Growing as a Purposeful Leader

Leaders today have to lead in the context of extraordinary changes and challenges. The demands of today's stakeholders have risen significantly, and what is expected of senior leaders is quickly evolving in terms of their mission (more than profit), the scope of their responsibilities (beyond the four walls of the business), and how they should lead (not as superheroes and not just as good business leaders, but also as great human leaders).

In this program, participants will prepare to become an authentic, purposeful leader who can step up to more challenging roles and lead effectively in this new era. Participants will develop new capabilities and learn new tools and approaches on how to orient participants business around a noble, meaningful and credible purpose, set strategies that can help the chosen purpose come to life (addressing the needs of participants company's varied stakeholders in the process), and create an environment that can unleash the potential of their organizations. In parallel, the program will guide participants in a profoundly personal exploration that builds their self-awareness and emotional intelligence, delving into the core of participants' experiences to strengthen their capacities as a great purposeful, authentic human leader, not just a great business leader.

This program explores key challenges leaders confront as they seek to pursue a purpose-driven strategy, leveraging lessons from leading CEOs and companies. As participants dig deeply into what it means for executives to lead effectively in today's business environment, they will discover how to move purpose from words on a page and planning sessions to reality, by reflecting the purpose across day-to-day operations and creating an environment that can result in surprisingly strong performance.

Harvard Business School (HBS) professors Hubert Joly and Len Schlesinger are the faculty cochairs of the HBS Executive Education program.