HBR On Leadership

Disruption and transformation are the new normal in nearly every industry. So how do you stay ahead of the curve? Over the past four decades, Bonnie Hammer successfully adapted to massive changes in the media industry, rising from production assistant to leadership roles in broadcast, cable, and streaming. As the former vice chair of NBCUniversal, she has advice on how to get noticed, acquire the right skillsets, make smart decisions, and adjust to shifting corporate and market dynamics. She’s the author of the book 15 Lies Women Are Told at Work: …and the Truth We Need to Succeed.

Key episode topics include: career transitions, leadership, managing uncertainty, decision making, innovation, entertainment industry

When news breaks of a CEO succession, much of the attention is given to the new leader and how they will change the company. But new research shows that the leave-taking process of the outgoing chief executive is often mishandled, with negative impacts on succession and the organization. Rebecca Slan Jerusalim, an executive director at Russell Reynolds Associates, and Navio Kwok, a leadership advisor at RRA, say that boards are often surprised when a CEO gives notice, and they often make that person feel excluded during the handoff process. The researchers share stories from the front lines about CEO psychology, best practices for outgoing leaders and their boards, and broader lessons for effective transitions. Jerusalim and Kwok wrote the HBR article “The Vital Role of the Outgoing CEO.”

Key episode topics include: leadership transitions, succession planning, leadership, managing uncertainty, corporate communications, boards

This month, we’ve been highlighting some of the best conversations from the 2025 HBR Leadership Summit held in April.

In today’s episode, Anish Shah, CEO of Mahindra Group, discusses the importance of purpose in driving profit. With businesses spanning automobiles, finance, real estate, agriculture, hospitality, digital renewables, and more, Mahindra Group is one of India’s largest and most prominent conglomerates. It employs over 260,000 people across more than one hundred countries.

In this conversation, Shah provides examples of Mahindra’s positive impact on communities. He shares his thoughts on navigating the current political and business environment and maintaining Mahindra’s mission-driven culture. He also explains how Mahindra is making a positive impact on communities, from educating children to empowering women to driving productivity in farming.

Key episode topics include: leadership, managing uncertainty, sustainable business practices, corporate strategy, gender, mission statements

• Learn more about the HBR Leadership Summit (April 2025)

This month, we’ve been highlighting some of the best conversations from the 2025 HBR Leadership Summit held in April.

In today’s episode, Janti Soeripto, CEO of Save the Children US, shares how the organization navigates overlapping global crises—from pandemics to war—while staying focused on its core mission: ensuring children survive and thrive. With 24,000 staff members working across 115 countries, Save the Children provides health, education, protection, emergency response, and advocacy services.

In this conversation with HBR editor at large Adi Ignatius, Soeripto draws on her experience in both the private and nonprofit sectors. She offers hard-won lessons on leading with clarity, measuring impact in volatile environments, and remaining agile while never losing sight of mission—and why optimism and data must coexist. Despite significant cuts in government funding, Soeripto expresses confidence in private donors and emphasizes the importance of long-term investment in simple, life-saving solutions like fortified peanut butter to combat child malnutrition.

Whether you’re in philanthropy, business, or leadership of any kind, this episode will leave you thinking differently about what it takes to lead with both urgency and hope.

Key episode topics include: managing uncertainty, social and global issues, agile project management, nonprofit organizations, operations and supply chain management, leadership styles, developing countries

• Learn more about the HBR Leadership Summit (April 2025)

This month, we’re highlighting some of the best conversations from the 2025 HBR Leadership Summit held in April. In this episode, David Risher, CEO of Lyft, shares how he’s driving a turnaround at the rideshare company by anchoring everything in customer obsession. Since Risher took the wheel in 2023, Lyft reached record bookings and a 31% increase in annual revenue and its first full year of profitability.

Risher shares how his own experience behind the wheel as a Lyft driver informs product innovation. And why listening deeply—whether to a single passenger or a room of drivers—can lead to breakthrough ideas. He also opens up about navigating layoffs, launching inclusive features, and preparing for an autonomous future while keeping human dignity front and center.

Key episode topics include: customer experience, innovation, technology and analytics, listening skills, change management, employee engagement, competitive advantage, strategy

• Learn more about the HBR Leadership Summit (April 2025)

Over the next four weeks, we’re highlighting some of the best conversations from the 2025 HBR Leadership Summit held in April. In this episode, Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, shares her leadership approach to scaling one of the world’s largest online travel companies. From pioneering the use of AI in customer experience and internal operations to reimagining hybrid work and gender diversity, she shares how she’s steering a global company through rapid change and geopolitical uncertainty. She discusses her emphasis on hiring for integrity, competence, and curiosity, and outlines how AI is embedded throughout the business—from resume screening and customer personalization to employee training and product development.

Key episode topics include: leadership, hiring and recruitment, motivating people, developing employees, AI and machine learning, gender, diversity and inclusion, managing uncertainty, growth strategy, innovation

• Learn more about the HBR Leadership Summit (April 2025)

Sydney Finkelstein, a professor of management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, encourages leaders to approach their direct reports like teachers. As Finkelstein explains, being a teacher-leader means continually meeting face to face with employees to communicate lessons about professionalism, points of craft, and life. He says it’s easy to try and that teaching is one of the best ways to motivate people and improve their performance. Finkelstein is the author of “The Best Leaders Are Great Teachers” in the January–February 2018 issue of Harvard Business Review.

Key episode topics include:, leadership, mentoring, motivating people, developing employees, coaching, careers, managing people, performance management

People management consists of a fair amount of mediation and diplomacy, and you can’t expect to get the hang of it right away. You’re in the middle of a lot now. Initiating difficult conversations, and then getting all the way through them, takes planning and practice (and sometimes even a breather). Holding tension takes restraint.

Amy Bernstein and Kelsey Alpaio interview Amy Gallo about the types of conflict that new managers should expect to handle, as well as options for responding. They talk through real experiences and common scenarios. Like that time Kelsey needed to tell a direct report they were falling short of her expectations (but didn’t end up saying anything). Or that time Amy G started reporting to a friend. They also give guidance for intervening or not when team members are arguing and for discreetly clueing your group in about the office politics going on.

Key episode topics include: managing conflicts, interpersonal skills, interpersonal communication, difficult employees, hard conversations, leadership

Few leaders have been trained to ask great questions. That might explain why they tend to be good at certain kinds of questions, and less effective at other kinds. Unfortunately, that hurts their ability to pursue strategic priorities. Arnaud Chevallier, strategy professor at IMD Business School, explains how leaders can break out of that rut and systematically ask five kinds of questions: investigative, speculative, productive, interpretive, and subjective. He shares real-life examples of how asking the right sort of question at a key time can unlock value and propel your organization. With his IMD colleagues Frédéric Dalsace and Jean-Louis Barsoux, Chevallier wrote the HBR article “The Art of Asking Smarter Questions.”

Key episode topics include: decision-making, problem solving, active listening, leadership strategic planning

Is your teamwork not working? In this episode of HBR’s advice podcast, Dear HBR:, cohosts Alison Beard and Dan McGinn answer your questions with the help of Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School and the author of The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. They talk through what to do when your team isn’t communicating, doesn’t respect its leader, or has one employee who’s causing problems.

Key episode topics include: managing teams, managing difficult people, managing conflict, team dysfunction, organizational culture, communication styles, feedback, trust, employee performance management, leadership styles, leadership