Research shows the benefits of good work friendships on personal well-being, productivity, and engagement â€" but our close relationships at work can also create a minefield for leaders if they fracture teams into cliques. Here’s how to build healthy work friendships that enhance collaboration and performance and humanize the workplace.
"Ten Years Later" is a series of one-page narratives that provide a glimpse of "what happened next" in the lives of a group of members of the INSEAD MBA graduating class of 2002. The narratives, recounted by female and male graduates of different nationalities and aspirations, give students a flavour of how life can turn out for people who have 'sat in their seats' before.
In May 2020, Rio Tinto, the world's second-largest mining company, destroyed a cave system in Juukan Gorge, in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia. The caves were of exceptional archaeological distinction - thought to be the oldest site of continuous human habitation on Earth - and were of deep spiritual and cultural significance to the local Aboriginal community, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people. Rio Tinto was reputed to be an industry leader on Aboriginal partnerships, environmental protection, and other 'social licence' issues. The cave blast was entirely legal. It had received government approval and was supported by a signed agreement with the PKKP people. Nonetheless, the destruction sparked global outrage. Rio Tinto was panned in the local and international media for disregarding cultural heritage. Furious investors and shareholders demanded executive accountability. The Australian government launched a parliamentary inquiry. Trust between Rio Tinto and Aboriginal communities was shattered. The destruction of Juukan Gorge was the culmination of a decision-making process that lasted over a decade. What happened during that period was not unusual for a company of Rio Tinto's size - lucrative contracts were negotiated, new details trickled in on the Gorge's significance, a new executive team was installed, and changes were made to the organisational structure. Combined, these events cast uncertainty over who knew (or should have known) crucial information, the extent to which stakeholder consent was obtained, and how the company's values had evolved. Students step into the shoes of Simon Thompson, chairman of Rio Tinto, as he considers how to respond to the crisis. First, he must decide who to fire as a demonstration of accountability. Three top executives are implicated in the blast, but none is clearly individually responsible. Second, and perhaps more importantly, he must determine what went wrong at Rio Tinto that allowed it to
In May 2010, a year after becoming President and Managing Director for Southern Europe at Discovery Inc., Marinella Soldi faces a make-or-break meeting with Discovery's global Executive Committee. Her region is about to lose half of its revenues in a contract renegotiation with Sky Italia. Hired from outside the organization with a mandate to turn the region around, Soldi energizes the local team and proposes a new strategy that involves bypassing Sky's content distribution and broadcasting some channels through Digital Terrestrial Television. The move represents a radical change to Discovery's business model, from B2B to B2C, and means abandoning the partners with whom Discovery has grown into a global business. This implies not only a digital transformation but changing the corporate culture. This case illustrates the interplay between digital transformation, talent management, and efforts to encourage diversity and inclusion. The focus is on challenging the distinction between strategic and cultural change. To change business strategy often involves confronting cultural assumptions and biases that keep legacy strategies in place. External hires, up-and-coming talent and members of minority groups are seen as more able to do something different, because they are different and unencumbered by established traditions. Yet because they are different they are subjected to stronger scrutiny and push-back. Despite being hired to confront longstanding traditions, they are pressured to conform to them.
We too often squeeze our worries, fears, and needs through the funnel of aggression. That is usual in business hence our fondness for the language of warfare. But the COVID-19 crisis is not business as usual, and leaders need better ways to show up and care for their people.
In December 2015, barely one year into his tenure as the head of the Paris Opera Ballet (POB), celebrity dancer, choreographer, and entrepreneur Benjamin Millepied was caught in a storm of controversy. Hired to bring energy and modernity to one of France's oldest artistic institutions, Millepied laid out an inspiring vision of renewal and a strategy focused on developing new talent and enhancing the POB's social relevance and global visibility. In the process, however, he created turmoil. Promoting younger dancers in defiance of the established hierarchy, advocating diversity and social engagement, presenting the work of American choreographers instead of French classics, and openly criticizing the POB's restrained style pit Millepied against the established order . The case chronicles Millepied's efforts to transform the POB, focusing on the interplay between responsible leadership and organizational culture. Most organizations seek to balance business goals with social impact, urging employees to be inspiring and innovative, and bringing in outsiders with a "global" outlook to shake up "local" mind-sets. The case explores a fundamental issue for such endeavors to succeed: Responsible leadership entails more than a compelling vision. It also means sustaining a strong institutional culture while fostering diversity and innovation.
Grief is a universal human experience, yet workplace culture is often inhospitable to people suffering profound loss. Managers come to work prepared to celebrate births and birthdays, and even to handle illnesses, but when it comes to death, they fall silent and avert their gaze. The default approach is to try to spare the office from grief, leaving bereaved employees alone for a few days and then hoping they'll return expediently to work. This article provides guidance on how to humanely help team members return to productivity. Grief rarely unfolds in a neat progression, and managers should understand the phases the bereaved will experience and the most helpful response to each. Immediately after a death, acknowledging the loss without making demands is the best a manager can do. After grieving employees are back on the job, managers should be patient with inconsistency in performance and attitude. And as workers eventually emerge from mourning, managers should support this opportunity for growth. In confronting grief, managers help fulfill their promise to bring out the best in their employees.
