a New Strategy to Transform the Company and Advance Patient Care

By: David J. Collis, Benjamin C. Esty and Haisley Wert
  • April 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
In February 2024, Fresenius CEO Michael Sen reflected on the company’s transformation journey from his office in Bad Homburg, Germany. With revenues of €22 billion and a mission to advance patient care, Fresenius had built a strong reputation through decades of acquisitions and dividend growth. However, between 2017 and 2022, the company’s share price dropped over 70% as financial and operational performance sharply declined. When Sen became CEO in October 2022, he recognized the need for a fundamental reset. In response, Sen and the leadership team launched #FutureFresenius, a bold transformation plan that began with changes to the company’s structure, portfolio, and financial framework. By early 2024, key structural changes were in motion, and momentum was building. Looking ahead, the turnaround required deeper cultural shifts and further development of the company’s target operating models. Sen believed in the progress made but faced a critical question: Was Fresenius executing the transformation in the right sequence, at the right speed, and with the right priorities to ensure long-term success? This case study examines the challenges of corporate transformation, the role of leadership in driving change, and the importance of aligning stakeholders in a high-stakes turnaround.
Keywords: Strategic Planning; Corporate Strategy; Transformation; Finance; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Alignment; Health Industry; Germany; United States
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Collis, David J., Benjamin C. Esty, and Haisley Wert. "#FutureFresenius: Implementing a New Strategy to Transform the Company and Advance Patient Care." Harvard Business School Case 725-361, April 2025.

Setting a CEO Agenda: Ole Rosgaard at Greif

By: Krishna Palepu and Kerry Herman
  • April 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Since taking over as CEO of industrial packaging giant Greif, Ole Rosgaard has focused on growing the company and improving the perception of its value by the capital markets. He and his senior leadership team have made inroads to this end, including adjusting the company’s portfolio mix to higher-margin businesses and affirming and strengthening Greif’s strong culture. In partnership with the company’s board chair, Rosgaard worked to make changes to the board composition and board routines to create more board engagement with the company’s strategy and transformation. Have these efforts been enough?
Keywords: Leadership; Valuation; Governing and Advisory Boards; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; North America; Europe
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Palepu, Krishna, and Kerry Herman. "Setting a CEO Agenda: Ole Rosgaard at Greif." Harvard Business School Case 125-099, April 2025.

Pouring Oil on Troubled Waters: Vickers Oils and Resolving Family Conflict over Generations

By: Lauren Cohen, Octavian Graf Pilati and Sophia Pan
  • April 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Will Vickers, a seventh-generation (G7) member of the Vickers Family, grappled with a pressing challenge: how to re-integrate family members into the firm to recover lost talent. His father, Peter Vickers, was the lone leader of the Vickers Oils – despite having stepped down from his role as Managing Director. While there were active shareholders, none felt inclined to involve themselves in the operational front of the company. Further, family conflict in G5 had resulted in a family branch that was thereby excluded from participating in the firm, creating lasting divisions amongst the Vickers. Could family members who had drifted away find a way back into the company? How much effort would it entail to make them feel welcome and interested again? Or, as families grew in size, was some degree of “floating away” necessary? Was there an optimal number of involved and uninvolved members, and how might this interplay with shareholding dynamics?
Keywords: Leadership; Family; Relationships; Shareholder; Conflict; Involvement; Family Office; Family Firms; Diversification; Family Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Experience and Expertise; Retention; Leadership Development; Business or Company Management; Management Succession; Organizational Structure; Family Ownership; Family and Family Relationships; Consumer Products Industry; United Kingdom
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Cohen, Lauren, Octavian Graf Pilati, and Sophia Pan. "Pouring Oil on Troubled Waters: Vickers Oils and Resolving Family Conflict over Generations." Harvard Business School Case 225-083, April 2025.

JPMorganChase: Leadership in the Age of GenAI

By: Iavor I. Bojinov, Karim R. Lakhani and David Lane
  • April 2025 (Revised April 2025) |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Keywords: Banks and Banking; Governance Controls; Information Technology; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science; Cybersecurity; Digital Platforms; Digital Transformation; Information Management; Information Infrastructure; Technology Adoption; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Product Development; Performance Improvement; Customization and Personalization; Financial Services Industry; United States
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Bojinov, Iavor I., Karim R. Lakhani, and David Lane. "JPMorganChase: Leadership in the Age of GenAI." Harvard Business School Case 325-066, April 2025. (Revised April 2025.)

