MIT Sloan Management Review (December 4, 2024): Looking beyond AI, many of our top 10 stories involve tough culture and people management challenges, like dealing with the informal meetings that happen after formal meetings (No. 2) and getting people to stop self-censoring with company leaders (No. 5). These two stories, by Phillip G. Clampitt and Jim Detert, respectively, truly struck a nerve with readers. At a time of radical change, communication and trust have never been more important.

#10
Building Culture From the Middle Out

Spencer Harrison and Kristie Rogers

Midlevel leaders are critical to fostering an organizational culture that’s healthy and vibrant.

#9
Video — RTO Mandates: Hard Truths for Leaders

Brian Elliott

In this brief video, learn what the latest research and current examples say about return-to-office mandates — and what leaders can do instead to boost productivity and retain talent.

#8
Eight Essential Interview Questions CEOs Swear By

Adam Bryant

Get beyond job candidates’ pat answers to hiring managers’ standard queries by recasting questions to elicit thoughtful responses.

#7
Seven Truths About Hybrid Work and Productivity

Lynda Gratton

To get the most from hybrid work, leaders should prepare for trade-offs, make expectations clear, and think harder about how productivity is measured.

#6
How Tech Fails Late-Career Workers

Stefan Tams

Managers must make deliberate choices to support older workers’ use of complex technologies.

#5
What You Still Can’t Say at Work

Jim Detert

Most people know what can’t be said in their organization. But leaders can apply these techniques to break through the unwritten rules that make people self-censor.

#4
Return-to-Office Mandates: How to Lose Your Best Performers

Brian Elliott

Your organization’s highest-performing employees want executives to focus on outcomes and accountability, not office badge swipes.

#3
The Future of Strategic Measurement: Enhancing KPIs With AI

Michael Schrage, David Kiron, François Candelon, Shervin Khodabandeh, and Michael Chu

This artificial intelligence and business strategy report looks at how organizations are using AI to evolve their key performance indicators to better align with their strategies and deliver on enterprise goals.

#2
Hard Truths About the Meeting After the Meeting

Phillip G. Clampitt

Leaders must encourage respectful debate during meetings and use related strategies to avoid toxic post-meeting dynamics.

#1
Five Key Trends in AI and Data Science for 2024

Thomas H. Davenport and Randy Bean

These developing issues should be on every leader’s radar screen, data executives say.