Management - Leadership

Authenticity has become the gold standard for leadership. But as INSEAD professor Herminia Ibarra argues, a simplistic understanding of what authenticity means can limit leaders' growth and impact. All too often, we tend to latch on to authenticity as an excuse for sticking with what's comfortable. But few jobs allow us to do that for long.

Despite the widely accepted ideal of "shared value," research led by Harvard Business School's Kasturi Rangan suggests that this is not the norm - and that's OK. Most companies practice a multifaceted version of CSR that spans theaters ranging from pure philanthropy to environmental sustainability to the explicitly strategic.

The author attributes the firm's success to a company-wide focus on improving customer delight, and by engaging all employees in the product-design process. Boosting customer experience included alleviating confusion and discerning how clients use their products.

PwC's workforce is strikingly young: Two-thirds of its employees are in their twenties and early thirties. In the past, the assumption has been that most hires will eventually move on to other firms or other careers, while a few will be promoted all the way up to partner--rewarding and justifying years of long hours in service to clients.

The best way for companies to improve the lives of the world's poorest people--those at the bottom of the pyramid--is to focus first on doing good business, not just on doing good.

Ryan W. Buell, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School; Tami Kim, a doctoral student at HBS; and Chia-Jung Tsay, an assistant professor at University College London, set up four scenarios in a real cafeteria for two weeks.

It's not easy to recover from a big career disappointment such as getting fired or being passed over for a promotion. Many people sink into anger or denial, blaming situational factors or company politics.

When most of the world’s financial services giants were stumbling and retrenching in the aftermath of the 2008 recession, the asset management firm BlackRock was busy charting a course for growth. Its revenues, profits, and stock price all performed consistently through this tumultuous period.

The technology industry has a big problem with diversity, one that seems to be getting worse: In 1991 women held 37% of computing jobs; today they hold only 26%.

No one who has done business in China will be surprised to learn that relationships with government matter. Executives in China devote a substantial amount of time to interaction with government, even with the country's ongoing economic liberalization.