HBR On Leadership

In early 2003, the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered the earth’s atmosphere. All seven astronauts on board were killed. This was not the first NASA mission to end in disaster, and ...

In 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln wrote a scathing letter to his top Union general, who had squandered an opportunity to end the American Civil War. Then Lincoln folded it up and tucked it away ...

Growing up in the heart of the Confederacy, Maggie Lena Walker started work as a laundress at age nine. At the urging of her mother and mentors, she turned to education, and used it to propel her life...

Most of us can point to a few key people who have made a real difference in our lives and careers—the coach who pushed you to outperform, the teacher whose passion for a subject inspired your own, or ...

Do you have a difficult employee on your team—someone who might be underperforming or resistant to taking feedback? Do you know how to help them? Melvin Smith says that coaching can be harder than you...

Making business decisions often means choosing one path over another—but that doesn’t always need to be the case. Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis argue that leaders should move beyond “either/or” choic...

You’re probably familiar with the term “psychological safety.” But do you know what it really means? HBR contributing editor and workplace conflict expert Amy Gallo says both the idea and the value of...

Many of us manage projects—even if “project manager” isn’t in our official job title. We try to learn the basics as we go: how to manage multiple stakeholders, adapt as circumstances change, and set r...

When Rick Ridgeway compares mountaineering to risk management, he’s speaking from deep experience navigating both the boardroom and some of the world’s highest slopes. Ridgeway is an outdoor adventure...

You’ve likely heard the phrase, “Move fast and break things.”  But Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei says speed and experimentation are not enough on their own. Instead, she argues that y...