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Career

The Four Mindsets of Retirement

G. Ward, I. Lebbe

How to smooth the transition and embrace the “third half” of life.

Leadership & Organisations

How Leaders Can Avoid the Hubris Trap

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

Overcoming the hubris syndrome requires a dose of reality, humility and humour.

Leadership & Organisations

Winning the Game of Boardroom Chess

M. Jarrett, A. J. Yap, C. LeBaron

How subtle, seemingly innocuous actions can shift the balance of power in your favour.

Career

Your Dream Job May Not Exist, and That’s Okay

Winnie Jiang

Anyone can grow passion and find fulfilment in a wide range of careers.

Leadership & Organisations

Leadership Should Be a Team Sport

Graham Ward

Actions speak louder than titles and every voice holds the power to lead.

Career

Grow Your Networks With a Growth Mindset

Ko Kuwabara

What if changing your mindset could take the struggles out of networking?

Entrepreneurship

What Female Artists Can Do About Discrimination

Henrich Greve

Participation in residency programmes and access to elite education can enhance the opportunities available to women artists.

Leadership & Organisations

In Praise of Boredom

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

Monotony can ignite creativity, giving rise to new adventures and fresh beginnings.

Career

Can You Bring Your Spirituality to Work?

C. Harbour, A. Tirard, N. Klein

Lessons from executives who integrated their spiritual beliefs into their leadership style.

Leadership & Organisations

How Leaders Can Effect Change by Changing Themselves

Narayan Pant

A four-step framework to help leaders look inwards to better lead organisational change.

Leadership & Organisations

Stop Asking Candidates for Their Last-Drawn Salary

Mark Mortensen

A holistic approach does more to ensure the right fit and boost employee well-being and retention.

Career

How To Align What You Say With What You Do

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

Bridging the divide between best intentions and actual behaviour.

Leadership & Organisations

Three “Bad Boss” Habits to Avoid in 2024

Graham Ward

Resist the urge to emotionally detach, control outcomes or blindly comply.

Career

What 2023 Taught Us: The Rules Are Always Changing

INSEAD Knowledge

This year's top trending articles explore how we can keep pace with a world in flux.

Career

The Pitfalls of Giving Feedback Across Generations

Erin Meyer

Bridging generational divides may involve discomfort but can push a team towards excellence.

Career

Effective Networking Is About Giving, Not Just Taking

Charles Galunic

Developing professional relationships starts with adding value to others’ lives.
2 comments

Career

Why Not Enough Women Are Senior Leaders

A. Roulet, A. Lawson

True parity in the workplace is still a distant goal. INSEAD faculty outline why women aren’t advancing and the role gender stereotypes play.

Career

The Secret Ingredient For a Successful Career Change

Winnie Jiang

Why some people seamlessly switch occupations while others struggle to reinvent their careers.
1 comment

Entrepreneurship

AI Is Coming for All Our Jobs... Or Is It?

Rachel Eva Lim

How leaders, employees and organisations can better prepare themselves for the impact of AI.

Leadership & Organisations

INSEAD Insights: November 2023 Research Picks

Lily Fang

Recent findings on human morality, publishing cycles, manufacturing in low-income markets, virtual assessments in acute care services and sarcasm.

Leadership & Organisations

Escape the Grip of Greed and Envy

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

Six steps to overcome the twin terrors of greed and envy and embrace being “good enough”.
1 comment

Leadership & Organisations

How to Handle Dominant Leaders

Graham Ward

Is your boss acting like a guru? Take charge by asserting yourself and setting clear boundaries.

Career

The World’s Most Talent Competitive Countries, 2023

B. Lanvin, F. Monteiro

The tenth anniversary edition of the Global Talent Competitiveness Index reveals changing attitudes and persistent trends.

Career

INSEAD Insights: October 2023 Research Picks

Lily Fang

Recent findings on bias in employee evaluations, shareholder activism, children’s mental health, the meaning of work and knowledge weighting.

Career

Are Multiple Job Interview Rounds Really Necessary?

