Rachel Carson is known as a gifted science writer and a trailblazing environmental activist. Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn tells IdeaCast guest host Adi Ignatius that she should also be remembered as a great leader. Carson’s story has lessons for any leader facing an overwhelming challenge that requires resilience and real-time skill-building. In addition, Carson’s ability to carry out her work despite overwhelming family commitments shows that caretaking is an act of leadership.

What does it take to get to the C-suite? Venture capitalist and former tech CEO Mike Troiano has direct experience with that journey. He takes questions from Dear HBR listeners about what to do if you’re falling off the executive track, if you’re moving up but don’t believe in the company’s strategy, or if you have a rival who could block your path to the C-suite.

Jazz pianist and management professor Frank Barrett tells IdeaCast guest host Jeff Kehoe that jazz can teach leaders why it’s important to forgive mistakes that happen as part of exploration and experimentation, as well as the importance of moving beyond problem-solving to embrace an improvisational mindset.

Popular stereotypes of successful CEOs as charismatic white men with Ivy League degrees who never falter under pressure are often misleading.“[T]he CEOs I get to know up close and personal really look nothing like this image of perfection. And so we decided to dig into this with the data,” says Elena Botelho, who co-leads the CEO Genome Project and advises top leaders. Botelho tells IdeaCast host Sarah Green Carmichael that actual success in the C-suite has more to do with being decisive, staying adaptable, and delivering reliable results.Key topics include: leadership development, leadership transitions, decisiveness, adaptability, and results.HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: 4 Behaviors of Top-Performing CEOs (May 2017)Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hbr-ideacast/id152022135?mt=2Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more: https://hbr.org/