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Leadership

The Lessons from Pope Francis for the Class of 2025‌

Yale SOM leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld reflects on what the next generation of leaders can learn from the late pope. ‌

Pope Francis greeting a crowd in St. Peter’s Square
  • 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.
  • How Firms Can Harness Internal Competition

    A new study finds that pitting teams against each other is effective in clarifying the way forward. But once a decision is made about which path to pursue, everybody must rally around the chosen idea—and not look back.

    An illustration of a CEO watching two teams building structures
  • A Peaceful Transfer of Power at Amazon

    We asked Yale SOM leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, author of a landmark study of CEO succession, how Amazon will be changed by the departure of its founder.

    Jeff Bezos at a press conference in 2012. Photo: J. Emilio Flores/Corbis via Getty Images.
  • Can Business Leaders Be a Force for Democracy?

    In the wake of the presidential election, Yale SOM leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld hosted three urgent discussions with top CEOs, where they discussed their concern about attempts to overturn the results and made a much-reported pledge to freeze donations to legislators who voted to reject election results.

    An American flag surrounded by office towers
  • Business Leaders Are Deeply Concerned about Public Safety—and Democracy

    At a virtual meeting convened by Yale SOM leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld in the wake of the attack on the Capitol, CEOs voiced worries and brainstormed ideas for how business can help strengthen democracy.

    Police and members of the National Guard behind a fence outside the U.S. Capitol on January 7, 2021.
  • Day-One Advice for President Joe Biden, from Yale Experts

    Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take on an array of monumental challenges, including controlling COVID-19, making progress on the climate crisis, and confronting racial injustice. We asked faculty members who specialize in these and other subjects what research-based counsel they would give to America’s new leaders.

    President Joe Biden signing an order at the desk in the Oval Office
  • Advice for a Better 2021—According to the Research

    We asked faculty with expertise in psychology, entrepreneurship, healthcare, economics, and more for their best ideas to bring the lessons of the last year to the next.

    A crocus growing out of snow
  • Trump’s Reluctant Goodbye

    In the final act of Donald Trump‘s presidency, Yale SOM's Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sees echoes of “monarchical” CEOs who purge truth-tellers and surround themselves with sycophants—and invariably make an involuntary exit from the C-suite.

    Marine One departing the South Lawn of the White House
  • CEOs Urge Respect for Election Integrity

    In a hastily assembled call on November 6, corporate leaders agreed on the importance of smooth transition process and encouraged GOP leaders to endorse the integrity of the election.

    President-Elect Joe Biden speaks to the media on November 9, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images.