The Insightful Leader

Few people relish the idea of walking into a workplace rife with conflict. What’s more, conflict can be a drag on productivity and creativity. So what are the best ways to manage conflict at work?

The answer depends on the type of conflict you face. In this Insight In Person podcast, we talk with two Kellogg professors of management and organizations about two different types of conflict. Jeanne Brett addresses cross-cultural conflict, offering advice on the best ways to diffuse tense situations—or better yet, avoid them in the first place. Eli Finkel, who is also a professor of psychology, explains how his research into romantic relationships is also relevant among coworkers.

This month, we talk with Kellogg professors Kara Palamountain and David Schonthal as well as entrepreneur Jesse Chang about how startups with ambitious long-term goals can set intermediate finish lines to get their products on the market.

By the time they start companies, most entrepreneurs have a clear vision for their product: what it will look like, who will use it, and it will fit in the market. But for some startups, that picture is less clear—and it is not because they lack focus.

Instead, they have their sights set beyond the horizon—to markets that do not yet exist, to technologies that are still in a nascent stage, or to products that may need years of development and testing before they hit the market. Given these longer timelines, what do young companies do to stay afloat while perfecting their products? This month, we hear how Kellogg School professor and entrepreneur Kara Palamountain's Global Health Initiative and entrepreneur Jesse Chang's company, MDAR Technologies, have gone about setting goals to bring their products to market.

This month, we talk with Kellogg professors Nour Kteily and Julie Hennessy about what we can learn from studying candidates' brands. This includes the impact of the rhetoric they use to establish those brands.

 

The 2016 presidential campaign is in full swing. Even if you’re not a political junkie, it’s pretty hard to tune out the candidates right now. They’re all fighting to tell you who they are and what they stand for. Like any product, presidential candidates are trying to brand themselves.  

This month, we talk with Kellogg professors Nour Kteily and Julie Hennessy about what we can learn from studying candidates' brands. This includes the impact of the rhetoric they use to establish those brands.

 

 

This month, we explore how poaching affects companies and industries—and why it may not always be a bad thing. We also hear from a former executive recruiter about how you can make yourself more attractive to headhunters.

This month, we explore how poaching affects companies and industries—and why it may not always be a bad thing. We also hear from a former executive recruiter about how you can make yourself more attractive to headhunters.

Kellogg School professors Gad Allon and Achal Bassamboo join Kellogg School PhD student Evan Barlow to discuss their recent research on poaching. They explain why some companies are open to having their employees poached.

Then we hear from Adnan Rukieh, director of career services for executive and part-time MBA students at the Kellogg School and a former executive search consultant, about how employees looking to change jobs may best position themselves for success.

This month, we ask: why are business leaders turning to the arts—from storytelling to jazz ensemble, orchestra conducting to tap dance to Argentine tango—for insights into how to do their own jobs better?

You will hear from Kellogg professor Michelle Buck, Stephen Alltop, a conductor and professor at the Beinin School of Music at Northwestern, Michael Gold, director of the arts consultancy Jazz Impact, and tap dancer Jenai Cutcher West about their methods for using arts-based experiential learning to bring epiphanies to business leaders.