Each month, through our partnership with Harvard Business Review, we refresh our business library for CIOs with five new HBR articles we believe CIOs and IT leaders will value highly. The curated pieces below are available now through the end of October.  

Discovery-driven digital transformation

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Digital disruptors and new business models pose a huge threat to more traditional companies. But just because a threat is huge doesn’t mean the response needs to be, according to Rita McGrath and Ryan McManus. Large, traditional companies “would actually be much better off taking a more incremental approach to transformation over time,” they write in this HBR article. A step-by-step transformation works better for traditional firms than an all-or-nothing approach because bigger firms typically have a key advantage over startups: They have the resources to explore a variety of ideas and can more easily experiment with different processes and operations. For this reason, they have a better chance of responding effectively to a digital challenge. In this article, McGrath and McManus explain how larger organizations can learn their way toward a new digital business model. 

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7 strategies for promoting collaboration in a crisis

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Anxiety and stress can make people more risk-averse than they typically are: They fall back on what’s worked in the past as an act of self-preservation. During a crisis, when anxiety and stress are a constant, leaders may need to work harder to foster collaboration, according to the authors of this HBR article, Heidi K. Gardner and Ivan Matviak. And it’s worth doing so – their research reveals that “the degree of collaboration during a crisis has a huge impact on whether companies and individual employees thrive.” In this article, Gardner and Matviak share seven ideas for promoting collaboration – from the behaviors that can hinder collaboration, to the specific actions teams can take to work together more effectively. 

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How different personality types cope with an always-on culture

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An “always-on” culture comes with its downsides and its perks. For example, although our smartphones help us to stay connected whenever we are, it can also lead to greater stress levels, more distractions, and difficulty focusing. Fortunately, according to research by John Hackston, you can look to your personality type for strategies to deal with these problems. In this article, Hackston looks at four solutions to reduce the negative side effects of an always-on culture. He then highlights the different ways to apply the solutions based on personality type. For instance, creating time and space to switch off may look different for extroverts than introverts. Use Hackston’s advice to create a unique-to-you strategy for finding a healthier work/life balance. 

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How to nail a job interview – remotely

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There are a number of ways job searching looks different today than pre-pandemic. There are more people looking, with record unemployment in the United States, companies are experiencing hiring freezes and layoffs amid uncertainty, and the job interview process is happening primarily over Zoom or another video conferencing platform. How can you excel during this daunting time? In this HBR article, Amy Gallo curates a list of eight tips from her conversations with Art Markman, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, and Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, an executive fellow at Harvard Business School. Download this article for a step-by-step guide for how to find open positions, craft your resume, prepare for a remote interview, and land the job. 

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5 tips to reduce screen time while you’re WFH

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Zoom fatigue is real, and many people are feeling it during the ongoing pandemic. “Having to focus on multiple faces simultaneously while also being conscious that everyone can see you creates an added layer of mental and emotional exhaustion that wouldn’t be experienced as acutely in an in-person setting. The extra time in front of the computer can also cause eye strain and muscle fatigue because you need to hold your body rigid for hours to stay inside a camera’s range,” writes time management coach Elizabeth Grace Saunders. In this HBR article, she shares the strategies that her clients say are most effective for maintaining and regaining energy. While our digital load is unavoidable right now, these simple tips can help you reduce fatigue and avoid burnout.  

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Also read: 

IT talent strategy: New tactics for a new era

The year 2020 brings completely new IT talent challenges to organizations. In the decade ahead, technology talent will play a pivotal role in whether companies succeed or fail. This new research from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services identifies five talent practices CIOs should adopt now to ensure their organizations thrive in the future, offering insights from more than a dozen CIOs and talent experts. Download this report for real-world examples of how you can attract and cultivate the IT talent that will help you succeed. 

Download: “IT talent strategy: New tactics for a new era“