Chengyi Lin

How companies can simplify the process without compromising their evaluation of candidates.

Leadership & Organisations

Strategies for Building and Boosting Psychological Safety

M. Mortensen, M. Guadalupe, N. Furr, H. Bresman

INSEAD research highlights practical approaches to integrate psychological safety into team dynamics.

Leadership & Organisations

Solving the Problem of Remote Work

Mark Mortensen

A framework to help leaders approach the topic more holistically and effectively.

Career

It's the Journey, Not the Destination

N. Klein, R. E. Lim

Including information about your career journey can help convey warmth in written professional introductions.

Career

Pursuing Purpose After Early Retirement

W. Jiang, C. Harbour, A. Tirard

Individuals who achieve financial independence seek greater purpose and meaningful work to enrich their lives.

Leadership & Organisations

Letting Go of the Urge to Rescue

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

Exploring the motivations behind our need to help others and embracing a balanced approach to offering assistance.

Career

The Psychological Strategies of Influencers

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

Understanding the psychology behind why influencer marketing works.
1 comment

Career

A Holistic Approach to Navigating the New Workplace

Mark Mortensen

How to foster a thriving and sustainable workplace culture to contend with the realities of the new office.

Career

Reinventing Yourself After a Setback

F. Godart, A. Tirard, C. Harbour

How to survive a significant career defeat and rebuild your professional and personal life.
4 comments

Career

A Flexi-Work World Needs New Performance Appraisals

Chengyi Lin

Adopting the right metrics could help align objectives and encourage more companies to embrace flexible work arrangements.

Career

Retirement and Beyond: The Last Days of Executives

Jose-Luis Alvarez

How to plan for the end of the professional life and a smooth transition to retirement.

Leadership & Organisations

How Women Leaders Benefit From Using Humour

Ella Miron-Spektor

New research suggests that being funny helps leaders gain influence, and that women benefit more than men from using humour in public speaking.
1 comment

Career

Breaking the Cycle of Self-Sabotage

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

A roadmap for identifying and overcoming the self-defeating habits that hold you back.
1 comment

Career

Why Career Conversations Matter

W. Jiang, C. Harbour, A. Tirard

Meaningful discussions between managers and employees build stronger individuals and organisations.

Career

Transcending the Victim Mentality

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

How to overcome feeling like a victim and create a positive, hopeful attitude to life.

Career

What Machine Learning Tells Us About Gender Stereotypes

Rachel Eva Lim

Machine-learning models offer insights into how putting women in leadership positions affects gender stereotypes in the workplace.

Career

What’s Behind the Tech Layoffs?

C. Lin, A. Fatás, H. Bresman, M. Mortensen, W. Jiang

INSEAD faculty on the state of the labour market and what’s to come for firms and employees.

Career

Why Managers are Kinder to Women in Workplace Reviews

L. Jampol, A. Rattan, E. Wolf

Employers are nicer to women because of the stereotype that women are “warmer”. Here’s why that’s a problem.

Career

Can the Grammys’ Best New Artist Curse Be Undone?

S. Harrison, N. Askin, L. Hagtvedt

Groups can stay creative and successful over time – if they don’t chase further acclaim.

Leadership & Organisations

Leading Change in Turbulence: Case of Discovery Inc.

J. Petriglieri, G. Petriglieri, M. Soldi

In this video, Marinella Soldi shares ways to navigate the turbulent waters of digital transformation and why it is important to tackle both the strategic and cultural facets of change.

Career

How to Work Out What Your Employees Really Want

INSEAD Knowledge, M. Mortensen

A holistic approach to understanding employees’ needs.

Family Business

A Career in the Family Business: Duty or Choice?

M. Bennedsen, C. Harbour, A. Tirard

Would-be joiners of family businesses can have their cake and eat it – if they get the ingredients right.

Leadership & Organisations

How to Break Free From Herd Mentality

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

Nurturing independent thought can help us overcome dangerous sheeple behaviour and groupthink.
1 comment

Career

The Problem With Being Too Easy-going

A. Barasch, K. Woolley, P. J. Liu

Failure to express your preferences in everyday situations can make you seem less likeable and even slightly less human.

