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Built for leaders at every level
As a physical “giant,” John Amaechi has long understood how powerfully our actions can affect others. Yet, as an organizational psychologist, he emphasizes that we are all “giants” in our own way. We each leave an impact, even through actions that may feel small to us. In fact, Amaechi suggests it is often those very small gestures that carry the greatest meaning for others — like ripples on the surface of a lake, spreading farther than we ever realize.
Everywhere we turn — social media, ads, TV — we’re surrounded by polished images of how life should look. Even though we know perfection isn’t real, it can still leave us feeling stuck. “Why even try?” we wonder as we face our messy, imperfect lives. Oliver Burkeman challenges this mindset, urging us to see through the illusion and embrace our limitations. Not just because as finite humans, we have no other choice, but because doing so can unlock freedom and a path toward achieving what matters most. It’s still a productivity approach, just one designed for real, imperfect people.
Managers often get a bad rap, dismissed as bureaucratic cogs while leaders are celebrated as bold visionaries. Yet both roles are essential to making an organization function effectively. So why does this unbalanced narrative persist? Suzy Welch argues it comes from an overemphasis on separating leadership and management, rather than recognizing how they intersect. The most effective team leaders, she notes, break through this false divide — knowing when to inspire broadly and when to dig into the details. The blend is so crucial, Welch even coined a term for it: “lanaging.”
Leadership isn’t for the faint of heart. While it can come with lofty highs, the lows often include a relentless cycle of high-stakes decisions and tough calls (complete with a few sleepless nights). Throw in shifting market conditions or unexpected disruptions, and the challenges only intensify, testing your judgment and nerve. So how do you forge ahead? Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz suggests running toward the hard problems, not away from them.
Hospitality is often viewed as something to extend to customers or guests. But restaurateur Will Guidara doesn’t want you to stop there. By extending hospitality to your employees as well, you make them feel seen and heard, enabling them to bring their best selves to work. His approach to building such a culture centers on embracing shared values, purposeful communication, and prioritizing everyone’s well-being.
Leadership is an unnatural act, one that can engender feelings of self-doubt, insecurity, or indecision. In this expert class, executive coach Alisa Cohn offers a series of principles and practices to help you become a more natural leader for your team.
Ethnographer and leadership expert Simon Sinek says that successful people and businesses are driven by a sense of purpose. For the individual on a career path, starting with this “why” is an ongoing process of seeking that sense of purpose and being honest about where it does and doesn’t exist for them. For organizations, starting with why means creating a purpose-driven environment that nurtures each employee’s individual quest.
There’s a crisis in the workplace. According to a 2016 Gallup Poll, 70% of people are, as the classic pop song puts it, “workin’ for the weekend.” They’re bored and disengaged at work. The solution, says professor Dan Cable, is to activate their biological “seeking system,” the neurocircuitry in our brains that lights up when we push the boundaries of our knowledge and see the meaning in our work.
Spreadsheets won’t save you in a crisis. What you need is trust, resilience, and accountability. And according to CEO and former Navy SEAL Brent Gleeson, that all comes down to culture.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) were originally designed as a narrow “command and control” mechanism to help chief financial officers track financial metrics and keep other departments in line. But MIT’s Michael Schrage says KPIs have evolved into dynamic tools for inspiring an entire organization to steer toward precise future targets.
No one is perfect at a task or skill the first time they attempt it, but luckily where someone starts doesn’t determine how far they can go with solid guidance and practice. According to organizational psychologist Adam Grant, we all have more potential than we realize. In this class, he discusses how leaders can (and should!) identify potential in their team members and then help them achieve it.
Unnecessary or poorly run meetings can steal important time from your teams and create disengagement amongst employees. Because meetings are often at the core of an organization’s culture, Priya Parker says you need to make sure they’re infused with purpose — from the moment they’re put on the schedule to the moment they wrap up. She urges you to be mindful not just of their content and frequency, but also of their participants and locations.
Every management decision is built on assumptions or models about what works in business. What if our models are wrong? In this class, strategy consultant and author Roger Martin challenges dominant management models and proposes alternatives.
Making the transition into a new leadership role can require precarious maneuvering. To make sure you thrive and succeed at achieving your objectives, Michael Watkins recommends cultivating a deep understanding of the organization’s culture. Additionally, assessing the organization’s circumstances and needs will help you evolve your team and your leadership style accordingly. By following Watkins’ advice, you can gain the support of superiors and reports while navigating this process.
It’s a natural part of the human experience: We all want to feel seen and appreciated by others. And yet, most of us don’t — this is what businessman and philanthropist David Novak calls the “Global Recognition Deficit.” He’s made it his life’s mission to address this gap and help others do the same by spreading recognition, smiles, and contagious positivity.
Humans are hardwired for hierarchy, but we want a leader we can respect, not just someone to follow. To earn that respect, leaders must be clear about why they want to lead. They also have to be human. If they demonstrate compassion and loyalty to their team, says leadership consultant Simon Sinek, their team will return that commitment in spades.
It’s no secret: today’s business climate today is dizzyingly complex. But Boston Consulting Group Senior Partner and Managing Director Yves Morieux says the solution is surprisingly simple. Give your team clear objectives and an organizational sense of what they’re doing and why.
Aristotle once called man a political animal by nature. In the 21st-century, this means negotiating a complex network of relationships while managing the increasingly difficult challenges of a fast-changing environment. Your career success, argues Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill, will be determined by how well you manage the social and political dynamics associated with organizational life.
So, you’re ready to lead your team. But where? Robert Kaplan, former President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, says the destination is up to you. If you’re not intentional about choosing it, though, you’re likely to lose your way — and get everyone else off-track, too.
There’s always a new management trend on the horizon, a so-called silver bullet promising to boost productivity or make collaboration effortless. HR expert Josh Bersin has seen them all. But his research tells a different story: lasting impact doesn’t come from chasing trends. It comes from strengthening the foundational ways people work together. In this expert class, you’ll uncover the “secrets” that set great organizations apart and how to lead the way in putting them into practice.
Unnecessary meetings, micromanagement, overly complex procedures — these are a few common examples of the phenomenon Bob Sutton calls workplace “friction.” And while friction can feel inevitable, regularly slowing us down and causing frustration, he argues that it doesn’t have to be that way. By eliminating pointless barriers, we can streamline work, sharpen decision-making, and fuel creativity.
We often picture the surgeon at the center of the operating room. But Atul Gawande knows firsthand that the success of any procedure depends on the coordinated work of many people. In this class, he distills the lessons he’s learned about building systems that enable teams to perform better together.
Research conducted by the founder of Change Enthusiasm Global, Cassandra Worthy, suggests that over half of all Americans admit to feeling difficult emotions, such as anxiety, when facing a change in the workplace. And while those feelings are valid, they don’t have to be permanent. To become more comfortable with your relationship with change, Worthy offers a framework for harnessing your emotions and making more productive choices that reframe change as opportunity.