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Videos

  • Jennifer Petriglieri: How working couples can best support each other
    Jennifer Petriglieri: How working couples can best support each other
  • Couples That Work: How Dual-Career Couples Can Thrive in Love and Work
    Couples That Work: How Dual-Career Couples Can Thrive in Love and Work
  • Marinella Soldi at Discovery Inc.
    Marinella Soldi at Discovery Inc.
  • Jennifer Petriglieri | Dual Career Couples – Fireside Chat
    Jennifer Petriglieri | Dual Career Couples – Fireside Chat
  • Managing talent in the age of two-career couples
    Managing talent in the age of two-career couples
  • Dual-Career Couples and the Balancing Act Between Work and Life
    Dual-Career Couples and the Balancing Act Between Work and Life
  • Jennifer Petriglieri on Elastic Leadership
    Jennifer Petriglieri on Elastic Leadership
  • What the House of Beautiful Business feels like - Jennifer Petriglieri, author of Couples of Work
    What the House of Beautiful Business feels like - Jennifer Petriglieri, author of Couples of Work

Learn More About Jennifer Petriglieri

The success of any organization is inextricably tied to the quality of its leadership. In her work identifying and shaping great leaders, Jennifer Petriglieri (PET-ree-glee-air-ee), Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD, takes a humanistic approach, drawing on scientific research and evidence-based methodologies that improve leadership at every level of an organization.

An award-winning researcher, educator, author and behavioral scientist, Petriglieri helps organizations address a wide range of leadership challenges, from crisis management and gender balance issues to helping leaders understand the psychological workings of team members and group dynamics, so they can optimize performance and foster a more innovative culture. From senior executives to “high potentials” being groomed for the C-suite, she improves the effectiveness of leaders by paying close attention to the dynamics around individual life stories, group memberships, leadership styles, and how people make decisions.

“Great leaders are people who can really understand what’s happening psychologically on a group level and use that understanding to move the needle,” says Petriglieri. “That means being attentive to human dynamics, not just the hard numbers.”

Petriglieri’s research investigates how individuals craft and sustain their personal and professional identities, especially in situations where uncertainty or “threats” exist. Her approach to helping leaders deal with crisis seeks to build a sense of psychological safety so people can be more productive.

When helping organizations address gender issues, Petriglieri plays a dual role as an advisor to executives interested in creating more inclusive work cultures and to women trying to break through barriers to leadership roles. Her proprietary Systemic Web of Challenges framework shows women how to carve out their goals and successfully advance their careers.

Her focus on the role of women in the workplace and the challenges inherent in dual-career marriages led to the publishing of Petriglieri’s highly praised 2019 book, “Couples That Work: How Dual-Career Couples Can Thrive in Love and Work” (Harvard Business Review Press). Her related presentations and workshops on this topic offer employees at all levels useful insights and tools for successfully integrating their career and personal journeys.

“Most leaders focus on individuals and not the human connections among them,” says Petriglieri. “Humanistic leaders understand and leverage group connections to create a productive work environment made up of employees who are happier at work and after hours.”

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Jennifer Petriglieri is an associate professor of organisational behaviour at INSEAD. She directs the Executive Education Management Acceleration Programme, the Women Leaders Programme and the INSEAD Gender Diversity Programme.

An award-winning researcher and teacher, Petriglieri was shortlisted for the Talent award in 2017 and shortlisted for the Radar New Thinker award in 2015 by Thinkers50, the ranking of the most influential management authors in the world. She was also included among the world’s best 40 business school professors under 40 by Poets & Quants.

Her writing has appeared in the Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Learning & Education, and the Journal of Organizational Change Management. It has also been featured in Business Week and Harvard Business Review.

A British citizen, Petriglieri earned a doctorate in organisational behaviour from INSEAD. She also holds an MBA from IMD, Switzerland, and a BSc in genetics from Nottingham University, UK. Prior to joining INSEAD, she was a post-doctoral fellow of organisational behaviour at Harvard Business School. Having lived and worked on three continents, Petriglieri is now settled in France with her husband and two children.

Jennifer Petriglieri 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®.

Jennifer Petriglieri was last modified: March 29th, 2024 by Justin Louis

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Shaping Great Leaders and Accelerating High Potentials

Leaders come from different backgrounds and have varying levels of experience and effectiveness. Not all have had formal training, and even strong leaders can benefit from ongoing executive learning. In this presentation, Jennifer Petriglieri teaches participants – from senior executives to high potentials – a humanistic approach to leadership backed by scientific research and real-world case studies, sharing the same tools and frameworks she’s employed to shape great leaders at major firms around the world.

Restoring Productivity and a Sense of Safety During and After a Crisis

When people are in crisis, their ability to function becomes impaired, resulting in poor decision making, low productivity and sometimes paralyzing anxiety. During this session, Jennifer Petriglieri teaches leaders how to effectively manage employees during and after a crisis. Her framework gives leaders the tools they need to effectively respond to a crisis in a way that gets their employees – and themselves – back to “well-functioning” mode.

