As digital disruption accelerates, companies across all industries need more leaders who can build and motivate creative teams, leverage emerging technologies, and innovate again and again. But fostering innovation requires much more than a vision and direction from the top. This lab-style leadership program immerses you in every stage of the innovation process. You'll roll up your sleeves and experience first-hand what it really takes to build a collaborative culture that encourages idea sharing and creativity. You will return to your company ready to foster the incremental and breakthrough innovations that will drive your company's competitive advantage, growth, and performance.
As digital disruption accelerates, companies across all industries need more leaders who can build and motivate creative teams, leverage emerging technologies, and innovate again and again. But fostering innovation requires much more than a vision and direction from the top. This lab-style leadership program immerses you in every stage of the innovation process. You'll roll up your sleeves and experience first-hand what it really takes to build a collaborative culture that encourages idea sharing and creativity. You will return to your company ready to foster the incremental and breakthrough innovations that will drive your company's competitive advantage, growth, and performance.
This program is eligible for the Certificate of Management Excellence. Learn More
Key Benefits
Delving into innovation as an essential leadership capability, this program goes beyond product and strategy development to examine the social processes that enable and inspire routine, company-wide innovation. You will leave with a richer understanding of what it takes to lead creative teams—and empower others to collaborate and innovate each day.
Delving into innovation as an essential leadership capability, this program goes beyond product and strategy development to examine the social processes that enable and inspire routine, company-wide innovation. You will leave with a richer understanding of what it takes to lead creative teams—and empower others to collaborate and innovate each day.
Details
Inspire continuous and productive innovation
Enable all areas of your organization to innovate more boldly and consistently
Unleash the "collective genius" of your colleagues by nurturing a culture where people engage in innovative problem solving
Evolve a more agile organization that makes the most of its talent
Adjust your leadership approach to spark creativity
Understand the difference between establishing a top-down vision and fostering continuous innovation
Empower others by modeling and encouraging behaviors that drive creative thinking and a new level of collaboration
Create a supportive environment that enables people to take risks, experiment, and even learn from their failures
Encourage others to transform themselves and work differently
Embrace your role as change agent
Create a culture that promotes both incremental and breakthrough change
Work effectively with peers and upper management to facilitate necessary change and realize the potential of pioneering ideas
Ensure that your organization can take full advantage of new technologies and platforms
Expand your personal and professional network
Extend your network by living and working with accomplished executives from various backgrounds, industries, and countries across the globe
Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide wide-ranging insights into your business challenges and career decisions
Who Should Attend
General managers who lead companies, business units, divisions, or other large-scale organizations, as well as executives with cross-functional responsibilities
Change management executives
Leaders focused on innovation, R&D, or IT, including chief innovation officers, chief technology officers, and chief information officers
Leaders from corporate strategy, finance, legal, human resources, marketing, manufacturing, customer service, and sales
Individuals and teams are welcome to attend. Participation by multiple company representatives will foster teamwork and amplify the program's impact on your organization.
Dive Deeper into the Experience
Pioneers, Drivers, Integrators, and Guardians
The four primary work styles and strategies for accomplishing shared goals.
General managers who lead companies, business units, divisions, or other large-scale organizations, as well as executives with cross-functional responsibilities
Change management executives
Leaders focused on innovation, R&D, or IT, including chief innovation officers, chief technology officers, and chief information officers
Leaders from corporate strategy, finance, legal, human resources, marketing, manufacturing, customer service, and sales
Individuals and teams are welcome to attend. Participation by multiple company representatives will foster teamwork and amplify the program's impact on your organization.
Dive Deeper into the Experience
Pioneers, Drivers, Integrators, and Guardians
The four primary work styles and strategies for accomplishing shared goals.
When you participate in an Executive Education program on the HBS campus, you enter an immersive experience where every aspect of the learning model has been carefully designed to facilitate your growth. Your learning will take place on your own, in your living group, and in the larger classroom, driven by the renowned HBS case method.
When you participate in an Executive Education program on the HBS campus, you enter an immersive experience where every aspect of the learning model has been carefully designed to facilitate your growth. Your learning will take place on your own, in your living group, and in the larger classroom, driven by the renowned HBS case method.
Admissions Criteria and Process
We admit candidates to specific sessions on a rolling, space-available basis, and encourage you to apply as early as possible. Although most programs have no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on your professional achievement and organizational responsibilities.
Our Program Advising team can help you at any stage of the admissions process—starting with identifying the program that best addresses your learning and development goals. Contact a program advisor via email or call 1.800.427.5577 (outside the U.S., call +1.617.495.6555).
Application Submission
We recommend that you apply at least four weeks before the program start date. You may use our online form or download an application. HBS maintains all application information in strict confidentiality. We acknowledge receipt of applications via email. In the unlikely event that you do not receive an acknowledgment, please email us at exed_admissions@hbs.edu or call us at +1.617.495.6226.
Application Review
To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, our Admissions Committee makes selections that balance each participant's experience, scope of current responsibilities, and type of organization. HBS seeks candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds. We review applications monthly and will contact you via email with the Admissions Committee's decision.
Fee, Payment, and Cancellations
The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals. No payment is necessary until you have been accepted. Payment is required prior to the program start date. If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.
