| By Peter Bregman, hbr.org | I’d known Jeff (not his real name) for many years, as a client and as a friend, but I’d never seen him so thrown. I could feel his fear, his sense of uncertainty. And it was with good reason. Jeff was the head of sales for a company whose product was, […]
What to Do When You Realize You Made a Bad Hire
| By Liz Kislik, hbr.org | Sometimes it happens that a candidate who had the right credentials, seemed to fly through the interview process, and had lovely references turns out to be an unexpected problem after hiring. If it hasn’t happened to you yet, consider yourself lucky, because only 19% of new hires are considered fully successful, according to […]
How to Tell Your Team That Organizational Change Is Coming
| By Liz Kislik, hbr.org | From time to time, every leader has to deliver news that is hard for employees to hear. Even when businesses are doing well, organizational and structural change is to be expected, and acquisitions, reorganizations, or policy changes can affect people’s jobs in ways that create feelings of fear, anger, or sorrow. Each […]
To Be a Good Leader, Start By Being a Good Follower
| By Kim Peters, Alex Haslam, hbr.org | There is no shortage of advice for those who aspire to be effective leaders. One piece of advice may be particularly enticing: if you want to be a successful leader, ensure that you are seen as a leader and not a follower. To do this, goes the usual advice, you should seek out […]
3 Transitions Even the Best Leaders Struggle With
| By Cassandra Frangos, hbr.org | We love to read about the dynamics of success. We study it, celebrate it, and try to emulate how successful leaders rise to the top. I’m no different: I’ve spent my career helping executives succeed, either through coaching and development or assessments of their strengths and opportunity areas to identify the […]
Turning Purpose Into Performance
| hbr.org | Gerry Anderson, the CEO of DTE Energy, and Robert Quinn and Anjan Thakor, professors at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and the Olin Business School at Washington University, respectively, discuss how an aspirational mission can motivate employees and improve performance. Anderson talks about his own experience. Quinn and Thakor explain their research showing how leaders […]
4 Ways to Create a Learning Culture on Your Team
| By Tomas Chamorro-premuzic, Josh Bersin, hbr.org | Technology is disrupting every industry and area of life, and work is no exception. One of the main career implications of the digital revolution is a shift in demand for human expertise. For instance, LinkedIn’s talent research shows that half of today’s most in-demand skills weren’t even on the list three years […]
Too Much Team Harmony Can Kill Creativity
| By Tomas Chamorro-premuzic, Darko Lovric, hbr.org | William Wrigley Jr., the American chewing gum tycoon, once noted that business is built by men who disagree, and that “When two men always agree, one of them is unnecessary.” Indeed, not just in business but also in politics, sports, and the arts, there is no shortage of real-world examples of successful […]