In April 2018, after it became known that Google was collaborating with the US Department of Defense on Project Maven, over 3,000 employees signed an internal memo asking CEO Sundar Pichai to (a) cancel the project immediately, and (b) enforce a policy stating that the company would never build warfare technology. Project Maven had been launched in early 2017 as part of the DoD's efforts to integrate AI and machine learning into its defense strategies. Drones, robots and AI were increasingly deployed in intelligence gathering and combat operations in what was considered a 21st century "arms race." While Google described its role as "non-offensive," the memo argued that involvement in Project Maven might hurt its reputation and ability to attract talent at a time when public trust in technology was waning. The case puts students in the shoes of a recent hire faced with the choice of signing the memo. It also invites them to consider how they would respond, as CEO, to such a petition against one of the company's contracts.
In April 2018, after it became known that Google was collaborating with the US Department of Defense on Project Maven, over 3,000 employees signed an internal memo asking CEO Sundar Pichai to (a) cancel the project immediately, and (b) enforce a policy stating that the company would never build warfare technology. Project Maven had been launched in early 2017 as part of the DoD's efforts to integrate AI and machine learning into its defense strategies. Drones, robots and AI were increasingly deployed in intelligence gathering and combat operations in what was considered a 21st century "arms race." While Google described its role as "non-offensive," the memo argued that involvement in Project Maven might hurt its reputation and ability to attract talent at a time when public trust in technology was waning. The case puts students in the shoes of a recent hire faced with the choice of signing the memo. It also invites them to consider how they would respond, as CEO, to such a petition against one of the company's contracts.
Approximately 150 million people in North America and Western Europe now work as independent contractors, most of them in knowledge-intensive industries and creative occupations. The authors studied 65 of them in depth and learned that although they feel a host of personal, social, and economic anxieties without the cover and support of a traditional employer, they also say they chose independence and wouldn't give up the benefits that come with it. Many of these workers have created a "holding environment" for themselves by establishing four connections: (1) place, in the form of idiosyncratic, dedicated workspaces that allow easy access to the tools of their owners' trade; (2) routines that streamline workflow and incorporate personal care; (3) purpose, to create a bridge between personal interests and motivations and a need in the world; and (4) people to whom they turn for reassurance and encouragement. These connections help independent workers sustain productivity, endure their anxieties, and even turn those feelings into sources of creativity and growth.
High potentials being groomed as future leaders would appear to have it made--but their seemingly good fortune can turn out to be a curse. As they strive to conform to company ideals for leadership, they often bury the qualities that made them special. They become reluctant to take risks, lest they prove themselves unworthy. This "talent curse" can hinder personal growth, performance, and engagement--and even push people out the door. If you are on a high-potential track, watch for three signs of trouble: (1) A shift from using your talent to constantly trying to prove it; (2) A preoccupation with your image, which feels increasingly inauthentic; and (3) The feeling that your present work is empty and only future opportunities will be meaningful. Then take these steps to break the talent curse: (1) Own your talent; don't let it own you. Balance others' expectations with your needs and learn to accept help. (2) Bring your whole self to work. Channel the darker sources of your talent. (3) Value the present. View your current work as a worthy destination, not merely a stepping-stone. The talent curse may be painful, but grappling with it is an important part of learning how to lead.
After 18 months of attempting to transition the company to holacracy, Tony Hsieh, Zappos' celebrity CEO, decided it was time to make the change happen. In March 2015, he sent an email to all Zappos employees offering them 3 months' severance pay if they felt that self-management was not for them. One month later, 14% of the workforce had quit, including 20% of the tech department, potentially putting at risk a complex transition to a new online platform mandated by parent company Amazon. The case recounts how Tony Hsieh financed, championed, and ultimately became CEO of online shoe retailer Zappos. A passionate entrepreneur who made millions at a young age, Hsieh was known for his penthouse parties, for what he referred to as his "tribe". He brought the same sense of community to Zappos, which he moved from San Francisco to Las Vegas where employees could "be like family". Despite the company's unabashedly weird culture, it had the lowest employee turnover rate in the industry. Widely admired for its outstanding customer service, Zappos was repeatedly listed among Fortune's "Best Places To Work." When in 2009 Amazon acquired Zappos for $1.2 billion, it promised to preserve its management and culture. But Hsieh's decision to implement holacracy - a form of organizational self-management that replaces job titles and hierarchy with "circles" that employees step in and out of according to their preferences and skills - was less popular than hoped. Hence his "rip the Band-Aid" approach, to ensure that only employees committed to the change remained at the company.
""Ten Years Later"is a series of one-page narratives that provide a glimpse of "what happened next" in the lives of a group of members of the INSEAD MBA graduating class of 2002. The narratives, recounted by female and male graduates of different nationalities and aspirations, give students a flavour of how life can turn out for people who have 'sat in their seats' before. "
The Katelyn Neilson, MBA case follows the personal and professional development of a young "high-potential" within an intensive one-year, full-time MBA programme. Katelyn's background and resume, significant excerpts from her diary, and an evocative picture drawn to visualize her major dilemmas, provide vivid illustrations of the unfolding of a major life transition.