Mark Mortensen, a professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD, discusses the research on “multiteaming”—when employees work not only across multiple projects, but multiple teams. It has significant benefits at the individual, team, and organizational levels. Among them: multiteaming saves money. The cost—stretched employees—is hard to see. And that is where the tension, and the risk, lies. Mortensen is the co-author, with Heidi K. Gardner, of “The Overcommitted Organization” in the September–October 2017 issue of Harvard Business Review.

When you realize the line of work you’ve been in for years doesn’t interest you anymore or is in decline or won’t ever pay well enough, what’s your next move? Amy Bernstein speaks with executive coach Nina Bowman about the process of making a bold mid-career leap: how to identify a new path, build connections to land interviews, and tell the story of how you’ll succeed in a completely different role. Then, two listeners who made bold leaps themselves—one from academia to tech, the other from government to consulting—share their experiences and insights.

If you need senior talent but can’t afford full-time hires, consider fractional leadership, where part-time executives work with multiple organizations. Common in startups, the practice is spreading to other sectors, yet many leaders don’t know how to make it work. Researcher Tomoko Yokoi and executive Amy Bonsall explain when and how fractional leadership benefits both organizations and leaders. They coauthored the HBR article “How Part-Time Senior Leaders Can Help Your Business.”

Is mid-level management a stone you’re ready to step off of? Making that move is difficult but doable, and Amy B and her three guests will direct, inspire, and reassure you. An executive coach validates the challenges of scoring a position that’s scarce. Then, two COOs whose careers stagnated in mid-level management before accelerating again, recount the conversations, decisions, and networking that jump-started them.

CEOs get a ton of credit or blame for a company’s performance. But the entire leadership team is vital to success, and any dysfunction is often overlooked. Sometimes the CEOs leading them don’t even see that they’re not working. Thomas Keil, management professor at the University of Zurich, and Marianna Zangrillo, a partner at The Next Advisors, have interviewed more than 100 CEOs and senior executives. Their research identifies three main types of failing leadership teams: shark tanks, petting zoos, and mediocracies. And they identify the pitfalls of each pattern and how to turn those teams around. Keil and Zangrillo wrote the HBR article “Why Leadership Teams Fail.”

Does your organization lack quality leadership? In this episode of HBR’s advice podcast, Dear HBR:, cohosts Alison Beard and Dan McGinn answer your questions with the help of Peter Bregman, the CEO of Bregman Partners and author of the book Leading with Emotional Courage. They talk through what to do when your leaders are indecisive, unprofessional, or value the wrong things.

Lots of people’s career timelines go something like this: graduate, get a job, get promoted, and keep climbing until you reach the top. Somewhere along the way, they go on autopilot—accepting each new role as it comes, without much thought. And before they know it, they’re positioned for the c-suite. This is exactly what happened to Sarah, a woman who’s on the cusp of a C-level role. But like many leaders, she’s reached a point where the logical next step no longer aligns with what really motivates her. If you can relate, you’ll get a lot from this conversation on Coaching Real Leaders—where executive coach Muriel Wilkins helps Sarah figure out if the next step is truly right for her, or if it’s just the one she feels like she’s supposed to take.