We admit candidates to specific sessions on a rolling, space-available basis, and encourage you to apply as early as possible. Although most programs have no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on your professional achievement and organizational responsibilities.
Answering Your Questions
Our Program Advising team can help you at any stage of the admissions process—starting with identifying the program that best addresses your learning and development goals. Contact a program advisor via email or call 1.800.427.5577 (outside the U.S., call +1.617.495.6555).
Application Submission
We recommend that you apply at least four weeks before the program start date. You may use our online form or download an application. HBS maintains all application information in strict confidentiality. We acknowledge receipt of applications via email. In the unlikely event that you do not receive an acknowledgment, please email us at exed_admissions@hbs.edu or call us at +1.617.495.6226.
Application Review
To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, our Admissions Committee makes selections that balance each participant's experience, scope of current responsibilities, and type of organization. HBS seeks candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds. We review applications monthly and will contact you via email with the Admissions Committee's decision.
Fee, Payment, and Cancellations
The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals. No payment is necessary until you have been accepted. Payment is required prior to the program start date. If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.
What You Will Learn
This hands-on program takes place in a unique learning space very different from a typical classroom. Here you will immerse yourself in the real-world process of exploration, experimentation, failure, and examination. You will discover new ways to surface and develop ideas—and set the stage for ongoing innovation. As you dig into the characteristics of innovative organizations, you will learn what it takes to lead the changes that transform promising ideas into reality.
Balancing Collaboration and Personal Reflection
While this corporate innovation program emphasizes team collaboration, you also will engage in guided self-reflection and a unique approach to peer coaching that is designed to boost your creativity and expand your innovation mindset as you continue your leadership journey.
Your Innovation Challenge
During the program, you will work with a self-organized team of peers, known as a "brain trust," to spark new thinking on innovation and help you fine-tune your skills. You'll have the opportunity to define an innovation leadership challenge facing your organization, present it to your brain trust team, and obtain feedback that can help you develop an action plan for achieving your goals.
This hands-on program takes place in a unique learning space very different from a typical classroom. Here you will immerse yourself in the real-world process of exploration, experimentation, failure, and examination. You will discover new ways to surface and develop ideas—and set the stage for ongoing innovation. As you dig into the characteristics of innovative organizations, you will learn what it takes to lead the changes that transform promising ideas into reality.
Balancing Collaboration and Personal Reflection
While this corporate innovation program emphasizes team collaboration, you also will engage in guided self-reflection and a unique approach to peer coaching that is designed to boost your creativity and expand your innovation mindset as you continue your leadership journey.
Your Innovation Challenge
During the program, you will work with a self-organized team of peers, known as a "brain trust," to spark new thinking on innovation and help you fine-tune your skills. You'll have the opportunity to define an innovation leadership challenge facing your organization, present it to your brain trust team, and obtain feedback that can help you develop an action plan for achieving your goals.
Exploring the differences that distinguish vision, innovation, and change
Considering innovation broadly as any new idea that can help your organization succeed
Recognizing that innovation is a mandate for everyone in every function
Identifying common practices that can stifle collaboration and innovation
Growing contextual intelligence to compete and thrive in different environments
Developing a leadership approach that fosters innovation
Accepting the responsibility for driving innovation
Understanding the leader's role as social architect
Becoming a change agent and advocating for change at all levels of your organization
Embracing the often-messy process of collaborative innovation
Balancing the inherent tensions and paradoxes of leading innovation
Fulfilling three key leadership imperatives—managing yourself, your team, and your network—in ways that facilitate innovation
Instilling habits that can unleash creative potential throughout your organization
Creating more opportunities for productive collaboration
Recognizing how diversity expands the range of possibilities and elicits more ideas
Fostering trust and a shared sense of purpose and values
Understanding and managing creative abrasion, creative agility, and creative resolution
Institutionalizing experimentation, risk-taking, and the tolerance for failure
Creating structures that support innovation in your organization
Designing spaces that support collaborative problem solving
Introducing new rules of engagement
Developing an effective marketplace of new ideas
Identifying and overcoming obstacles to collaboration and innovation
Evolving decision-making processes to align with the nature of innovation
Allowing multiple ideas to be combined rather than choosing one over the other
Transforming innovative ideas into reality
Analyzing and managing the implications of a promising new idea
Leading the changes needed to execute an innovative idea for maximum impact
Overcoming obstacles to change
Working with different constituencies in your organization to ensure successful implementation
The HBS Advantage
Our Executive Education programs are developed and taught by top faculty who are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Through their board memberships, consulting, and field-based research, they address the complex challenges facing business leaders across the globe.
Faculty Chair
Linda A. Hill
Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration
Our Executive Education programs are developed and taught by top faculty who are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Through their board memberships, consulting, and field-based research, they address the complex challenges facing business leaders across the globe.
Faculty Chair
Linda A. Hill
Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration
Program content, dates, fees, and faculty are subject to change. In accordance with Harvard University policy, Harvard Business School does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, sex or sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, veteran status, or disability in admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment in its programs and activities.
Program Sneak Peek
Take an exclusive look at the Leading and Building a Culture of Innovation program experience.
