Dr. Leslie John

Dr. Leslie K. John is the James E. Burke Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and an award-winning behavioural scientist whose work sits at the intersection of decision-making, communication, trust, and influence. Known for bringing cutting-edge research to life, Dr. John helps leaders and organizations understand how what we choose to reveal, conceal, and communicate shapes performance, relationships, and culture.

At Harvard Business School, Dr. John teaches negotiation, marketing, and behavioural economics across Executive Education programs, including the Program for Leadership Development, and has also taught extensively in both the required and elective MBA curriculum. Her work focuses on how people make decisions, when those decisions serve them well, and when they lead them astray. In one primary stream of research, she studies privacy and self-disclosure, exploring what drives people to share or withhold personal information and how organizations use of personal data affects trust and behaviour. In another stream, she studies health decision-making, developing psychologically informed interventions to help people make better, more sustainable choices.

Dr. John’s research has been published in many of the world’s leading academic journals, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Psychological Science, Management Science, the Journal of Marketing Research, and the Journal of the American Medical Association. Her work has been widely featured in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Time Magazine, and The Economist. She has received numerous honours for her contributions to behavioural science, including awards from the Association for Psychological Science and the Marketing Science Institute, and was named a Wired Innovation Fellow.

A sought-after keynote speaker and advisor, Dr. John has worked with organizations including Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, PepsiCo, Mars, WeightWatchers International, Genzyme, GlaxoSmithKline, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. She also provides expert testimony on issues related to consumer behaviour, privacy, and disclosure. Known for her dynamic, story-driven presentations that blend sharp insight, humour, and interactive moments, she equips leaders and teams with practical tools to communicate more effectively, make smarter decisions, and build stronger, more trusting relationships.

Dr. John is also the author of the acclaimed book Revealing, which challenges the common belief that saying less is safer. Drawing on more than a decade of research, the book shows how thoughtful openness can strengthen relationships, improve influence, enhance wellbeing, and lead to more meaningful connections.