Three Leadership Articles Every Executive Should Read

Sharing leadership articles with my team is a common practice of mine. I find it’s a simple yet great way to help keep my team’s leadership sharp and top of mind.

Here are a few especially great articles I’ve recommended the past few months.?

1. ?The Research Is Clear: Long Hours Backfire for People and for Companies

Research shows that overworking does not necessarily lead to greater productivity or better output, but instead jeopardizes health and performance. People get sick, self-medicate, and are less engaged or proficient at their jobs because they’re tired, stressed, and distracted. Overwork leads to burnout, which leads to high turnover, which costs companies money, time, and reputation.

The cons of pressuring employees to give more and more of their lives to work seem to far exceed the pros — which, according to one study appear to be more anecdotal than factual. In fact, the piece references how factory owners in the 19th century saw output increase and accidents decrease when they limited the workday to ten hours, and eventually to eight. More than one hundred years later, Leslie Perlow and Jessica Porter of the Harvard Business School saw similar results when they experimented with requiring knowledge workers to take nights and weekends off; teams were more productive.

What I appreciate about this article is that it acknowledges how complicated the phenomenon of overworking can be. You might have a boss who frequently asks you to work late. You might also be inclined to check your work email over the weekend or think about projects in your free time because of your own personal motivations. All this contributes to a culture of overwork, and of it needs to be addressed. By offering clear, direct arguments in support of better work-life balance, the article challenges staff, managers, and leadership to face the facts and see that, in the long run, the most productive approach is the most sustainable approach.

2. Leadership 2.0: Gain New Skills to Meet New Challenges

Michael Useem, professor of management and faculty director for the Center for Leadership and Change Management at Wharton Business School, writes that leaders need to be constantly learning new skill and updating their leadership styles to keep pace with today’s ever-changing markets.

He also identifies “four key mission-critical rules leaders in every business and industry need today”: manage risk, provide non-market assistance (crisis management, disaster recovery), diversify stakeholders, and “digitize” the firm.

Wipro has strong values, and in the seventy-five years we’ve been in business we’ve made a point to always empower our communities as well as our customers as we grow. In other words, we’re familiar with how important these concepts are and are always working to live by them — but the task is never complete. We are always checking in, evaluating our performance, seeing how it satisfies market and societal demands. Doing this ensures we’re always growing and keeping pace with change.

3. What Is Allyship? Your Questions Answered

I appreciate the sincerity and honesty of this article — how it emphasizes that because being an ally is an ongoing effort, it is bound to draw criticism sometimes and be uncomfortable, but that it is essential for leaders to persist.

Change is always uncomfortable, and it’s unfortunate that some people feel so nervous that they will get things wrong while trying to be an ally, that they choose not to engage at all, or question the entire action altogether. “If we are treating allyship as an ongoing, constant set of practices,” the piece states, “we?are?going to get it wrong, eventually. Mistakes?are going to happen.” As leaders, we must accept this as fact and learn to handle the criticism necessary to shape better behaviors in ourselves, our teams, and throughout our organizations.?

Another point I liked in this piece was the emphasis on demonstrating allyship rather than defining it: “At CCL, our approach to this work has been less about answering the question ‘What is allyship?’ and more about reframing that question into ‘How do we act as an ally?’” A common criticism of corporations, especially since 2020, has been that they are quick to say that they’re allies but are less quick to act, if they do at all. Action is key. As leaders, and as individuals, we must go beyond words and demonstrate our values through action.

I hope you find these articles as valuable as I did, and feel inspired to share them with your teams. Prioritizing strong, supportive leadership — not just among managers but with all team members — is a great way to encourage healthy growth and progress throughout an organization.