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Leadership

CEOs Need More Face Time, Not FaceTime

Yale SOM leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld explains how effective business leaders make the best use of face-to-face meetings with employees around the world.

A business jet on a runway at twilight
  • No, Machiavelli Did Not Say It’s Better to Be Feared Than Loved

    The leadership lesson attributed to Machiavelli’s The Prince is one of many truisms that are frequently distorted for ideological purposes, writes Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. Such distortions can lead to flawed decision-making in the boardroom, according to Sonnenfeld.

    A distorted image of Machiavelli
  • How Leaders Can Fend Off Unwanted Email Introductions

    Leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld offers advice for CEOs who are repeatedly ambushed by former associates playing online matchmaker.

    A hand holding an envelope coming out of a computer screen
  • When Should CEOs Speak Out?

    Many corporate leaders are overcoming their hesitancy about wading into divisive social issues. Prof. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld offers some guidelines for when and how business leaders should weigh in.

    A black megaphone labeled "CEO" in gold
  • Leadership Lessons for Biden after the Afghanistan Withdrawal

    Yale SOM's Jeffrey Sonnenfeld offers advice for the president on recovering from his missteps, drawn from Sonnenfeld's decades of studies of business and political leadership.

    President Joe Biden leaving the podium after speaking at the White House about the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
  • The Compromise Infrastructure Bill Reflects the Public’s Priorities

    The infrastructure bill that advanced in the Senate this week doesn’t please partisans on either side. But an analysis from Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld shows a rough correspondence with the objectives favored by the public in polls.

    Senator Kyrsten Sinema speaking at a news conference on July 28, 2021. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
  • How to Go Back to a Better Office 

    Heidi Brooks, who teaches leadership at Yale SOM and advises companies on everyday leadership and organizational culture, talks about how managers can approach this moment of transition with empathy—and have a meaningful impact at an important time.

    An illustration of people emerging from the woods into an office
  • Why Silence Is Not Golden for CEOs

    Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld writes that companies have an interest in preserving democracy and other fundamental social issues, and silence is not an option for responsible CEOs.

    A wooden door with a microphone icon and "Office of the CEO" in gold
  • How George Floyd’s Murder Galvanized Corporate America

    A year after the killing sparked a wave of protest, Yale SOM leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sees signs of a lasting change in corporate attitudes about racial justice.

    A mural of George Floyd at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, where Floyd was murdered in June 2020. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images.
  • How Finding a Mentor—or Even Better, a Sponsor—Can Accelerate Your Career 

    In an excerpt from her book Social Chemistry: Decoding the Patterns of Human Connection, Prof. Marissa King explains how a more experienced colleague can help propel your career.

    A young penguin with an adult penguin
  • Georgia’s Voter Suppression Law Will Be the First of Many, If CEOs Don’t Speak Up

    Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and longtime UPS executive Teri Plummer McClure write that business leaders failed to live up to their pledge to defend democracy when they largely stood silent as Georgia enacted restrictions on voting.

    Demonstrators outside the Georgia Capitol on March 2, 2021. Photo: Megan Varner/Getty Images.