Empowering Female Leadership

Much to the chagrin of Gloria Steinem and her tireless predecessors, the glass ceiling still looms overhead for many women looking for a chair in the C-suite or board room. Jennifer Petriglieri is keenly aware of this challenge. In this session, she lays out her proprietary Systemic Web of Challenges framework, which gives both aspiring and established female leaders the insights and tools they need to carve out their goals and successfully advance their careers.

Winning Life Management Tools for Dual Career Couples

Many households today are supported by two working parents. This presents a unique set of challenges at work and at home for these individuals, each of whom are being called upon to effectively lead in both domains. As a mother of two young children and an accomplished educator/advisor whose husband is on a similar career trajectory, Jennifer Petriglieri has firsthand knowledge of this challenge. Drawing on the research and experiences she shared in her acclaimed 2019 book, “Couples That Work,” Professor Petriglieri gives participants the tools they need to establish a satisfying, if not always perfect, balance between work and home life.

Becoming a Resilient and Transformative Leader

Award-winning researcher, educator, author and behavioral scientist INSEAD Professor Jennifer Petriglieri, PhD., helps organizations address a wide range of leadership challenges, including crisis management, gender balance issues, understanding the psychological workings of team members and group dynamics, optimizing performance, and fostering a more innovative culture. Recognized for her interactive workshops designed for all leadership levels – from senior executives to “high potentials” being groomed for the C-suite – she improves the effectiveness of leaders by paying close attention to the forces at work behind individual life stories, group memberships, leadership styles, and how people make decisions. Each session can be customized to meet the needs and goals of your organization with the added option of meeting virtually or in person. Topics covered in Petriglieri’s half- and full-day workshops can include:

    • Leading Transformation
    • Resilient Leadership
    • Shaping Great Leaders and Accelerating High Potentials
    • Restoring Productivity and a Sense of Safety During and After a Crisis
    • Empowering Female Leadership
    • Winning Life Management Tools for Dual Career Couples

Leading Transformation

Transformation is often said to be the measure of a leader. But what does it mean, and what does it take, to “transform” a team, a unit, or a whole organization? “Leaders are often encouraged to make radical changes, and then also resented for it,” explains INSEAD Professor Jennifer Petriglieri. In this interactive workshop, she uses the case of a new leader’s effort to bring changes to the strategy and culture of a media company to discuss how participants might tell when the ‘disrupted’ is a tradition worth preserving, when it is not, and who gets to make that call. The group will recast transformation as a conversation with tradition, in the sense that those who lead it must choose the extent to which they conform and to which they challenge an established order.


Resilient Leadership

The world is changing at an unprecedented pace and with that comes crisis, uncertainty and constant pressure. In this context, the ability for leaders to build their own, their teams’ and their organisation’s resilience is critical. In this dynamic workshop, INSEAD Professor Jennifer Petriglieri will use the case of a leader who is facing a high-pressured situation with a struggling team to discuss the importance of resilience and what gets in the way of its maintenance in organisations. Participants will then do a deep dive into the science of resilience, understanding what (exactly) it is, and how it can be built individually and collectively. Audiences walk away with practical tools to assess and build a plan for improving the resilience of the group.

Praise for “Couples That Work”

“In her illuminating debut, Petriglieri, professor of Organizational Behavior at European graduate school INSEAD, lucidly analyzes the phases of contentment and consternation that professional couples experience. This helpful work’s strength lies in the clarity of Petriglieri’s observations and her closeness to the couples she describes. Petriglieri’s guidance will provide readers with practical strategies for establishing a healthy, supportive, and flexible bond with their partner.”

Publisher's Weekly

“Jennifer Petriglieri hasn’t just spent five years carefully studying the challenges of juggling two careers; she’s lived them personally. In this book she shares what she’s learned about how dual-career couples can not only survive but also thrive.”

Adam Grant, New York Times Bestselling Author, “Originals” and “Give and Take;” Host, TED WorkLife Podcast

“Jennifer Petriglieri provides an elegantly simple yet profoundly insightful road map to the predictable transitions all couples traverse. Through her in-depth research and engrossing stories of couples of all ages, she reveals how each transition can be understood and embraced, leading to a more meaningful relationship and career — for both parties. It’s a definite must-read for any dual-career couple.”

Herminia Ibarra, Professor of Organizational Behavior, London Business School; Author, “Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader”

“Jennifer Petriglieri offers practical, executable tasks and conversational prompts to help couples navigate challenging transitions and renegotiate a shared path as their lives and careers evolve over time. An inspirational read for anyone who is part of a dual-career couple.”

Whitney Johnson, Author, “Disrupt Yourself” and “Build an A-Team”

“Jennifer Petriglieri’s insightful new book is an inspiring read for those trying to manage the many challenges that arise over the course of their professional lives. With extensive research, she explores the deeper dynamics of careers and relationships and offers wise advice and a hands-on approach for couples who want to help each other thrive at work and in their relationships.”

Terri Kelly, Former CEO, W.L. Gore & Associates

“Through vivid life stories, eye-opening research, and insightful analysis, Jennifer Petriglieri shows dual-career couples how to navigate their path at any life stage. ‘Couples That Work’ is a must-read for any couple committed to their relationship and to their careers.”

Francesca Gino, Tandon Family Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Bestselling Author, “Rebel Talent”