From the director's blog it would seem that the best choice is a supervisor. She refers to a "developmental distance" that seems best suited to the relationship between a candidate and their superior:
"I stand by our general advice on recommendations: the most important thing is to choose people who know you well enough to answer the questions we are asking. Many recommendations are well-written and enthusiastic in their praise but essentially full of adjectives and short on actual examples of how your wonderful qualities play out in real life. What we are hoping for are brief recounts of specific situations and how you performed.
We ask for three — and we are fine with several different combinations. It's fine to have all three recommendations come from your current firm/organization. It's fine to have one from a former employer. It's also fine to have one come from someone who has supervised or observed you in a non-work situation — community service or campus leadership, for example.
[b]Note that we are not looking for a peer recommendation — we find it most helpful if there is some developmental distance between you and the recommender[/color][/color]. [/b]The exception to this might be when you have worked on an entrepreneurial venture or project and the only person able to help us understand your involvement is a partner or colleague" (2009)
nikki4nikki
emont
What's the consensus on best sources for recommendations? I was planning on going with two of the same three I'd used for my previous applications (2 former bosses and 1 current boss) but I just noticed that HBS allows you to use a subordinate or direct report as a recommender. Every other school explicitly prohibits doing so.
I can't imagine a recommendation being taken very seriously if it was written by a direct report, even if it was a former direct report. Am I right here?
Are peers considered a valid option if it's someone who knows you well in a professional setting? I'm having a hard time getting ahold of one of my former bosses so I was leaning towards using the same peer who wrote the required peer recommendation for my GSB app.
for mine, i had a former boss, a current boss and a direct report from my EC activity. I think the direct report can give a different pperspective that bosses cannot necessarily give like how you lead or what kind of person you are to work for.