Creating a Culture of Innovation the Focus of New Harvard Business School Executive Education Program

Career Climbers / 3rd October 2017

Harvard Business School (HBS) Executive Education will launch Leading and Building a Culture of Innovation on the HBS campus in Boston from December 3–8, 2017. This new program will examine how senior executives can build and sustain an innovative organization by creating culture and capabilities that encourage creative problem-solving.

Today’s workforce needs a new kind of leader who can spark ingenuity across an entire organization. This program offers senior executives a highly interactive forum in which to explore, debate, and examine best practices for leading change in their businesses. Participants will return to their organizations with a new understanding of their leadership role, along with specific tools and techniques for building and sustaining a culture of innovation.

“Most leaders I meet tell me they are worried that their organizations can’t innovate enough. And it’s no wonder why: leading innovation is hard, emotionally taxing work, even for the best of leaders,” said Linda A. Hill, Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration and faculty chair of Leading and Building a Culture of Innovation. “We designed this program to help leaders learn how to unleash the talents of their organization and harness them into innovative solutions—not just once, but time and time again.”

The program curriculum provides an immersive, hands-on experience, including multiple learning modalities, simulations, and time for reflection. The program is presented in an interactive lab environment to maximize participation and collaboration among participants. Topics of study include redefining leadership in today’s organizations, developing the capabilities for collective genius, creating and sustaining a culture of continuous innovation, and learning from successes.

Leading and Building a Culture of Innovation is designed for general managers and senior executives whose responsibilities include leading innovation and change. The program is open to executives with cross-organizational responsibilities; leaders of startups and innovation labs; and those who run business units, divisions, or other large-scale organizations. Ideal participants will have at least 15 years of work experience. Teams are encouraged to apply.

As with other HBS Executive Education offerings, Leading and Building a Culture of Innovation will rely on research from leading HBS faculty, collaboration with industry peers, and learnings from real-world case studies from successful, innovative global companies.