In 2022, senior executives of Cambridge, MA-based Akamai Technologies met to consider whether and how to scale a successful technical training program. The program, Akamai Technical Academy (ATA), was launched in 2016 to address a key challenge at Akamai and in the...

The debate about the best way to lead has been raging for years: Should you empower your people and get out of their way, or take charge and push them to do great work? The answer, say the authors, is to do both. Their research shows that effective leaders routinely...

This stand-alone multimedia case follows Ed Catmull, cofounder of Pixar, after he was vice president at Lucasfilm. Catmull was honored with five Academy Awards®, including an Oscar of Lifetime Achievement for his technical contributions and leadership in computer...

In this multimedia case, Bozoma Saint John recounts numerous defining moments from her childhood and work experiences. We learn what empowered and inspired her to be her authentic self, to be vulnerable and open to new experiences, to find commonality with others, to...

In 2016, Fiona Mungai became Endeavor Kenya’s first managing director. In this role, she helped the organization build its inaugural board and select its first Endeavor entrepreneur, a fintech company called Cellulant. Throughout this process, Mungai observed the power...

In this multimedia case, Megan Ming Francis, a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Washington (UW) and a visiting professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, discusses the roots of racial injustice and the need for change. Through...

In this multimedia case, classics scholar Emma Dench guides us in understanding leadership insights that can be captured from historical figures and works dating back to Ancient Rome. We learn the language, ideas, and patterns of behavior that are relevant to...

&Pizza is a pizza chain that in the spring of 2020 finds its business completely up-ended by the COVID-19 crisis and shut-down. Many companies in the restaurant and hospitality sector responded to the crisis by shutting down their operations and laying off employees....

Steve Kerr, coach of the 3-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors, reflects on his values-driven leadership style in the wake of a challenging season.

Karin Vardaman, a lifelong conservationist now committed to protecting wolves in the American West, finds herself unexpectedly allied with the one of the species' most fervent opponents: cattle ranchers.

Bill Riddick employs the charrette process to help black and white community leaders overcome differences and desegregate local schools in Durham, North Carolina.

In December 2018, GRIT Fitness was a growing chain of boutique fitness studios offering a variety of workout classes, including weightlifting, high intensity interval training, and cardio dance. With 400 members and three Dallas studios, CEO Brittani Rettig believed...