Category: Linkedin

Welcome to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business Review

CURT NICKISCH: Welcome to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business Review. I’m Curt Nickisch.

A lot has changed in the business world in the last few years. But there are some fundamentals that still ring true, and it’s good to be reminded of them. Like the ingredients that make a good leader. As we end one year and begin a new one, we wanted to reshare this episode that looks at the characteristics of the most effective CEOs out there. Whether you already are a chief executive or aspire to run an organization one day, the good news is: these behaviors can be learned.

In fact, the stereotype we might have of a leader or CEO – might be all wrong. That’s according to a research analysis from the consulting firm ghSMART, where Elena Botelho coleads the CEO Genome Project. She’s also a coauthor of the HBR article: “What Sets Successful CEOs Apart.” Back in 2017, she told IdeaCast host Sarah Green Carmichael about the four behaviors that really make CEOs successful. Here’s their conversation with the takeaways that still apply today.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: One of the things I found really interesting and surprising about the research, was that introverts are slightly more likely to be the most effective CEOs than extroverts. Why is that? What’s that finding?

ELENA BOTELHO: When we did our analysis, we basically bucketed CEOs in three buckets. Did they meet the expectations? Did they exceed expectations? Or did they underperform? And we did find that in the group of the CEOs who exceeded expectations, there was a slight higher percentage of introverts.

So for me, the main takeaway is yes, it’s tempting to say, gosh, introverts are better CEOs. What the data told us is that it’s actually not. It gets back to it’s really not about what you’re born with, so no more excuses for any of us. It’s really it’s really how you behave and how you act, which you can change.

SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL: Yeah. And also, if you’re an introvert, don’t give up.

ELENA BOTELHO: Exactly. And me being an introvert, I’m excited about that finding.

Unlocking the Power of One-on-One Meetings: A Guide for Managers and Employees

ALISON BEARD: Welcome to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business Review. I’m Alison Beard.

The Importance of One-on-One Meetings in Career Progression

We see a lot of advice about how to run more effective meetings: make sure the right people are in the room, circulate an agenda, solicit everyone’s opinion, rotate the note-taker, leave with action items. But most people don’t think very carefully about the meetings that actually might be the most important for individuals who want to progress in their careers and managers who want to get the best out of their team members. That meeting is the one-on-one.

Common Mistakes in One-on-One Meetings

STEVEN ROGELBERG: So in our research with a host of organizations, we have found none – none – that actually provide any training to their managers around one-on-one meetings. I have found only two that explicitly provide guidance that managers should be doing this with their folks on a regular cadence and monitoring whether it’s actually happening. So basically, it’s a free-for-all. And like many things, managers just tend to recycle their past experiences. And that’s problematic when those past experiences are far from optimal.

The Positive Outcomes of Effective One-on-One Meetings

So an effective one-on-one approach leads to so many positive outcomes. In many regards, it’s one of the greatest leadership opportunities. Effectively doing one-on-ones promotes employee engagement, it promotes retention of your top talent. Doing effective one-on-ones seems to elevate team success. Anytime you elevate the success of those that report into you, well that’s a reflection of you as a manager. So good one-on-ones also are tied to managerial success.

How to Improve One-on-One Meetings: Tips for Managers and Employees

ALISON BEARD: Great. Well Steven, thank you so much. That’s been super helpful advice for both managers and their employees about how to make one-on-ones better.

STEVEN ROGELBERG: You’re welcome. I love chatting with you. It was such a pleasure.

ALISON BEARD: That’s Steven Rogelberg, chancellor’s professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He wrote the book Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings, as well as the HPR article Make the Most of Your One-on-One Meetings. And we have more episodes and more podcasts to help you manage your team, your organization, and your career. Find them at hbr.org/podcasts or search HBR on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.