In today’s hyper-competitive landscape, many organizations face a frustrating paradox: they’re under immense pressure to innovate, yet traditional methods often lead to burnout and false promises. And even worse, trying to force creativity often stifles the very breakthroughs that give you an edge.
Drawing on groundbreaking research from her new book, Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation (co-authored with Linda A. Hill and Jason Wild), Emily Tedards introduces a real-world alternative to these modern leadership challenges. This session moves beyond theory to show that true impact comes from co-creation: the art of collaborating, experimenting, and learning from others. Featuring stories from global leaders at organizations like Mastercard, Pfizer, and Procter & Gamble, Tedards provides a research-based framework for leading innovation that is both built to scale and to last.
To drive this genius at scale, leaders must master The ABC’s – a repertoire of three interrelated roles: the Architect, the Bridger, and the Catalyst. This framework, which was a finalist for the 2025 Thinkers50 Innovation Award, reimagines leadership as the art of creating an environment where co-creation and innovation can thrive.
Practical Tools and Strategies You’ll Gain
- Build a Culture of Co-creation: Design your organization as an Architect to build the culture and capabilities you need for co-creation.
- Bridge the Gap to New Opportunities: Work outside boundaries as a Bridger to build partnerships that give you access to new talent and tools.
- Provide the Spark to Scale: Launch movements as a Catalyst to spread and scale innovation across your entire ecosystem.
Ideal Participants for This Conversation
- Current or aspiring leaders who want to stop guessing at innovation and start applying a proven, science-based model for cultivating genius at scale.
Join Emily Tedards to discover how to drive innovation and find the confidence to lead through modern organizational challenges.
About the Author
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, a 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.
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