IMD Annual Report 2019

35

IMD’s faculty produces influential and thought-provoking articles that drive the thought leadership debate on the global economy, inform executive and organizational development, and resonate with audiences of top academic and business journals across the world.

In 2019, IMD’s production included:

IT’S TIME TO TACKLE YOUR TEAM’S UNDISCUSSABLES Ginka Toegel, Jean-Louis Barsoux MIT Sloan Management Review

We believe the article struck a chord with readers because ‘undiscussables’ are so common in teams. They cause a lot of frustration, stress and inefficiency. At the same time, they are widely misunderstood. Besides taboo subjects that no one dares to mention, ‘undiscussables’ also include thoughts and emotions that lie below the surface and cannot be properly articulated by teammembers. We find it helpful to distinguish between four types of ‘undiscussable’, each with its own drivers and solutions: things we think but don’t say, things we say but don’t mean, things we feel but can’t name, and things we do but don’t realize. While there is some overlap, differentiating between ‘undiscussables’ helps executives tackle themmore effectively.”

Jean-Louis Barsoux IMD Term Research Professor