Uncertainty — such as a coming organizational restructuring, a new CEO brought in to turn around the company, a competitor’s new product or new technology that could derail the company’s market position, an impending sale or merger — can represent a threat or an opportunity. The immediate response to uncertainty usually involves 1) finding more […]
Subject: Leadership
Candid Feedback Keeps Power-holders Accountable
Every organization has finite resources, starting with compensation, budgets and expense accounts, as well as high quality assignments, accounts or customers and even office space. The people who control the allocation of these resources have a great deal of power — and research shows that they use this power to make decisions that are in […]
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A Symphony of Agency and Stewardship Values Ensures Family Business Success
Both agency theory and stewardship theory help explain organizational dynamics, although starting from very different assumptions. Agency theory describes the relationship between the shareholders (called ‘principals’) and the company’s managers and executives (called ‘agents’) as a collaboration between parties with different interests: principals are focused on the success of the company while agents are focused […]
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Millennials 2: Concerned about Opportunities for Growth and Quality of Life
Growing up in an era of stagnating wages and increasing youth unemployment, one could forgive Millennials for being a bit pessimistic. This is not the case, however, according to a global study of Millennials conducted in 2014 and co-sponsored by the INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute, the HEAD Foundation and Universum. The study, which surveyed Millennials […]
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Millennials 1: A Diverse Generation Often Misunderstood
Assumptions about Millennials are rampant — for example, that they don’t want to work hard or pay their dues, or that work/life balance is more important than money or career. A new, exhaustive study, co-sponsored by the INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute, the HEAD Foundation and Universum and covering Millennials from around the world, reveal a […]
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A Lesson from China: Growth Is Not Eternal So Be Prepared
Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), a company that specialized in the large-scale cranes used to load containers onto ships, burst on the heavy machinery landscape in 1992. At that time, the global market for large-scale container cranes was growing fast as ports were having to handle more and more super-sized container vessels. The industry was […]
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Beware of Hubris Syndrome! A Leadership Personality Disorder
Most leaders possess typical leadership qualities such as the ability to inspire and persuade, a grand vision, and a controlled fearlessness when taking risks. There is, however, a darker side to many leaders, manifested in character traits such as extreme pride and overconfidence, coupled with a complete contempt for others. These character traits, which can […]
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Overcoming Our Evolutionary Fears to Speak Up to Authority
Why don’t many employees say something when they see something wrong in the workplace, or when they are unfairly attacked by their boss? Why do they sit silent in meetings even though they may have a relevant suggestion or comment to add to the discussion? These are examples of defensive employee silence, when employees stay […]
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Public Sector Leadership: Managing ‘Multirational’ Organizations
Public sector organizations are multirational organizations. They do not fall under a single rationality archetype — for example, they are not uniquely political organizations or economic organizations or legal organizations, but rather all of the above. Two researchers from St. Gallen University, Ali Asker Guenduez and Kuno Schedler, build on the social systems theory of […]
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Encouraging Employees Who Stay Silent to Give Feedback
Why do employees choose to stay silent instead of reporting a problem, expressing their differing opinion or offering suggestions? Past research has examined this issue from a variety of perspectives, including the role of fear in keeping employees silent. Elizabeth Morrison of NYU’s Stern School of Business, joined by her colleagues Kelly See of NYU […]
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