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HBR Guide

HBR Guide to Being a Great Boss

Are you a good boss—or a great one?

We know people don't leave jobs, they leave bosses. How can you be the type of boss that doesn't send employees running? One who makes your people happy to work for you?

You've got the basics covered. But can you raise your leadership level to be a boss who develops trust with their employees? How do you create a culture where learning—and failing—are ok? Can you go beyond evaluating performance and distributing bonuses once a year to finding ways to regularly share productive feedback—and recognize great work—in ways that work for the people who work for you?

You can meet the basic requirements of your job as leader and rise above to motivate the people on your team to do more—and be more—than they thought possible. Whether you're a first-time boss or you've been managing people forever and are looking for some new insights and inspiration, the HBR Guide to Being a Great Boss collects a variety of expert voices to share their advice on being a boss who sparks creativity, engagement, and collaboration. You'll learn how to: magnify your people's strengths; communicate effectively—and regularly—with your team; cultivate trust; help your employees find meaning in their work; challenge your people to reach beyond their current limit; help struggling employees improve; and bring out the best in your people—and yourself.


  1. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Data Strategy

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

    audiobook
  2. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Negotiation

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Daniel Kahneman, Deepak Malhotra, Erin Meyer, Max H. Bazerman

    audiobook
  3. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Across Cultures

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Jeanne Brett, Yves L. Doz, Erin Meyer, Hal Gregersen

    audiobook
  4. Speak Up, Speak Out

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

    audiobook
  5. HBR's 10 Must Reads for New Managers

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Linda A. Hill, Herminia Ibarra, Robert B. Cialdini, Daniel Goleman

    audiobook
  6. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership Lessons from Sports : (featuring interviews with Sir Alex Ferguson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Andre Agassi)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Alex Ferguson, Bill Parcells, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Joe Girardi

    audiobook
  7. HBR Guide to Managing Up and Across

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

    audiobook
  8. The Year in Tech, 2026 : The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Scott D. Anthony, Amy Webb, José Parra-Moyano, Christina Shim

    audiobook
  9. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy, Updated and Expanded (featuring "The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy" by Michael E. Porter)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

    audiobook
  10. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself, Updated and Expanded (featuring "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Peter F. Drucker, Amy Gallo, Amy Jen Sue, Clayton M. Christensen

    audiobook
  11. HBR's 10 Must Reads 2026 : The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review (featuring "The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift" by Kevin Evers)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

    audiobook
  12. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Emotional Intelligence, Updated and Expanded (featuring "What Makes a Leader" by Daniel Goleman)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

    audiobook