INSEAD Knowledge

Why do some executives swear by their coaches, while others just can't seem to find the “right one”? Coaching has become a staple of senior leadership development. But the truth that many people overlook is that even the best coach can’t deliver change you’re not ready for. In this month’s edition of our Work in Progress newsletter, INSEAD's Derek Deasy and Enoch Li break down what actually makes the coaching experience an impactful one.

Most of us assume inequality is something that people either see or they don't, but the reality is more nuanced. Research by INSEAD's Jonathan Pow and Andy Yap, together with Charlene Chen 陈以君 and Kelly Nault, finds that even when the social cues are everywhere, working adults register social class differences in fewer than one in five moments. Awareness of inequality surfaces in moments, shaped by who you are, where you are and what you're doing. That has real implications for how leaders and policymakers think about fairness, transparency and trust. Read the article: https://lnkd.in/evQrD-CQ

As the summer holidays begin, it's a good moment to think about boundaries. In this throwback article, INSEAD's Ian Woodward says that the most effective leaders aren't the ones who say yes to everything. They're the ones who know their limits and communicate them clearly. He offers four practical steps to get there: → Clarify your priorities and limits → Communicate boundaries clearly and consistently → Practise saying "no" appropriately → Role model by respecting other people's boundaries Read the article: https://lnkd.in/gnq7_sm5

Europe's dependency on imported fossil fuels is undermining its renewed efforts for military independence. INSEAD's Hannah Huibregtsen (MIM'27) and Timothy Van Zandt argue that when a hostile power controls your energy supply, it controls your options. Simply spending more on defence while running on the same energy sources creates a larger military with the same structural vulnerability. The green transition and defence spending aren't trade-offs. They're two sides of the same coin. Read the article: https://lnkd.in/e5uQwNTw

"If you have family and private equity, they fit with each other like a drop of oil in a bucket of water." A board doesn't operate in a vacuum. How it functions – who it hires, what it challenges, how much risk it tolerates – is fundamentally shaped by who owns the company. In this episode of INSEAD Explains Governance, INSEAD's massimo massa unpacks how boards adapt to the very different demands of listed firms, family businesses and private equity. And what happens when those ownership structures collide. Watch the episode: https://lnkd.in/ehpjDh9j

"Creative differences." Two words that appear in entertainment headlines more than almost any other. But what do they actually mean and are they doing more harm than good? INSEAD's Spencer Harrison tracked cases of directors leaving Hollywood productions over a decade and found that the label carries a real and lasting penalty. Directors who cite creative differences lose out on close to a quarter of a billion dollars in future project budgets over the following five years. Compare that to "scheduling conflicts" – which carries almost no penalty at all – and the reason becomes clear. Creative differences begs the question it's trying to avoid: Everyone wants to know what really happened! Listen to the podcast: https://lnkd.in/ewEjhwWy

AI is transforming organisations in theory but making it work in practice is a different story.  Drawing on conversations with senior leaders across professional services, retail, consumer goods and creative industries, INSEAD's Ridhima Aggarwal and Mark Stabile identify four tensions at the heart of AI adoption: → Defining what AI adoption actually means → Overcoming organisational bottlenecks → Spreading AI's benefits equitably → The future of human work and talent development The firms getting it right ensure they have a shared language and genuine AI literacy. Read the article: https://lnkd.in/e7JEFM7F

Boards don't just govern companies, they shape the context in which everyone inside them works. From deciding who leads the organisation to overseeing culture and major transformations, boards have a reach that goes beyond the boardroom. In Germany and France, employees sit on boards directly. In the Netherlands, works councils propose board members and meet with them regularly. The relationship between boards and the people they affect is closer than most realise. In this episode of INSEAD Explains Governance, Annet Aris explores why employees and stakeholders should pay far more attention to what happens at board level. Watch the full episode: https://lnkd.in/eWquQ2PV

Do you work too much? If so, a new finding by INSEAD's Jennifer Louise Petriglieri may resonate with you. She reveals that chronic overworkers often carry a "doer identity". This sense of self built around doing was formed in response to demanding caregivers early in life. The work never feels like enough because it was never really about the work. That's just one of five fascinating findings featured in this month's INSEAD research round-up by Dean of Research & Innovation Lily Fang: 🔹 We're less disappointed than we "should" be because we quietly lower our expectations mid-experience 🔹 Implicit bias tests only explain 2.5% of discriminatory behaviour. Simply asking people their attitudes account for 45%. 🔹 Decentralised organizations can centralise in a crisis without employee backlash, but only if they do it transparently and collectively 🔹 When the SEC went dark during a government shutdown, insider trading spiked. And enforcement never fully recovered afterwards. Read the article: https://lnkd.in/gQSCMX7G

Rewarding healthcare providers based on patient outcomes sounds like common sense. But the success of this value-based approach hinges on the way contracts are designed, say INSEAD's Stephen Chick and Sameer Hasija, alongside Saša Zorc from University of Virginia Darden School of Business.    They show that without careful contract design, even well-intentioned healthcare reforms can lead to undesired outcomes. Aligning the diverse incentives of actors in the healthcare system is key, due to the complex webs of interactions among patients, clinicians, care providers and governments in the system. This a promising step towards better outcomes and potentially healthcare equity. Read the article: https://lnkd.in/eJFZM47z