Career

Collaborations That Are Bad for Business but Benefit Employees

H. Piezunka, T. Grohsjean

Sharing a partner with competing companies hinders the success of firms but helps employees’ careers.

Career

How Much Control Do You Really Have Over Your Career?

Charles Galunic

Chance events may have a greater impact on career trajectories than we think.

Career

Why It Pays to Be Sceptical About Behaviour Tests

Felix Jan Nitsch

Using such techniques to assess individual personality traits such as rationality might overstate their potential.

Career

The World’s Most Talent Competitive Countries, 2022

B. Lanvin, F. Monteiro

Mounting talent inequalities could become a significant roadblock to reaching key targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Career

The Power of Networking in the New Economy

F. Godart, A. Mears

In today’s gig economy, fleeting ties can be valuable to the career of the gig worker.

Career

The Hidden Power of Workers From Humble Backgrounds

C. Harbour, W. Jiang, A. Tirard

Businesses need to do more to level the playing field for socioeconomically disadvantaged workers.
2 comments

Career

The Pandemic Has Dealt a Blow to Gender Balance

Zoe Kinias

Here’s what business leaders can do about it.

Career

Ten Steps Towards a More Fulfilling Life

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

The journey towards a more fulfilling existence starts within you.

Strategy

Can We Get Better at Navigating Uncertainty?

Nathan Furr

What innovators have learnt that empowers them to face the uncertainty of new pursuits.

Career

How to Find Fulfilment by Taking a Step Down

W. Jiang, C. Harbour, A. Tirard

Three stories of professionals who bucked the trend and found greater meaning in their work life.
1 comment

Leadership & Organisations

Finding Meaning in Life

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

Create a compelling self-narrative based on the five pillars that influence the way we experience meaning.
1 comment

Career

What Good Could Come After Financial Success?

B. Vissa, L. K. Hans

All of society would benefit if successful entrepreneurs used their skills to promote positive social change.
1 comment

Career

Burnout Won’t Prevent Itself

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

While people make sure to charge their phones, they don’t always take the time to recharge themselves.

Career

The Pitfalls of Flaunting Your Social Status

A. Barasch, S. Srna, D. Small

Ditch the luxury logos if you want to be seen as a cooperative team player.
1 comment

Career

How Can Managers Use AI to Find the Right People?

S. Black, P. van Esch

Eight recommendations to help firms win the war for talent.
3 comments

Career

The Problem When Bankers Marry Social Workers

Winnie Jiang

When you and your romantic partner disagree about the meaning of work, it reduces your odds of quickly landing a job should you find yourself unemployed.

Career

How Family-Work Conflict Keeps Us Glued to Our Mobile Phones

C. Trombini, M. Magni, M. Ahuja

Torn between family obligations and work, many people can’t resist working on their phones after hours, creating a downward spiral for their well-being and home life.

Leadership & Organisations

Carpe Diem: Don’t Postpone Your Dreams

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

Far from a hedonistic cry, carpe diem instructs us to live a life of meaning.
1 comment

Career

Performance Reviews Need a Brand-New P&L

Chengyi Lin

Is your firm’s performance review process helping or hindering progress for your high potentials?
2 comments

Career

The World’s Most Talent Competitive Countries, 2021

L. F. Monteiro, B. Lanvin

The pandemic revealed strengths and weaknesses in how nations develop and retain talent.
1 comment

Career

Pursuing the Arts After a Career in Business

A. Tirard, C. Harbour

How three mid-career professionals leveraged their business skills as they became full-time artists.

Career

To Find Your Dream Career, Show Your Unconscious Who’s Boss

K. Min, E. van de Loo

The social pressures you think are holding you back are most likely your own projection.
1 comment

Leadership & Organisations

Marked for Disruption, Deep in Denial: Law Firms at a Crossroads

A. Fruehmann, R. Lehman

The greatest threat to the survival of law firms isn’t technological, but psychological.
3 comments

Leadership & Organisations

The Competencies and Constraints That Determine Leadership Success

Pawel Korzynski

A novel management theory looks past individual leaders to constraints that might limit their effectiveness.

