Learn More About Emily Tedards
Emily Tedards is a graduate researcher in organizational behavior at Harvard Business School and a doctoral fellow with the Reimagining the Economy Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School. She is co-author of “Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation” (March 2026), along with HBS professor Linda A. Hill and Jason Wild, former Salesforce and Microsoft executive.
Tedards studies cross-sector collaboration, organizational design and innovation. Her research examines how business, government and civil society actors collaborate to solve complex problems – from local economic development and climate change to the transformation of industries and nations. Tedards has published over 20 case studies and articles on leadership, innovation ecosystems, digital transformation, and corporate accelerators and innovation labs. She has collaborated with multinational companies, start-ups and non-profits across the globe, including Comcast NBC Universal, Delta Air Lines, Google, Mastercard, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Dubai International Financial Centre, African Food Changemakers, Sampark Foundation, All Nippon Airways, avatarin and Together for Sustainability.
Tedards is currently a senior consultant at Paradox Strategies and has served as a research consultant for the United Nations, Harvard Business School’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness and several non-profits and think tanks. She studied liberal studies and philosophy at New York University and earned her MSc from the London School of Economics.
Emily Tedards is available to advise your organization via virtual and in-person consulting meetings, interactive workshops and customized keynotes through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers & Advisors, a division of Stern Strategy Group®.
“Genius at Scale” and the Modern Model of Leadership
Classic management theory details how executives should think about their overall organization and its structure. But, according to Harvard Business School graduate researcher Emily Tedards, modern leadership requires a more holistic, system-wide approach. In this revealing presentation, she draws on her co-authored book “Genius at Scale” (March 2026) to explain that today’s most successful leaders deliver value for their firms and society by driving innovation at the interorganizational level. In addition to learning how today’s executives can personally manage their organizations, teams and even themselves, audiences gain practical insight from this timely talk. They leave with principles and inspirational examples that activate a sense of possibility for scaling innovation, transformation and culture change by influencing the behavior of individuals and organizations beyond the bounds of their formal authority.
Turn Decision-Making Into a Powerful Innovation Catalyst
At today’s speed of business and competition, effective decision-making is more vital than ever. When executing breakthrough ideas could be the difference between organizational survival and failure, how can leaders cultivate environments where agile, innovative decision-making can flourish? In this eye-opening presentation, Harvard Business School graduate researcher Emily Tedards draws on her highly-praised Harvard Business Review article, “Drive Innovation with Better Decision-Making,” to teach leaders how to balance cadence, various points of view and even conflicts to coalesce around choices that will enhance innovative outcomes. Audiences leave with practical steps for bringing together agility, experimentation, highly relevant data and diverse viewpoints to turn decision-making roadblocks into new ways of moving from ideation to successful innovation.
How Setting Aside Competition for Collaboration Can Change the World
When firms shift their thinking from competition to collaboration, the results can be powerful. According to Harvard Business School graduate researcher Emily Tedards, when organizations work together, whether they’re in different industries or sectors, they positively impact everything from local economic development to climate change. In this uplifting session, Tedards details how private-private and private-public cross-sector partnerships can achieve research and development breakthroughs, set new standards, empower growth and prosperity, and solve big societal problems. Audiences leave with a new lens on how setting aside competition in favor of collaboration can scale innovation across industries, regions, and lift all boats in service of society at large.
