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Personal Development and CareerRemove Personal Development and Career →

New research on personal development and careers from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including self improvement, work-life balance, and life-long learning.
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Gender Stereotypes in Deliberation and Team Decisions

by Katherine B. Coffman, Clio Bryant Flikkema, and Olga Shurchkov

Professional success requires the ability to contribute ideas, and receive credit for them. This paper explores gender differences in how men and women communicate and reward each other in team decision-making problems. We find that women are recognized less often for their contributions in male-typed domains.

Stereotypes and Belief Updating

by Katherine B. Coffman, Manuela Collis, and Leena Kulkarni

Increasing evidence demonstrates that stereotyped beliefs drive key economic decisions. This paper shows the significant role of self-stereotyping in predicting beliefs about one’s own ability. Stereotypes do not just affect beliefs about ability when information is scarce. In fact, stereotypes color the way information is incorporated into beliefs, perpetuating initial biases.

What Football Firings Teach Managers About Staying Relevant

by Boris Groysberg, Evan M.S. Hecht, and Abhijit Naik

Many executives are confident they can retain their skills over time. Experience shows they are wrong. Just look at the National Football League's "Black Monday" for proof, says Boris Groysberg. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

New Year, New Habits

by Sean Silverthorne

You are resolved to turn over a new leaf in 2019. Maybe become a better boss or crank up the productivity. What are the best ways to put these good intentions into practice? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Why Managers Should Reveal Their Failures

by Dina Gerdeman

If you want to get your messages through to employees, be ready to confess your own management shortcomings, counsels Alison Wood Brooks. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Hunting for a Hot Job in High Tech? Try 'Digitization Economist'

by Roberta Holland

Amazon has more economists on staff than any university economics department, and technology firms are snapping them up the minute they graduate, says Michael Luca. Why? Call it the economics of digitization. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Startup or Established Company? Which Is Best for You?

by Julia B. Austin

What are the tradeoffs between going to a startup versus joining a mature company? Julia Austin, who has worked on both sides of the house, has some advice. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Welcome to Retirement. Who Am I Now?

by Dina Gerdeman

Transitioning from work to retirement can be bumpy, as we wrestle with questions of identity and rebuilding relationships. Teresa Amabile presents preliminary findings on the journey to after-work life. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Kids of Working Moms Grow into Happy Adults

by Dina Gerdeman

In earlier research, Kathleen McGinn and colleagues discovered that adult kids of working moms are high achievers at work. Now it turns out they are happy, too. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Sponsorship Programs Could Actually Widen the Gender Gap

by Carmen Nobel

Companies increasingly provide sponsors to help women get ahead. But certain aspects of sponsorship programs can hinder women instead, according to experimental research by Nancy R. Baldiga and Katherine B. Coffman. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

8 Ways To Be An Environmentally Conscious Manager

by Sean Silverthorne

What does it mean to bring your individual environmental values to work every day? Here's how eco-friendly managers can practice what they preach. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Working for a Shamed Company Can Hurt Your Future Compensation

by Michael Blanding

People who work for a company guilty of malfeasance may see their future compensation curtailed, even if they are guilty of nothing, according to research by Boris Groysberg, Eric Lin, and George Serafeim. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

'Don’t Show Up Empty-handed' and Other Tips for Finding the Right Job at a Startup

by Sean Silverthorne

Finding a job at a startup is not the same process as hunting employment at an established business. Titles? Who needs titles?! Jeffrey Bussgang's new book, Entering StartUpLand, is an essential guide for getting a job and being productive at a new company. Includes book excerpt. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Does Financial Misconduct Affect the Future Compensation of Alumni Managers?

by Boris Groysberg, Eric Lin, and George Serafeim

Analyzing data from an executive search firm, this paper explains how former employees who are free from wrongdoing still pay a price in stigma after incidents of corporate financial misconduct. The finding is potentially disquieting for all managers, because it suggests that one’s human capital can be impaired even long after one moves on and suggests the need for developing a human capital strategy for reacting to misconduct of past employers.

Beware the Lasting Impression of a 'Temporary' Selfie

by Rachel Layne

Some social media apps promise to delete your messages after they are read. The problem: The memory of your uninhibited behavior lingers. Research by Leslie K. John and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Asking Questions Can Get You a Better Job or a Second Date

by Rachel Layne

Knowing how to keep a conversation going can improve your career as well as your social life, according to research by Alison Wood Brooks and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Shopping for Confirmation: How Disconfirming Feedback Shapes Social Networks

by Paul Green, Jr., Francesca Gino, and Bradley Staats

Managers who use feedback processes often assume that employees will respond to them with dutiful efforts to improve. This study finds that negative feedback instead causes employees to reshape their networks in order to shore up their professional and personal identity. This reshaping lowers performance—a result at odds with the goal of performance feedback.

Class Matters: The Role of Social Class in High-Achieving Women's Career Narratives

by Judith A. Clair, Kathleen L. McGinn, Beth K. Humberd, and Rachel D. Arnett

This analysis of interviews with 40 female executives and entrepreneurs highlights five distinct types of career narratives that high-achieving women employ to explain their own career success. These narratives vary with the women’s family-of-origin social class. Among its contributions to practice, the study sheds light on the diversity of approaches possible in a successful career.

'Be Yourself (Within Reason)' and Other Job Search Survival Tips

by Sean Silverthorne

In some professions, successful job hunting depends as much on a healthy body and cleared mind as it does on a well-performed interview, says Ethan Rouen. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Accounting Rookie Job Market: A Practitioner’s Guide

by Ethan Rouen

Aimed at accounting PhD students but potentially useful to other new academics and job seekers, this first-person essay offers suggestions for the dissertation process and subsequent job search. The writer tries to relieve some of the stress and confusion that inevitably comes with completing a PhD and finding a first academic job.