Fresh perspectives

“Leaders who really are making a difference today understand that one of their most important roles is to amplify difference, not minimize it.”
Dr. Linda Hill

To commemorate Black History Month, Harvard Business School Professor Dr. Linda Hill recently shared her thoughts on some of today’s toughest issues: social justice, academia, leadership opportunities, diversity and inclusion, and how her widely acclaimed management classic, Being the Boss, applies to Blacks in business.

Recognized as one of the world’s top scholars on leadership and innovation, Dr. Hill is the author of Being the Boss and Collective Genius. She is also a founding partner at Paradox Strategies, an Advantage Performance Group thought leader partner.

Here are some highlights:

“I do think that many people out there, many executives, are very well intended. But we all know that dismantling the systemic factors that drive inequality in this country, will demand a long and challenging march.”

“Systemic racism is really about the fact that stars are more made than born when it comes to organizational life. And what I mean by that is, it turns out that what you know is based on what you get to do. And what you get to do is based on who you know, so if you don’t know the right people, if you don’t have the right mentors, and sponsors, you don’t get those assignments that allow you to learn what you really need to learn and therefore be prepared to take on more responsibility.”

“I wrote Being the Boss based on my research but also because of all the conversations I’ve had with high potentials who have not realized their potential, who have derailed. And a subset of that group, frankly, have been people who are different in their organization – women, people of color, people for whom the dominant language in the company is different from their native language. I wanted to help them understand how they can be proactive and fight to get access to equal opportunity to learn and excel.”

Hear more from Dr. Hill in the full report, available in 2 formats:

• As a rich media web page with embedded audio (note, this might not fully load on mobile devices)
• As a PDF (which has links out to the audio content)

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02.23.21 – 3-part audio experience
The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader

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