Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill says that getting an organization to its digital future is less about technology and tools, and more about people and culture. For leaders, that means intense collaboration with the people who do understand the technology and tools, being open to having their perspectives challenged, and engaging employees on a deeply emotional level.
HBS Professor Linda Hill Says Leaders Must Engage with Emotions as Never Before
Skills leaders need today from the professor who wrote the book on leadership.
March 11, 2022
Summary.
In 2014, Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill, one of the world’s top experts on leadership, co-wrote an influential book called “Collective Genius.” In it she and her co-authors identified the leadership styles that are necessary to create and sustain cultures that perpetually innovate. They even also offered guidance on how to introduce those approaches at any institution. At a pivotal moment for many companies, we wanted to see how her thoughts on leadership and innovation had evolved —particularly after the disruptive past couple of years. Her primary passion these days is about how organizations can truly become digital, and why so many aren’t getting there. She also talked about the evolving rules of great leadership, and about the pandemic’s enduring toll on the workforce.