Career

Breaking Bad: Humanitarians Who Went Corporate

C. Harbour, A. Tirard

How three professionals who started in purpose-driven organisations continued to do good after migrating to “the other side”.

Career

The Connections Between Love and Work

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

Seven lessons about relationships that could save your career.

Career

A Post-Mortem on Product Management

Ayman Jawhar

Treating product management as a role, rather than a culture all its own, deadens its meaning and impact.
1 comment

Career

Social Media Helps Global “Dream Teams” Come Together

P. Korzynski and G. Mazurek

Academic international collaboration is now evolving beyond conferences or formal networks as constantly improving social media connects more researchers.

Career

How LGBTQ+ Employees Can Embrace Authenticity

Antoine Tirard & Claire Harbour

Four professionals with different sexual orientations and gender identities describe their journeys.

Leadership & Organisations

Teams in Evolution – and Revolution – After the Pandemic

H. Bresman, M. Mortensen

How sensemaking can help you cope with unplanned, constant changes in your team.

Career

From General Manager to CHRO

Claire Harbour & Antoine Tirard

Three stories of business leaders who moved to the top human resources role and reinvented HR in their company.

Career

Product Management Is Dead

Ayman Jawhar

Long live product management – but not as it has been conceived up till now.
27 comments

Career

Why – and How – to Hire an Outlier

A. Tirard, C. Harbour

An unconventional profile can be a tough sell, but the potential rewards are worth the risk.

Career

The Hidden Upside to Low-Power Negotiating

Alena Komaromi

Looking for work during a historic downturn needn’t cost you your dignity. Multiple research studies suggest strategies for turning a negotiation disadvantage into opportunity.

Career

To Navigate Office Politics, Map Out Your Friends and Foes

Andy J. Yap

Before you make a political move, draw a POWER map.
2 comments

Career

Shoring Up Executive Careers in a Pandemic

Lee Seok Hwai

The best time to plan for contingencies was yesterday. The next best time is now.

Career

Seven Lessons From Refugees Who Became Entrepreneurs

Claire Harbour & Antoine Tirard

The inspiring stories of four people who relaunched their career from scratch.

Career

The World’s Most Talent Competitive Countries, 2020

F. Monteiro, B. Lanvin

How artificial intelligence is shaping talent competitiveness around the world.
1 comment

Economics & Finance

How the Daily Commute Affects the Gender Wage Gap

A. Roulet, T. Le Barbanchon, R. Barthelot

Women’s aversion for commuting motivates them to look for closer and not-so-well paid jobs compared to men.
2 comments

Career

Should You Be a Career Lifer?

A. Tirard, C. Harbour

The stories of three executives who made the counter-intuitive choice of staying with the same employer for most if not all of their career.

Career

Creating a Meaningful Life in Turbulent Times

How can accessing our sources of personal meaning help us manage mounting insecurity in our lives, families and work?

Career

An Action Plan for Work-Family Balance

Finding the right balance for your personal and professional life requires conscious planning, ample reflection and proper communication.

Career

Those Unfulfilled Childhood Dreams? They May Still Be Driving You

Elizabeth Florent Treacy

Summon your inner child before deciding on that new job.

Career

The Proper Care and Feeding of Dual-Career Couples

Benjamin Kessler

There’s no single path to long-term fulfilment in love and work – as long as partners are communicating regularly on three main points.

Career

Seven Ways to Overcome the Fear of Making a Career Change

Claire Harbour & Antoine Tirard

Bold new professional aspirations often freeze us in our tracks.
2 comments

Career

How Making New Friends on LinkedIn Can Boost Creativity

Pawel Korzynski

Proactive online social networking enhances the link between personal innovativeness and creativity.

