Bloomberg Center for Cities

Linda Hill on Genius at Scale: Leadership for an Era of Change

AN EVENT OF THE BLOOMBERG CENTER FOR CITIES

REGISTER


12:00 p.m. EST 
Bloomberg Center for Cities, Taubman Third Floor, Harvard Kennedy School

About the Event

Cities today face increasingly complex challenges from housing affordability and public health to climate resilience and the responsible adoption of new technologies. Meeting these challenges requires leaders who can mobilize talent, foster collaboration, and create the conditions for innovation across organizations and sectors.

Join the Bloomberg Center for Cities for a conversation with Linda Hill, renowned leadership scholar, Harvard Business School professor, and author of “Genius at Scale” with Jan Rivkin of Harvard Business School. Drawing on decades of research and work with organizations around the world, Hill will explore how leaders can unlock collective intelligence and build cultures where innovation can flourish.

The discussion will examine what it takes to harness diverse perspectives, cultivate collaboration, and lead through uncertainty and change. These questions sit at the heart of the Bloomberg Center for Cities’ mission to help city leaders navigate complexity and increase their capacity to deliver results for residents.

Attendees will gain practical insights into leadership, organizational transformation, and innovation, while exploring how ideas developed across disciplines can inform the practice of city leadership. The event will conclude with an audience Q&A.

Virtual event open to all. In-person event open to all Harvard University ID holders. Registration is requested as space is limited. Doors open and lunch available for in-person attendees at 11:45 a.m.

We welcome individuals with accessibility needs to participate in our events. Contact us at events@cities.harvard.edu to request accommodations or if you have questions.

Speakers

Linda A. Hill

Linda Hill

Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Linda A. Hill is regarded as one of the top experts on leadership and innovation. Hill is the co-author of “Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation” (Harvard Business Review Press 2014), co-founder of Paradox Strategies, and co-creator of the Innovation Quotient, re:Route, and re:Mind. Hill co-founded InnovationForce, a SaaS company using AI and machine learning to accelerate the process of innovation. It was named by “Fast Company” as a 2023 and 2024 “Innovative Company to Watch.” She was named by Thinkers50 as one of the top ten management thinkers in the world in 2013, 2021, and 2025 and received the Thinkers50 Innovation Award in 2015. Hill’s “Collective Genius” has also been named to the inaugural Thinkers50 Booklist: 10 Management Classics for 2022. Hill is a coauthor of the book “Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation,” which introduces the three roles of leading innovation at scale across organizations and ecosystems: the leader as architect, bridger, and catalyst. “Genius at Scale” has been recognized on the global stage, having been shortlisted for the 2025 Thinkers50 Innovation Award. She was named one of six Innovation Luminaries at the FEI25 Awards (2025) by “All Things Innovation,” which celebrates trailblazers advancing the practice and understanding of innovation worldwide. Hill is the recipient of the 2026 Institute for Management Studies Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her extraordinary contributions to the fields of leadership, innovation, and organizational effectiveness.

Jan Rivkin

Jan Rivkin

C. Roland Christensen Professor of Business Administration; Emma Bloomberg Professor, Harvard Business School

Jan W. Rivkin is a Professor in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School. In the past, he has served as Faculty Chair of the MBA Program, Senior Associate Dean for Research, and head of the Strategy Unit. His research, course development, and teaching focus on two topics: business strategy and U.S. competitiveness.

Rivkin received his Ph.D. in Business Economics from Harvard. Earlier, he studied chemical engineering and public policy at Princeton and obtained a M.Sc. in economics from the London School of Economics on a Marshall Scholarship. Prior to pursuing his doctorate, Rivkin led case teams and managed client relationships at Monitor Company, a strategy consulting firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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