In the midst of the global pandemic, the Outthinker Strategy Network and Thinkers50 assembled some of the world's foremost management thinkers (virtually, of course) to share their thoughts on leading in times of unprecedented uncertainty. In this compilation of highlights from six of the speakers, topics range from the effects of psychological safety on innovation (Edmondson) to the role of fear in human behavior (Lindstrom) to tips for innovating in times of crisis (Anthony).

If you trace the origin of any creative breakthrough, it is possible to find the point where someone changed the question. The author-who co-wrote The Innovator's DNA with Clayton Christensen-shows that questions can do amazing things: Knock down the walls that have been constraining your thinking; remove one or more of the 'givens' in a line of thinking; and open up space for inquiry that had been closed off by narrow framing. He provides a three-step framework for asking better questions and re-framing issues, showing that if you can properly phrase a question, the answer is the easy part.

Great innovators have long known that the secret to unlocking a better answer is to ask a better question. Applying that insight to brainstorming exercises can vastly improve the search for new ideas--especially when a team is feeling stuck. Brainstorming for questions, rather than answers, helps you avoid group dynamics that often stifle voices, and it lets you reframe problems in ways that spur breakthrough thinking. After testing this approach with hundreds of organizations, MIT's Hal Gregersen has developed it into a methodology: Start by selecting a problem that matters. Invite a small group to help you consider it, and in just two minutes describe it at a high level so that you don't constrain the group's thinking. Make it clear that people can contribute only questions and that no preambles or justifications are allowed. Then, set the clock for four minutes, and generate as many questions as you can in that time, aiming to produce at least 15. Afterward, study the questions generated, looking for those that challenge your assumptions and provide new angles on your problem. If you commit to actively pursuing at least one of these, chances are, you'll break open a new pathway to unexpected solutions.

"How do I find innovative people for my organization? And how can I become more innovative myself?" These are questions that stump most senior executives, who know that the ability to innovate is the "secret sauce" of business success. Perhaps for this reason most of us stand in awe of the work of visionary entrepreneurs such as Apple's Steve Jobs, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, eBay's Pierre Omidyar, and P&G's A.G. Lafley. How do these individuals come up with groundbreaking new ideas? In this article, Dyer, of Brigham Young University; Gregersen, of Insead; and Christensen, of Harvard Business School, reveal how innovative entrepreneurs differ from typical executives. Their study demonstrates that five "discovery skills" distinguish the most creative executives: Associating helps them discover new directions by making connections among seemingly unrelated questions, problems, or ideas. Questioning allows innovators to break out of the status quo and consider new ideas. Through observing, innovators carefully and consistently look out for small behavioral details - in the activities of customers, suppliers, and other companies - to gain insights about new ways of doing things. In experimenting, they relentlessly try on new experiences and explore the world. And through networking with diverse individuals from an array of backgrounds, they gain radically different perspectives.

Given the changes wrought by the new economy, it makes sense for companies to pursue ever-greater levels of flexibility. But does it make sense for human beings? Do we really want to be free agents, hopping from job to job and from city to city, virtual employees of virtual companies? Richard Sennett doesn't think so. In The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism, Sennett, a sociologist and well-known social critic, lays out a dark vision of what the new economy means for working people at all levels of society. He draws on poignant stories to show how the flexibility demanded by the new economy causes us to lose the attachments--to people, places, or companies--that form our character. Without such attachments, we lose the ability to focus on the long term: if everything's going to change overnight, why worry about tomorrow? In the aggregate, the demands of flexibility erode society's foundations. But as Nicholas Carr points out, this isn't a complete picture of what flexibility means for people today. For example, the spread of cheap computers is expanding opportunities to launch, market, and manage microbusinesses. And the networked economy--by making workdays more flexible and location less important--will give many of us more control over where we live and how we parcel out our time. Despite Sennett's blindness to the benefits offered by the new economy, his book provides a thoughtful counterbalance to the empty-headed boosterism that characterizes much of the current writing on the subject.

In the global economy, having a workforce that is fluent in the ways of the world is a competitive necessity. That's why more and more companies are sending more and more professionals abroad. But international assignments don't come cheap: on average, expatriates cost a company two to three times what they would cost in equivalent positions back home. Most companies, however, get anemic returns on their expat investments. The authors discovered that an alarming number of assignments fail in one way or another--some expats return home early, others finish but don't perform as well as expected, and many leave their companies within a year of repatriation. To find out why, the authors recently focused on the small number of companies that manage their expats successfully. They found that all those companies follow three general practices: 1) When they send people abroad, the goal is not just to put out fires. Once expats have doused the flames, they are expected to generate new knowledge for the organization or to acquire skills that will help them become leaders. 2) They assign overseas posts to people whose technical skills are matched or exceeded by their cross-cultural skills. 3) They recognize that repatriation is a time of upheaval for most expats, and they use a variety of programs to help their people readjust. Companies that follow these practices share a conviction that sustained growth rests on the shoulders of individuals with international experience. As a result, they are poised to capture tomorrow's global market opportunities by making their investments in international assignments successful today.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Global business today requires leaders to be like explorers, guiding their organizations through unfamiliar and turbulent environments. With markets, suppliers, competitors, technology, and customers around the world constantly shifting, traditional leadership models no longer work. The authors' three-year study across Europe, North America, and Asia indicates that companies seek more global leaders and desire future global leaders of higher caliber and quality. Research results reveal that every global leader needs certain core qualities: exhibit character, or the capacity to build relationships with people from different backgrounds and to act with high ethical standards; embrace duality, or know when and whether to act and initiate change, depending on country or region; and demonstrate savvy, or recognize worldwide market opportunities and understanding firm capabilities. Inquisitiveness--a sense of adventure and a desire to experience new things--must underlie each of these characteristics. Four strategies are particularly effective in developing global leaders: foreign travel, with immersion in the country's way of life; the formation of teams comprising individuals with diverse backgrounds and perspectives; training that involves classroom and action learning projects; and overseas assignments, which serve to broaden the outlook of future global leaders.