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Q&A: A Feminine Perspective on Leadership and Innovation?
Hi Tammy,
I would like to read more about leadership and management as well as innovation ideas from a feminine perspective. I have been reading a lot of Kotter, Hamel, et. al., all of which has been very inspirational and thought-provoking. However, I wonder if there are ideas of the same vein presented by women. Please advice.
Thank you,
SP
Dear SP,
That’s an interesting question. There are a number of extraordinary women thought leaders in the area, but I’ve never considered whether there is a distinctly feminine perspective on innovation and leadership. Let me offer some suggestions regarding people whose work you may enjoy exploring – I’d love to hear from you whether you find a shared point of view among their perspectives.
Lynda Gratton, a professor at London Business School (and, in the interest of full disclosure, a dear friend and frequent co-author) studies organizations that excel at innovation. Her book Hot Spots, based in part on research that she and I conducted together on team collaboration, outlines the characteristics of teams that have that special spark of creativity and commitment. She has written a number of other books on leadership; one of my favorite is The Democratic Organization, in which she outlines the challenges posed by today’s work environments.
Herminia Ibarra is a professor in Leadership and Learning and faculty director of the INSEAD Leadership Initiative. She is an expert on professional and leadership development and has written a wonderful book called Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career (Harvard Business School Press, 2003) that documents how people reinvent themselves at work, as well as numerous articles on innovation, networking, career development, women’s careers and professional identity.
Teresa Amabile is a professor at Harvard Business School. Originally educated as a chemist, she investigates how life inside organizations can influence people and their performance. Originally focusing on individual creativity, her research has expanded to encompass team creativity and organizational innovation.
My first book, Third Generation R&D, focused on building innovative organizations. Two of my recent articles, both co-authored with Lynda Gratton, address important aspects of this topic: “What It Means to Work Here” Harvard Business Review, March 2007 and “Eight Ways to Build Collaborative Teams” Harvard Business Review, November 2007.
Happy reading!
Warmly,
Tammy
Filed under: Leadership | Published: 05/13/09
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