Career

Leaving a Lasting Leadership Legacy

Adaptation, reflection and stewardship are forward-looking life lessons.

Career

From Corporate High-Flier to Artisan

Antoine Tirard & Claire Harbour

Tips and stories from three executives who left a lucrative career to join a skilled trade.

Career

Five Everyday Exercises for Building Empathy

Minter Dial

Empathy is like a muscle – use it or lose it.
3 comments

Entrepreneurship

The World’s Most Innovative Countries, 2019

R.Noyes, B. Lanvin

Continuing innovations in health and medicine have led to economic growth and a better quality of life for many around the world. But inequalities could grow rapidly.
1 comment

Career

Composing a Life of Complex Change

Linda Brimm

Firms can benefit greatly from helping experienced global professionals transition to headquarters and a geographically settled life.

Career

So You Want to Learn How to Code?

Claire Harbour & Antoine Tirard

Tips and stories from three execs who went to coding boot camps.

Career

The Challenges Faced by Global Cosmopolitan Women

Linda Brimm

To tap the full potential of these agents for change, organisations must listen and push beyond assumptions.
1 comment

Career

The World’s Most Talent Competitive Cities

Felipe Monteiro & Bruno Lanvin

Our Global Talent Competitiveness Index explains the importance of cities in innovation.
1 comment

Career

Pivoting Into Business After an Artistic Career

A. Tirard, C. Harbour

The stories of three performers who successfully joined the corporate world.

Career

Why Should You Work With a Creative Star?

M. Sosa, J. Mihm, H. Liu

Collaborating with creative stars can make you more creative and help unlock your star potential.

Career

Getting Your Foot in the Door When Switching Industries

C. Harbour, A. Tirard

Here’s how you can prevail against unimaginative recruiters and employers.

Career

The Skills That Global Cosmopolitans Bring to the Table

Linda Brimm

Professionals versed in several cultures have an exceptional ability to learn from experience.
1 comment

Entrepreneurship

The Multinational Fuelled by Thousands of Entrepreneurs

Felipe Monteiro

Haier’s business model has created a worldwide entrepreneurship movement.
1 comment

Career

The World’s Most Talent Competitive Countries, 2019

Felipe Monteiro & Bruno Lanvin

Entrepreneurial talent is a critical component of both competitiveness and innovation.

Career

Making the Leap to Entrepreneurship

Antoine Tirard & Claire Harbour-Lyell

Three former corporate executives who migrated to the start-up world share their stories and tips.
2 comments

Career

What Women on the Board Need to Know

Annet Aris

Three INSEAD alumnae share their wisdom as board directors.

Career

The Gift of a Global Cosmopolitan Mindset

Those who live global lives develop a psyche that enables them to tackle complex challenges.
1 comment

Career

The Number One Skill You Need

Selling may be a dirty word for some, but it’s an absolutely critical skill in our personal and professional lives.

Career

The 10-Point Stress Audit

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

What excessive stress looks like and what you can do about it.
2 comments

Career

Lessons for Boardroom Debutantes

Claire Harbour-Lyell & Antoine Tirard

Three women non-executive directors share their tips for anyone aspiring to join the boardroom.

Career

A Long-Term Guide to the Art of Communication

Great communicators are always practicing.

Career

Am I Too Old to Switch Careers?

A. Tirard, C. Harbour-Lyell, N. Courtis

Eight reasons why career transitions later in life are possible despite lingering age discrimination.
4 comments

Career

What the Happiest Two-Career Couples Are Doing Differently

The conventional wisdom urging compromise and self-sacrifice leads many dual-career couples astray.
2 comments

Career

How to Hire a Rock Star Chief Marketing Officer

The ten qualities you should look for when interviewing potential CMOs for your start-up.

Career

The 4 Es of Successful Career Transitions

A. Tirard, C. Harbour-Lyell, N. Courtis

A navigational framework to take ownership of your career.

Career

The Status Quo Isn’t Working for Two-Career Couples

Dual-career coupledom doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. But outdated talent management programmes often twist it into one.
1 comment