Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent - Sydney Finkelstein How would you like to work for someone that inspires you and challenges you to do more than you think you are capable of doing? How would you like to achieve tremendous personal and career success?

 

In Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent1, Sydney Finkelstein “explores the characteristic behaviors of the world’s most effective bosses, upending conventional best practices and presenting a new, comprehensive paradigm for talent development.”2  “Superbosses aren’t like most bosses; they follow a playbook all their own.”3

 

Do you want to become a superboss? You’ll need to learn “the techniques, mind-sets, philosophies, and secrets of the world’s best bosses”4 from the superboss playbook summarized below and integrate them into your current practices.

 

The Superboss Playbook

Superbosses recruit people who “get it.”
Superbosses “sniff out promising employees in the craziest of places. And the people they get are unlike any other: engaged, brilliant, creative – the raw material that may well be the stuff of future superstars.”5 Superbosses focus on identifying unusual intelligence, creativity, and extreme flexibility.6 “They want drivers of change.”7 “They want people who are prepared to transform the very definition of success.”8 “One critical way superbosses do that is by adapting the job description to fit the person, rather than make the person fit the job.”9

Superbosses motivate exceptional people to do the impossible.
Superbosses “drive their people exceptionally hard.”10 “They expect world-class performance.”11 “Entitlement doesn’t fly. You never rest on your laurels, because as high as a superboss’s expectations are, they’re always increasing.”12 “One important way superbosses inspire us is by instilling self-confidence in their protégés.”13 “They envision future possibilities in a way that is utterly compelling.”14 and articulate it in an energizing and exciting way that makes it clear how each employee fits in.15

Superbosses are uncompromisingly open.
Superbosses protect the ‘why’ of their business, but are prepared to constantly improve the ‘how’ of their business as if their life depended on it.16 They “nurture openness is by removing anxieties that get in the way of people doing new things”17 and “by encouraging their employees or associates to never, ever rest on their laurels.”18 “They unleash this talent by inspiring them with a vision, fueling their motivation, and pushing them to the limit while giving them the confidence to excel.”19

Superbosses embrace the apprenticeships.
“The most basic and critical set of practices underlying the apprenticeship model concerns simply being there with employees, getting to know them, and letting them in. You can’t develop a personal approach to training staff if you aren’t there in person (or, if necessary, via communications technology), day in and day out.”20

Superbosses are hands-on delegators.
“Superboss organizations are widely regarded in their industries as launching pads – places where employees can, in the words of protégés, ‘find themselves’ and become ‘capable of doing what we were ultimately meant to do.”21 “Superbosses are able to constantly and rapidly propel their protégés to new heights because they are the consummate delegators, relinquishing a degree of authority and oversight that would make many ordinary bosses cringe.”22 “One thing superbosses are definitely willing to do – and that pure delegators might not – is to jump in to help protégés with unforeseen crises.”23

Superbosses facilitate the “cohort effect.”
“Superbosses understand that teams win more than individuals do – that the potential of a group of immensely talented individuals is greater than the sum of its parts. They explicitly encourage a strong competitive spirit within their teams.”24 “One reason healthy, balanced competition is so valuable for organizations is that it generates a ‘cohort effect’ when it comes to talent; the more you help people become better, the more they help one another get better.”25

Superbosses create networks of success.
“Superbosses nurture their networks because they view it as in their self-interest to do so. Most obviously, superbosses tap their protégés for business opportunities.”26 They “also benefit from ongoing interactions with protégés by gleaning valuable information from their networks, as well as assistance with specific challenges or projects.”27 “When you are a protégé of a superboss, you’re no longer left on your own to sink or swim. You have a godparent and your ‘siblings’ behind you backing you up. It’s a bond that lasts forever; there is no expiration date.”28

 

As Mr. Finkelstein, concludes, “In the end, studying these superbosses gives us a master class in how each of us can make an impact in what we do. Superbosses show us a markedly different and innovative path, one that unites the success of an organization with the people charged with accomplishing that success.”29

What were your takeaways from the superboss playbook? How will you begin to incorporate the advice in the superboss playbook into your current practices?

 

1 Finkelstein, Sydney. Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent. New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2016. Print.
2 Ibid. Pg. 9.
3 Ibid. Pg. 6.
4 Ibid. Pg. 9.
5 Ibid. Pg. 39.
6 Ibid. Pgs. 42-43.
7 Ibid. Pg. 42.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid. Pg. 52.
10 Ibid. Pg. 65.
11 Ibid.
12 Ibid. Pg. 67.
13 Ibid. Pg. 70.
14 Ibid. Pg. 73.
15 Ibid. Pg. 76.
16 Ibid. Pg. 88.
17 Ibid. Pg. 92.
18 Ibid. Pg. 94.
19 Ibid. Pg. 98.
20 Ibid. Pg. 109.
21 Ibid. Pg. 131.
22 Ibid. Pg. 136.
23 Ibid. Pg. 141.
24 Ibid. Pg. 152.
25 Ibid. Pg. 165.
26 Ibid. Pg. 188.
27 Ibid.
28 Ibid. Pg. 180.
29 Ibid. Pg. 220.

 

 

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I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.

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