In the Media
Mentions & Appearances
Managing Talent
Jul 13, 2020 // Continued coverage of Sydney Finkelstein’s conversation with Knowledge@Wharton exploring how talent development and managing talent will be increasingly important in a post-COVID world.
View at The Economic Times
Why Nurturing Talent Will Help Companies Survive the Pandemic
Jun 29, 2020 // In a wide-ranging interview, Sydney Finkelstein discusses his research on the world’s best leaders, how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted leadership, and more.
View at Knowledge@Wharton
Why Expertise Can Lead to Bad Decision-Making
May 07, 2020 // Features research by Sydney Finkelstein exploring the “expertise trap”— when specialists are so accomplished in their specific area that they develop blind spots that stop them from seeing new situations or coming up with innovative solutions.
View at European CEO
The Expertise Trap: When a Lot of Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing
Mar 10, 2020 // Highlights research by Sydney Finkelstein examining the expertise trap and how it can be avoided. Finkelstein says that when someone becomes an expert in a given field they can become incurious, complacent, and overconfident.
View at Thrive Global
Goldman Sachs’ Outgoing HR Chief Says Any Leader Who Doesn't Wake up Every Morning Worried about Losing Top Talent Probably Isn't a Very Good Manager
Nov 05, 2019 // An article about how Goldman Sachs attracts and retains top talent highlights research by Sydney Finkelstein examining the traits of the best business leaders. Finkelstein finds that often the best managers recognize when it’s time to let go of a stellar employee who’s taking the next step in their career.
View at Business Insider
How Superbosses Lead Differently With Sydney Finkelstein
Oct 29, 2019 // “Spend the time to get to know your team members as persons, be genuinely interested in what they do. Help them develop skills,” says Sydney Finkelstein, discussing the skills and mindsets that define great leaders, as a guest on Loop Email’s “In the Loop” podcast.
View at Loop Email
Amy Jen Su on Being the Leader You Want to Be
Sep 30, 2019 // An interview with executive coach Amy Jen Su mentions Superbosses by Sydney Finkelstein.
View at Forbes
Here's What Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and 53 Other Successful People Ask Job Candidates during Interviews
Aug 22, 2019 // Mentions anecdotes from Superbosses by Sydney Finkelstein. One insight uncovered by Finkelstein is that superbosses are confident enough in their own abilities that they aren't worried about employees outshining them.
View at Business Insider
Colleagues, Community, Culture Are the “Location, Location, Location” of Satisfying Careers
Aug 21, 2019 // Mentions Sydney Finkelstein’s research examining the best managers in the world, which found that great bosses often encourage the success of future waves of talent.
View at Thrive Global
Simone Biles and the Power of Risk-Taking
Aug 16, 2019 // A leadership strategy article about the need to take risks cites Sydney Finkelstein’s June 2019 article in Harvard Business Review. “It’s important to push the limits of your comfort zone, even if there’s a danger you’ll fall on your face,” writes Finkelstein.
View at Forbes
Beware Those Employee Engagement Surveys—They Can Distract You from Your Career
Jul 15, 2019 // Highlights management research by Sydney Finkelstein which finds that the best managers are often those who take a personal interest in an employee’s present and future career goals.
View at Forbes
A Brief Exercise to Spur Innovation on Your Team
Jul 10, 2019 // “It’s easy for teams and organizations to fall into a pattern of reacting to change,” writes Sydney Finkelstein in an article about how to spur innovation. “But why can’t you be the aggressive, proactive ones? You can.”
View at Harvard Business Review
Coffee Tests and Jumbo Jets: Do Trick Questions in Interviews Drive the Best Talent Away?
Jun 11, 2019 // Features insights by Sydney Finkelstein about the unusual hiring practices of the world’s best managers, particularly Larry Ellison at Oracle.
View at Smart Company
Superbosses Playbook: Bureaucracy Busters
May 30, 2019 // “If excessive bureaucracy is slowing your team down, don’t simply enact reforms yourself — enlist your team to help solve the problem,” writes Sydney Finkelstein.
View at Better Humans
To Reduce Stress, Try Adopting the “Five ‘Ates” Approach
May 29, 2019 // Highlights research by Sydney Finkelstein which found that the best managers are also great delegators.
View at Thrive Global
Rise of the Next-Gen Bank CEO
Apr 30, 2019 // “There’s always been a lot of variation with respect to how CEOs treat people and how they think about employees,” says Sydney Finkelstein. “What’s changed is that those CEOs who spend less time on talent and people issues today are going to pay a bigger price than they ever did before.”
View at American Banker
Don’t Be Blinded by Your Own Expertise
Apr 19, 2019 // “When we begin to identify as experts, our outlook can narrow, both in daily work and in times of crisis,” writes Sydney Finkelstein in Harvard Business Review.
View at Harvard Business Review
Are You a Confident or Overconfident Boss? Here’s How to Tell
Feb 24, 2019 // Four questions to ask yourself to make sure cockiness isn’t interfering with your—and your team’s—performance.
View at Wall Street Journal
Fortune India
Feb 08, 2019 // Mentions Sydney Finkelstein in an article about the role a board plays in monitoring strategy, talent, and culture. In his book Superbosses, Finkelstein makes the case for giving talent and leadership succession highest priority for companies.
View at Fortune India
What Kind of Boss Are You?
Feb 08, 2019 // An excerpt from The Superbosses Playbook, a new companion workbook to Superbosses, by Sydney Finkelstein. In the excerpt, Finkelstein illustrates how managers should approach hiring and working with subordinates that perform at their level, challenge them, or even outshine them.
View at Thrive Global