Leadership guru Sydney Finkelstein on "Superbosses"

Leadership: Inspire Greatness In Others

Through the years, I have studied the leadership habits of executives and top professionals. My goal is to observe how professionals lead teams and organizations in a variety of industries. Furthermore, I look to document similarities and differences to create a complete picture of leaders across industries. In my latest book, I focus on leaders who are “superbosses.” In other words, these are leaders who help employees accomplish more than they ever thought possible.

Superbosses have a holistic effect on the entire organization. From enhancing an executive’s profile to building team chemistry, the impact is enormous. To begin creating the superboss profile, I interviewed proteges and colleagues who are closest to these leaders. These stories helped to create what I call the “superboss playbook” – which provides a summary of how to become a more effective leader.

For example, one skill that every superboss has is the ability to find great talent. Today, businesses and leaders struggle to find talent – mainly because they do not innovate. As a result, one of the most important learnings to be gained from superbosses is learning to find people to drive your business forward. There are a number of hiring techniques that we cover in the superboss playbook. However, the most important factor in finding great talent is to create inspiration. In other words, great leaders must compel people to join their team because something big is happening. For example, one of the subjects that I interviewed said, “it should feel like a train is leaving the station and you don’t want to be late.” Most importantly, superbosses create a sense of urgency and excitement about what they’re doing. For instance, one of the people I interviewed said that she was asked to join an organization that same day. In her words, she said “I would have joined yesterday.” This is leadership at its best – inspiring people to have belief in your vision and ultimately say “this is where I want to be.”   Click here for our latest blog posts