HBR On Leadership

If you’re leading a team, you know how hard it is to facilitate collaboration – especially when they don’t know each other well or may never meet in person. When people struggle to work together, it can harm productivity, morale, and talent retention. But New York Times bestselling author Marcus Buckingham argues that you can improve your team dynamics if you understand the people you manage: how...

In our leader-focused society, how often do we consider the role of followers? Barbara Kellerman studies the relationship between leaders and followers at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership. She explains that there’s a word that describes the powerful, emotional bond that exists between leaders and followers: charisma. But if charisma implies that leaders and their followers...

Megan Rapinoe is known for her ability to perform under pressure on the soccer field. In 2019, she led the U.S. women’s team to the World Cup Championship. But Rapinoe’s leadership extends beyond making big goals in high-stakes games. She has embraced her role as team captain and as an advocate for causes she believes in — like gender pay equity. In this episode, she discusses how she grew into he...

Being a great manager isn't enough to lead others to success. You also need to deeply understand your organization's core business. Amanda Goodall studies the relationship between leaders and organizational performance. She argues that the best leaders are technical experts — for example, doctors who head up hospitals or all-star basketball players who go on to manage teams.

If uncertainty and turbulence are the new normal, how does that change the way we lead? LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman explains how ongoing volatility can be transformed into an opportunity for innovation. He also discusses why it’s important to align the social impact of your innovative activity with your business mission, and why your talent is the true differentiator that will make or break y...

We all have preconceived notions about which personality types are associated with good leadership — like confidence or emotional intelligence. But what about shyness? If you’re more reserved but truly competent, can you become a leader? In this episode, an emerging leader speaks candidly about how her introversion affects her ability to lead. Then author and former clinical psychologist Alice Boy...

Is your job pushing you outside your comfort zone? Executive coach and former venture capitalist Jerry Colonna has coached leaders through that journey. He takes questions from Dear HBR listeners about what to do when you don’t feel qualified for your new responsibilities. He also offers advice for leading a team without formal power.

Managing for the first time can be stressful. Sometimes it’s because of others, but often it’s because of the misconceptions many people bring into the job. Three new managers speak candidly about the surprises, the rewards, and the challenges of leading.

Cynthia Carroll was only a few months into leading the global mining firm Anglo American when she suspended operations in their South African platinum mine. She was concerned about worker fatalities there. But it was an unprecedented move, and it came at a huge cost for the company. Harvard Kennedy School of Government research fellow Gautam Mukunda explains how Carroll used that temporary shutdow...

Some managers are like teachers, sharing their skills and experience with their teams. Others are more like cheerleaders who encourage their direct reports to learn on their own. But the best managers are “connectors,” says Gartner’s Sari Wilde. Wilde is part of a team at Gartner Research that surveyed 5,000 managers around the world to understand how management style affects the success of a team...

Managing a team in good times is one skill set. But how do you motivate people when things aren't going well? Toto Wolff is the team principle and CEO of the Mercedes team, one of the most successful teams in the history of Formula One racing. But when the team’s eight-year winning streak unexpectedly ended, Wolff had to adjust his leadership style to get them back on track. He tells Harvard Busin...

As leaders, we know we’re supposed to be authentic, but that is easier said than done. Babson College management professor Tina Opie explains how leaders can bring their best selves to work and help others do the same – by focusing on good communication and expressing emotion effectively.

In this era of global business and hybrid work, managers must find ways to unify teams that are geographically and culturally separated. Harvard Business School professor Tsedal Neeley breaks down how one real-life manager, who she profiled in a business case, approached the challenge of leading a hugely diverse, underperforming group back to success.

Legendary actor, producer, and director Ron Howard reveals how he vets top acting talent for his movies, why he tries not to work with the same production crews from one film to the next, and how he manages creative differences on set. He also shares what he learned about handling temperamental collaborators from coaching kids basketball.

What does it take to get to the C-suite? Venture capitalist and former tech CEO Mike Troiano has direct experience with that journey. He takes questions from Dear HBR listeners about what to do if you’re falling off the executive track, if you’re moving up but don’t believe in the company’s strategy, or if you have a rival who could block your path to the C-suite.

Jazz pianist and management professor Frank Barrett tells IdeaCast guest host Jeff Kehoe that jazz can teach leaders why it’s important to forgive mistakes that happen as part of exploration and experimentation, as well as the importance of moving beyond problem-solving to embrace an improvisational mindset.

Rachel Carson is known as a gifted science writer and a trailblazing environmental activist. Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn tells IdeaCast guest host Adi Ignatius that she should also be remembered as a great leader. Carson’s story has lessons for any leader facing an overwhelming challenge that requires resilience and real-time skill-building. In addition, Carson’s ability to carry...

Popular stereotypes of successful CEOs as charismatic white men with Ivy League degrees, who never falter under pressure, are misleading. Elena Botelho, who co-leads the CEO Genome Project and advises top leaders, says actual success in the C-suite has more to do with being decisive, staying adaptable, and delivering reliable results.