HBR On Leadership

Managing a team in good times is one skill set. But how do you motivate people when things aren't going well? Toto Wolff is the team principle and CEO of the Mercedes team, one of the most successful teams in the history of Formula One racing. But when the team’s eight-year winning streak unexpectedly ended, Wolff had to adjust his leadership style to get them back on track...

As leaders, we know we’re supposed to be authentic, but that is easier said than done. Babson College management professor Tina Opie explains how leaders can bring their best selves to work and help others do the same – by focusing on good communication and expressing emotion effectively.

In this era of global business and hybrid work, managers must find ways to unify teams that are geographically and culturally separated. Harvard Business School professor Tsedal Neeley breaks down how one real-life manager, who she profiled in a business case, approached the challenge of leading a hugely diverse, underperforming group back to success.

Legendary actor, producer, and director Ron Howard reveals how he vets top acting talent for his movies, why he tries not to work with the same production crews from one film to the next, and how he manages creative differences on set. He also shares what he learned about handling temperamental collaborators from coaching kids basketball.

Rachel Carson is known as a gifted science writer and a trailblazing environmental activist. Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn tells IdeaCast guest host Adi Ignatius that she should also be remembered as a great leader. Carson’s story has lessons for any leader facing an overwhelming challenge that requires resilience and real-time skill-building. In addition, Carson’s ability to carry out her work despite overwhelming family commitments shows that caretaking is an act of leadership.

What does it take to get to the C-suite? Venture capitalist and former tech CEO Mike Troiano has direct experience with that journey. He takes questions from Dear HBR listeners about what to do if you’re falling off the executive track, if you’re moving up but don’t believe in the company’s strategy, or if you have a rival who could block your path to the C-suite.

Jazz pianist and management professor Frank Barrett tells IdeaCast guest host Jeff Kehoe that jazz can teach leaders why it’s important to forgive mistakes that happen as part of exploration and experimentation, as well as the importance of moving beyond problem-solving to embrace an improvisational mindset.

Popular stereotypes of successful CEOs as charismatic white men with Ivy League degrees who never falter under pressure are often misleading.

“[T]he CEOs I get to know up close and personal really look nothing like this image of perfection. And so we decided to dig into this with the data,” says Elena Botelho, who co-leads the CEO Genome Project and advises top leaders...