Podcast
HBR On Leadership
Hosted by Harvard Business Review · EN
Leadership isn’t just a personality trait, it’s a set of skills that you can build. Whether you’re managing up or motivating a team, HBR On Leadership is your destination for insights and inspiration from the world’s top leadership practitioners and experts. Every Wednesday, the editors at the Harvard Business Review hand-picked case studies and conversations with global business leaders, management experts, academics, from across HBR to help you unlock the best in those around you.
98episodes
Episodes
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How to Cultivate Your “Personal Power” as a Leader
2d ago00:25:50Summary readyWe all know the stereotypes of leaders who use charisma, manipulation, domineering behavior, or their status in the hierarchy to exert control. But there is another type of leader whose power isn’t necessarily related to their position on the org chart. Chris Lipp has spent years studying people who’ve developed this “personal power” that is rooted in their internal values. Lipp is a professor at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business, an executive coach, and the author of the book The Science of Personal Power. He’s investigated where this second type of power comes from and how to tap into it using simple strategies and tools. Key episode topics include: leadership, leading teams, managing yourself, power and influence, personal growth and transformation • Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: How to Enhance Your Leadership with ‘Personal Power’ • Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast • Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org
SummaryHow Shake Shack Balanced Digitalization with Its Hospitality Ethos
1w ago00:29:25Summary readyShake Shack started in 2001 as a hot dog cart in New York City’s Madison Square Park. It’s now a global fast-casual restaurant chain renowned for both quality and hospitality. In 2024, following a rapid rollout of digital tools like kiosks and mobile ordering, Chief Growth Officer Steph So found herself asking, had Shake Shack built a model that could truly scale, or one that still needed work? Would automation undermine the guest experience or change what it meant to work at Shake Shack? Could personalization and operational efficiency coexist with the company’s hospitality ethos? Harvard Business School professor Chris Stanton joins So and host Brian Kenny to discuss the case “Shake Shack’s Playbook for the Digital Era.” Together, they explore what it means to scale hospitality in a tech-driven industry and how Shake Shack is balancing brand values, digital adoption, and the evolving role of its frontline team. Key episode topics include: leadership, leading teams, customer experience, customer service, digital transformation, retail and consumer goods Listen to the original Cold Call episode Shake Shack’s Digital Playbook: More Tech, Same Hospitality? Find more episodes of Cold Call and HBRIdeaCast Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org
SummaryGetting Buy-In for Your Next Big Idea
2w ago00:29:56Summary readyLeaders are often called upon to pitch ideas to senior management about how to change the way their company does business. Perhaps you have proposed an improvement to an existing process, a new product, a technological tool, or a way to break into a different market entirely—with mixed results. In this conversation, Sue Ashford, professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, and Ellen Bailey, former vice president of business and culture transformation at Harvard Business Publishing, give suggestions for framing those ideas so that executives buy into them, including the research findings they keep in mind, questions they ask themselves and others when vetting an idea, and what they learned from the times they fell short. Key episode topics include: leadership, leading teams, managing yourself, power and influence, change management, personal growth and transformation • Listen to the original Women at Work episode: How to Manage: Selling Your Ideas to Leadership • Find more episodes of Women at Work and HBR IdeaCast • Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org
SummaryRedefining What Efficiency Means in the Age of AI
3w ago00:29:56Summary readyWhat is the real definition of efficiency in a world powered by AI? What if it was quality, not quantity? Neuroscientist Mithu Storoni has researched how and when our brains are the most creative and truly productive at knowledge work. In this conversation, she shares how we can train our brains to be more effective at doing work that really matters. She explains how our brains tackle different kinds of work, how we can better schedule our days to align with those states of mind, and what this all means for leaders and organizations. Storoni is the author of the book Hyperefficient: Optimize Your Brain to Transform the Way You Work. Key episode topics include: leadership and managing people, entrepreneurs and founders, innovation, organizational culture, corporate strategy, succession planning ● Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Training Your Brain to Work More Effectively ● Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast ● Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org
SummaryCommunicating with Confidence When You’re Under Pressure
4w ago00:34:19Summary readyCommunicating clearly sets you up to have the leadership impact and influence you need to drive change. But what if you’re running on empty? Expressing your ideas and giving direction when you’re sleep-deprived, burned out, or simply overwhelmed can feel nearly impossible. So, what helps? Leadership development coach Muriel Wilkins, author of Leadership Unblocked and host of the podcast Coaching Real Leaders, talks us through communication techniques that meet you where you’re at mentally and emotionally so that you can rise to the moment (even when you’re worried you can’t). Key episode topics include: leadership, managing yourself, business communication, personal resilience, leading teams ● Listen to the original Women at Work episode: Communicating Effectively When You’re Running on Empty ● Find more episodes of Women at Work ● Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org
