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.
102episodes
Episodes
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Making 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 
SummaryThe Most Successful Leaders Never Stop Learning
Mar 2500:27:52Summary readyAfter running Yum! Brands, which includes well-known chains such as KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, David Novak wanted to help others become better leaders. He believes the key is to put learning at the center of everything you do, whether you’re an entry-level worker or a C-suite executive. Novak outlines three main areas for learning and offers ideas on how the most effective leaders turn their learnings into action, something that takes insight and practice. Novak wrote the book How Leaders Learn: Master the Habits of the World’s Most Successful People. Key episode topics include: leadership, leading teams, managing yourself, leadership development, strategic thinking, organizational learning • Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Yum! Brands’ Former CEO on Why You Should Never Stop Learning • Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast • Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org
SummaryWhat It Takes to Execute a Successful Company Turnaround
Mar 1800:29:11Summary readyIf a company starts to veer off track, whether amid technological change, marketplace conditions, or otherwise, it is daunting to get back on a path to growth. But big turnarounds are possible, provided you have the right team and mindset. When he was president and CEO of Marvel, Peter Cuneo oversaw the resurgence and sale of the media company, but even before that he had a long track record for turning around many types of consumer-facing businesses at brands from Clairol to Black & Decker. He shares the strategies that work best for shaking up organizations and teams and boosting their performance. Key episode topics include: leadership, transformation, leading teams, strategy, change management, organizational restructuring Listen to the original HBRIdeaCast episode: Lessons From a Turnaround Expert Find more episodes of HBRIdeaCast Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at hbr.org
SummaryLooking Back on Nike’s Evolution from Startup to Global Enterprise
Mar 1100:19:57Summary readyEvery company has an origin story, which goes on to inform its culture. Phil Knight, co-founder, former CEO, and Chairman Emeritus of Nike, recounts starting the sports apparel and equipment giant after taking an entrepreneurship class at Stanford and teaming up with his former track coach, Bill Bowerman. Together, they changed how running shoes are designed and made. In this conversation from 2017, Knight reflects on the company’s enduring culture of innovation, as well as the company’s succession process for the CEO role. 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: Nike’s Co-founder on Innovation, Culture, and Succession ● Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast
SummaryWhy Storytelling Matters When Changing Company Culture
Mar 400:31:22Summary readyStories and storytelling are at the core of many aspects of the corporate world. Consider a great brand campaign or the ability to sell yourself in a job interview. It’s also an extremely important skill for managers who want to win support for new strategies and initiatives—or change their company’s culture. Jay Barney, a professor at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business, studied leaders who successfully led culture change and found one thing in common: they created and spread authentic and memorable stories. The new stories then emanated throughout the workforce and rewrote the old narrative. Barney explains the six rules leaders need to follow to drive cultural change with storytelling. He’s a coauthor, with Manoel Amorim and Carlos Júlio, of The Secret of Culture Change: How to Build Authentic Stories That Transform Your Organization and the 2023 HBR article “Create Stories That Change Your Company’s Culture.” Key episode topics include: leadership and managing people, leading teams, change management, business communication, organizational culture, corporate strategy ● Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: If You Want Culture Change, Create New Stories ● Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast ● Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org
SummaryCombatting Cynicism in Your Organization
Feb 2500:29:40Summary readyAround the world, we’ve become increasingly cynical about other people, public institutions, and corporations. Back in 2022, Edelman’s Trust Barometer found that nearly 60% of respondents across 27 countries reported that their default is to distrust. And that’s bad for business, says Stanford University associate professor of psychology Jamil Zaki. He says that cynics damage trust, and in workplaces they breed toxicity and lead to poor outcomes. He explains how to identify and change this kind of behavior at your organization. Zaki wrote the HBR article, “Don’t Let Cynicism Undermine Your Workplace.” Key episode topics include: leadership, managing yourself, leading teams, emotional intelligence <ul • Listen to the original HBRIdeaCast episode: Is Cynicism Ruining Your Organization? • Find more episodes of HBRIdeaCast • Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at hbr.org
SummaryWhy Most Projects Fail—and How to Achieve Better Outcomes
Feb 1800:25:05Summary readyCompanies of every size in every industry and part of the world are basing more of their work around projects. And yet research shows that nearly two-thirds of those efforts fail. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, who has studied projects and project management for decades, explains how we can do better. He offers advice on the right way to frame projects, how to structure organizations around them, and pitfalls to avoid. Nieto-Rodriguez is the author of the Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook and author of the article “The Project Economy Has Arrived.” Key episode topics include: project management, operations strategy, organizational change • Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: The Future of Work Is Projects—So You’ve Got to Get Them Right • Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast • Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org
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