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The debate about the best way to lead has been raging for years: Should you empower your people and get out of their way, or take charge and push them to do great work? The answer, say the authors, is to do both. Their research shows that effective leaders routinely shift between these two seemingly opposing modes—and build teams whose members are good at switching back and forth too. Sometimes teams need divergent thinking (during idea generation, for instance); at others, they need convergent thinking (to, say, make a decision and map out next steps). Leaders must be crystal clear about which mode is appropriate when. They have to make it psychologically safe for people to speak up, contribute, and argue, and when it’s time to end the discussion and act, signal that they’re taking charge again. There are four ways to increase the ability to shift modes: Question your assumptions about power and fixed hierarchies. Study your habits and your team’s to see if you’re stuck in one mode or the other. Set clear expectations with meeting agendas and rituals that mark transitions. And reinforce shifts with your own words, deeds, and body language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“I hate networking.” It’s a familiar refrain. But in today’s world, networking is a necessity—and fortunately, an aversion to it can be overcome. Drawing on laboratory experiments and on studies at a large law firm, the authors have identified four strategies that can help people become more excited about and effective at building relationships: Focus on learning. Adopt a “promotion mindset” and concentrate on the positives, and you’re more likely to perceive networking as an opportunity for discovery rather than a chore. Identify common interests. Consider how your goals align with those of people you meet, and networking will feel more authentic. Think broadly about what you can give. Remember that you have something valuable to offer, whether it’s knowledge, gratitude, or recognition. Find a higher purpose. Frame your networking in terms of a larger goal—the collective benefits for your company, say—and the activity will feel more authentic and will lead to connections that bear fruit for everyone. INSET: If Networking Makes You Feel Dirty, You're Not Alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fictional case study is presented involving a woman who has been asked to step down from her chief executive officer (CEO) position and what she should consider as her next career move. Sarah Robb O'Hagan, CEO of fitness company EXOS, and Lan Phan, CEO of consulting firm Community of SEVEN, both offer their opinions on the scenario. INSET: What should Mariani's next career step be? The experts respond.

What causes so many companies that once dominated their industries to slide into decline? In this article, two Harvard Business School professors argue that such firms lose their touch because success breeds failure by impeding learning at both the individual and organizational levels. When we succeed, we assume that we know what we are doing, but it could be that we just got lucky. We make what psychologists call fundamental attribution errors, giving too much credit to our talents and strategy and too little to environmental factors and random events. We develop an overconfidence bias, becoming so self-assured that we think we don’t need to change anything. We also experience the failure-to-ask-why syndrome and neglect to investigate the causes of good performance. To overcome these three learning impediments, executives should examine successes with the same scrutiny they apply to failures. Companies should implement systematic after-action reviews to understand all the factors that led to a win, and test their theories by conducting experiments even if “it ain’t broke.” INSETS: The Challenge of Discounting Easy Successes;How Power Causes Us to Ignore Advice;How Success Makes Us Less Reflective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the toughest challenges leaders face is managing diverse perspectives—and given heightened tensions over politics and movements such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, that’s more difficult today than ever before. At the same time, productive disagreement and engagement with opposing views are crucial to high-functioning teams and organizations. So how can leaders both foster passionate debate and preserve collaboration and trust? Drawing from work conducted with scholars of psychology, sociology, and management, Harvard’s Julia A. Minson and Francesca Gino offer advice for leaders on approaching disagreements productively and helping employees at all levels do so. Tactics include training that defuses fears of disagreeing (it’s usually not as unpleasant as we expect); encourages people to cultivate a receptive mindset by, for instance, intentionally considering information from the opposing perspective; teaches people to choose words carefully, hedge claims, and emphasize areas of agreement; and fosters a culture of tolerance through actions and tone. Honing these skills takes time and practice, but the resulting decrease in frustration and negativity is well worth the effort. INSET: How to Signal Receptiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]