leadership

• September 2019
• Case

By: Amy Edmondson, Ranjay Gulati and Rachna Tahilyani

In 2012, Nalin Jain, then head of GE aviation for South Asia, was given the added responsibility for GE’s transportation business in India, including bidding for a $2.5 billion contract to manufacture, service and maintain 1,000 diesel locomotives for state owned Indian Railways (IR). The deal, which would have been “the largest deal on the planet” for the transportation business, had been under discussion for six years, and many within GE had given up hope that it would materialize, but Jain persisted. In February 2015, when IR requested companies to submit a financial bid in six months, Jain quickly built an autonomous team, sequestered from the rest of GE, with people from multiple businesses and functions. His team overcame internal resistance from people at headquarters and stiff competition to help GE win the deal by a narrow margin. Jain was then tasked with executing the deal. As many of his earlier team members had moved on, Jain hired new people and built a new diverse yet integrated team for execution, with members able to put aside their many differences, look beyond their functional silos, and focus on the project deliverables. However, 2017 brought a series of challenges. GE changed India’s organization structure, making India business leaders report only to their respective global business leaders instead of reporting to both their business leaders and the India country leader. Jain’s mandate was expanded to include the entire international operations of GE’s transportation business. And, sub-optimal company performance forced GE to announce cost cuts of $2 billion. In the face of this turmoil, Jain wonders, “Have I created an agile team that can succeed in GE’s matrix environment and deal with the internal challenges? Do the team members have the maturity and motivation required for the project to succeed?”

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• August 2019
• Case

By: Francesca Gino, Jeff Steiner, Arianna Camacho and Paul Green

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• 2012
• Case

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Olivia Leskinen

Robert Whelan and the Student Loan Crisis (A) 2009 AL Fellow Bob Whelan developed an idea with partners that was a seed before his fellowship year and seemed to address a significant national challenge - college financing - with a creative concept and experience from his years in venture capital. His nonprofit was called 13th Avenue Funding and it provided equity as an alternative to debt for students to finance college. Since he first set out on his journey, he faced a lot of resistance and difficulty in scaling his non-profit aimed at enabling one million low income students to obtain a postsecondary education debt free. Whelan continued to persist and adapt to the changing environment.

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• 2012
• Case

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Anne Arlinghaus

After successful careers as lawyers Richard Fahey and Robert Saudek set out to tackle a large-scale infrastructure challenge in a complex environment by increasing Liberian citizens’ access to lighting solutions. They developed the Liberian Energy Network, which aimed to distribute solar light fixtures to citizens across the country, including some of the most remote regions. Working in Liberia presented a large set of challenges and difficulties, however Fahey and Saudek persevered.

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• 2019
• Book Chapter

By: Laura Morgan Roberts and Anthony J. Mayo

In chapter 23, the concluding chapter of Race, Work, and Leadership, “Intersections of Race, Work, and Leadership,” Roberts and Mayo provide insights for understanding and enhancing the black experience. In addition, the editors summarize a series of recommendations that are beneficial for individuals trying to assert and maximize their leadership potential, for organizations trying to leverage and optimize their diverse talent, and for academics who seek to better understand the key questions that still remain about black leadership.

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• 2019
• Book Chapter

By: Anthony J. Mayo and Laura Morgan Roberts

In chapter 3, “Pathways to Leadership,” Anthony J. Mayo and Laura Morgan Roberts present a portrait of the backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of black alumni of the HBS MBA program. With this study, HBS has allowed itself to be exposed in a way that other schools have not. Few schools make their specific racial composition data available, and if they do, they do so for compliance purposes. This unprecedented level of transparency allows Mayo and Roberts to focus on race and to do so with an historical lens, looking at the composition and experiences of black alumni over several decades.

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• 2019
• Book Chapter

By: Laura Morgan Roberts, Anthony J. Mayo and Serenity Lee

In this chapter, Laura Morgan Roberts, Anthony J. Mayo, and Serenity Lee outline the rationale for the publication of an edited volume on race, work, and leadership that is squarely focused on the black experience.

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