New research based on MIT SMR's Culture 500 and employees' Glassdoor ratings of their employers identifies the five most common elements of toxic workplace cultures as disrespectful, noninclusive, unethical, cutthroat, and abusive. The authors discuss how unhealthy work environments negatively affect both employees and their employers and how organizations stand to benefit when they identify and address toxic elements in their cultures.

A shift to widespread remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges, but the good news is that organizations around the world are experimenting with creative solutions to meet workers' needs. Analysis from a recent survey of HR leaders and other employees on the most meaningful actions their organizations have taken to support remote work uncovered five principles that can help leaders more effectively manage a distributed workforce.

The conventional wisdom of goal setting is so deeply ingrained that managers rarely stop to ask if it works. The traditional approach to goals -the annual cycle, privately set and reviewed goals, and a strong linkage to incentives -can actually undermine the alignment, coordination, and agility that's needed for a company to execute its strategy.

It's common practice to develop a handful of strategic priorities to focus strategy -but formulated correctly, they're also useful communication tools for both internal and external stakeholders. Clear, credible priorities linked to explicit metrics offer a framework for assessing progress toward the company's goals, in a way that abstractions like vision or mission cannot.

Research shows that most organizations fall far short when it comes to strategic alignment. The authors'analysis of 124 organizations revealed that only 28% of executives and middle managers responsible for executing strategy could list three of their company's strategic priorities. How do leaders close this dangerous strategic-alignment gap?

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Businesses develop strategies to address complex, multi-layered business environments and challenges -but to execute a strategy in a meaningful way, it must produce a set of specific priorities focused on achieving clear goals. Rather than trying to boil the strategy down to a pithy statement, executives will get better results if they develop a small set of actions that everyone gets behind.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. When developing strategy for execution, managers often want to start by setting their strategic priorities, but that's a mistake. Management teams should start by identifying the corporate vision and critical vulnerabilities -both of which help clarify and shape priorities.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Organizations often struggle with corporate strategy because executives lack clarity on how parts of the business fit together to create and capture economic value. A simple framework can help leaders understand the relationship between corporate and business unit strategies.

Two-thirds to three-quarters of large organizations struggle with execution. And it's no wonder: Research reveals that several common beliefs about implementing strategy are just plain wrong. This article debunks five of the most pernicious myths. (1) Execution equals alignment. Processes to align activities with strategy up and down the hierarchy are generally sound. The real problem is coordination: People in other units can't be counted on. (2) Execution means sticking to the plan. Changing market conditions demand agility. (3) Communication equals understanding. E-mails and meetings about strategy are relentless--but executives change and dilute their messages. Only half of middle managers can name any of their company's top five priorities. (4) A performance culture drives execution. Companies need to reward other things too, including agility, teamwork, and ambition. (5) Execution should be driven from the top. It lives and dies with managers in the middle--but they are hamstrung by the poor communication from above. Redefining execution as the ability to seize opportunities aligned with strategy while coordinating with other parts of the organization can help managers pinpoint why execution is stalling and focus on the factors that matter most for translating strategy into results.