Perplexity: Redefining Search

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Michelle Hu, Sriraghav Srinivasan and Radhika Kak
  • March 2025 (Revised April 2025) |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
By early 2025, Perplexity had rapidly evolved from a modest startup into a popular "answer engine" valued at $9 billion. The company had boldly positioned itself as the disruptor to Google aiming to redefine search for the AI age. Through novel AI orchestration—combining custom-built indexes, real-time retrieval systems, and language models—Perplexity delivered answers to complex queries, challenging Google's dominance in traditional search. The company differentiated itself by emphasizing user-centricity, speed, and quality, intentionally foregoing advertising-based monetization. Deep Research, Pro Search, and Comet (an AI-native web browser) had helped it make inroads into both consumer and enterprise segments globally. Yet, as Perplexity scaled, the company faced tough choices in preserving its ad-free, user-centric approach versus exploring monetization strategies, such as advertising. Maintaining user trust and platform simplicity was becoming increasingly complex in the fiercely competitive AI search market. Additionally, high execution velocity and expanding into enterprise markets required significant investment in security and infrastructure, intensifying the pressure to stay ahead of competitors like OpenAI and Google. The case illustrates the tension between maintaining a trusted, unbiased product experience and pursuing monetization strategies such as advertising. It emphasizes the importance of aligning revenue models with core brand promises to sustain long-term user trust and growth.
Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Venture Capital; Innovation Leadership; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Competitive Strategy; Technology Industry; United States
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Srinivasan, Suraj, Michelle Hu, Sriraghav Srinivasan, and Radhika Kak. "Perplexity: Redefining Search." Harvard Business School Case 125-093, March 2025. (Revised April 2025.)

Xfund and Sam Altman: Finding Harvard’s Best Generative AI Founders

By: Suraj Srinivasan
  • March 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
On May 1, 2024, Xfund Managing Partners Patrick Chung and Brandon Farwell, hosted a high-stakes venture pitch session designed to select one startup for a minimum $100,000 investment. This “Xperiment Stake” competition, dedicated to startups in the Generative AI sector, was particularly significant. The founders would pitch to Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. The competition attracted 270 total submissions, from which six promising founding teams were selected for the final one-on-one pitch session. Each of the six finalists presented their vision for applying Generative AI in diverse fields, including research, software development, and even military applications. With AI evolving rapidly, the challenge for Xfund was not just to evaluate the startups’ ideas, but also to identify the most innovative and adaptable founders—those capable of navigating and thriving in the fast-changing landscape. The stage was set for a tough decision: which startup should Altman and Xfund select as the standout candidate to secure the investment?
Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Venture Capital; Innovation Leadership; Technological Innovation; Technology Industry; United States
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Srinivasan, Suraj. "Xfund and Sam Altman: Finding Harvard’s Best Generative AI Founders." Harvard Business School Case 125-090, March 2025.

Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena: Ticket to a Greener Future

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jacob A. Small
  • March 2025 (Revised March 2025) |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Tim Leiweke reviewed how his development group and partners had completely rebuilt an aging Seattle landmark into the world’s greenest arena, carrying the visible name Climate Pledge Arena. It had attracted a new National Hockey League franchise, the Kraken, and featured major entertainers concerned about sustainability, such as singer Billie Eilish. Challenges included politics around the bidding process, the need for construction innovations, working during COVID-19, and meeting rising sustainability standards. Amazon bought the naming rights through its Climate Pledge Alliance, with founder Jeff Bezos insisting on a carbon zero plan, which added electricity uncertainties and further cost escalations. Leiweke had to manage his investors and find the resources and innovations to complete the project without public funding and then deal with further challenges of operating at carbon zero, including waste management, food, cooking, packaging, and community benefits such as free public transportation included with a ticket. Was the venture successful, and, given the multiplicity of stakeholders, from whose perspective? Leiweke wanted to inspire many similar projects. What kind of leadership and partnerships were required for a project with this climate impact?
Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Leadership; Bids and Bidding; Standards; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Seattle
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Kanter, Rosabeth Moss, and Jacob A. Small. "Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena: Ticket to a Greener Future." Harvard Business School Case 325-110, March 2025. (Revised March 2025.)
More Publications

Faculty

Rosabeth M. Kanter
Boris Groysberg
Linda A. Hill
Nitin Nohria
Lynn S. Paine
Amy C. Edmondson
Michael L. Tushman
Anthony Mayo
Joshua D. Margolis
Joseph L. Bower
Francesca Gino
Lynda M. Applegate
→See All

HBS Working Knowlege

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    What Wartime Service Taught These Historic Leaders

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    Fawn Weaver’s Entrepreneurial Journey as an Outsider in the Spirits Industry

    Re: Hise O. Gibson
    • 20 Aug 2024

    Why Competing With Tech Giants Requires Finding Your Own Edge

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→More Articles

Harvard Business Publishing

    • May–June 2025
    • Article

    What People Get Wrong About Psychological Safety

    By: Amy C. Edmondson and Michaela J. Kerrissey
    • April 2025
    • Case

    Lisa Su and AMD (A)

    By: Joshua D. Margolis, Matthew Preble and Dave Habeeb
    • 2023
    • Book

    Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems

    By: Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss
→More Harvard Business Publishing
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