Modern Global Leadership

China manufactures nearly a quarter of the world’s high-tech goods, but most of those goods’ microchips come from the U.S. When tension rose in U.S.-China relations, one Chinese company found an M&A win-win with a European chipmaker looking to expand in China’s market. Here’s how a CEO turned around an existential threat and supply chain weak link.

A leader’s job is to manage energy: their own, their reports’ and their organization’s. Virtual work poses additional challenges around all of these, especially as issues of trust and credibility have nuances obfuscated by the absence of face-to-face meetings. Professor Joe Harder provides insights on overcoming such challenges.

In the face of a pandemic, how can we be bigger than the sum of our parts? Laura Morgan Roberts addresses how to maintain and evolve culture from afar: how to bond, stay agile, ensure physical and psychological safety, promote inclusion, offer compassion, and strategically align to determine what the new normal requires — and what needs to change.

In the wake of the killing of George Floyd and national protests for racial justice, businesses and leaders are working to embrace a defining moment for racial equality.

If the COVID-19 crisis triggered health, economic, social and psychological changes that mean we will be living and working through destabilizing moments now and for the foreseeable future, all the more reason now to adopt and practice essential skills of Leading Mindfully. How should we start thinking in new ways that better represent reality?

Hiring and promoting decisions can easily come down to a candidate’s abilities versus “fit,” which can be more about identity and social behavior. Darden Professor Jim Detert presents a case in point on these company-defining decisions — and the importance of looking for clues to spot and overcome implicit biases.

In times of crisis, leaders need to watch out for at least two leadership blind spots: One involves overreacting, one denial — a “suck it up” approach can be valorized in certain work cultures. Here are practical actions to tame such impulses and bring greater clarity, calm and goodwill in a moment when how you show up as a leader really counts.

Leadership and management: synonymous? Nope. Both are associated with defining behaviors, and research shows which are consistently seen more positively. But organizations need both leaders and managers to function. Here’s how to ensure the right people are hired for the right jobs.

At a time of uncertainty and growing anxiety caused by the coronavirus pandemic, having transparent, consistent and empathetic communication with key stakeholders is more critical than ever. Darden Professor June West and Darden Executive-in-Residence Steve Soltis share four lessons in communicating through the fast-moving crisis.

While no U.S. president has faced a challenge quite like the current one, what do past commanders-in-chief have to teach us about leading through a crisis. Professor Bob Bruner shares findings of the leadership styles of past U.S. presidents that could inform the current moment for leaders at all levels as we navigate the difficult path ahead.