SummaryBuild Your Resilience in the Face of Tough Change
Apr 2900:25:13Summary readyYour company changes. Your role gets eliminated. A dream project gets assigned to someone else. These are examples of the kinds of difficult change that are inevitable in life, but few of us have the skills to navigate well. But there are lessons from psychology that can help us be more resilient. Dr. Maya Shankar, cognitive scientist and host of the podcast A Slight Change of Plans, shares ideas that can help you understand, react, reframe, and better adapt to change in life or work. She offers evidence-based strategies for how leaders can build resilience in the face of personal, organizational, and technological upheaval while also finding paths to growth and learning. Shankar is author of the book The Other Side of Change: Who We Become When Life Makes Other Plans. Key episode topics include: leadership, managing yourself, change management, psychology, personal resilience, career transitions, personal growth and transformation ● Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: The Cognitive Science Behind Sudden Change ● Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast ● Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org
SummaryMaking the Shift from Individual Contributor to Leader
Apr 2200:38:28Summary readyOnce you’ve committed to a leadership role—whether formally or informally—getting everyone else at work to buy in requires relationship management. The steps to transition from individual contributor to leader can seem daunting, especially when so many aspects of work and the world are in a constant state of flux. How do you successfully shift the role you’re playing on your team? What sorts of conversations help clear the way? Is this transformation harder to make if you work remotely? To address these questions and more, we revisit a 2019 Women at Work interview with leadership development experts Amy Jen Su and Muriel M. Wilkins. They co-wrote the book Own the Room, and Wilkins is the author of the new book Leadership Unblocked. Key episode topics include: leadership, managing yourself, leadership development, personal growth and transformation, business communication ● Listen to the original Women at Work episode: Becoming a Leader When Everything Is Shifting ● Find more episodes of Women at Work ● Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org
SummaryScaling a Business Beyond the Family Playbook
Apr 1500:31:26Summary readyJohnson Security Bureau is one of the oldest Black-owned security firms in the United States, providing services to New York-area banks, public works, hospitals, transportation facilities, and other industries. The company had been handed down across three generations and its status as a woman-owned, minority-owned firm had been part its competitive strategy since CEO Jessica Johnson-Cope took over the firm from her father. In order to grow the business, however, Johnson-Cope considered partnering with security firms in other states, something that threatened to put some of the company’s founding priorities on the back burner. She also considered expanding the business into cybersecurity. In this conversation with host Brian Kenny, Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Henry McGee and CEO Jessica Johnson-Cope discuss the leadership dilemmas at the heart of the case “Johnson Security Bureau: Building Multigenerational Success.” Key episode topics include: leadership, family businesses, entrepreneurs and founders, strategic thinking, growth strategy, scaling entrepreneurial ventures ● Listen to the original Cold Call episode: Scaling a Family Business While Maintaining Founding Values ● Find more episodes of Cold Call ● Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org
SummaryIs Your Company Suffering from Initiative Overload?
Apr 800:23:20Summary readyMost organizations struggle to kill initiatives, even those that no longer support their strategy. Leadership consultants Rose Hollister and Michael Watkins explore the problem of initiative overload and how it can trickle down to employees who are already dealing with more projects than they can handle or do well. They offer practical tips on how to truly prioritize your company’s most important initiatives—or risk losing top talent. Hollister and Watkins are the authors of the 2018 HBR article “Too Many Projects.” Key episode topics include: leadership, leading teams, project management, time management, product management. • Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Stop Initiative Overload • Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast • Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org
SummaryWhen You’re Worn Down—and Your Team Is Too
Apr 100:23:29Summary readyThere’s nothing easy about being a manager today. But for team leaders who are feeling burnt out or overwhelmed with their job, workplace strategist Daisy Auger-Domínguez has advice on how to regain some of your joy at work. She recommends various techniques to incorporate optimism and well-being into your role. They include remembering your purpose, embracing a beginner’s mindset, keeping a folder of positive feedback as inspiration, and celebrating the contributions of team members. Auger-Domínguez is a workplace strategist, global people leader, and the author of the HBR article “Finding Joy as a Manager—Even on Bad Days.” Key episode topics include: leadership, leading teams, motivation, managing yourself, stress management, personal resilience • Listen to the original HBRIdeaCast episode: Here’s How Managers Can Rediscover Their Joy at Work • Find more episodes of HBRIdeaCast  • Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at hbr.org 
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