A Dartmouth professor says these 5 traits distinguish ‘superbosses’ from average leaders

Brad Barket/AP

Former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart is an example of a “superboss.”

If you look at the top players within a single industry, you might notice an interesting pattern: Many of them once worked for the same person.

That leader is what Dartmouth business professor Sydney Finkelstein calls a “superboss,” or a manager who spawns the next generation of talent by turning their employees into stars.

Examples of superbosses include Jon Stewart, former host of “The Daily Show”; Larry Ellison, cofounder and former CEO of Oracle; Alice Waters, owner of the Chez Panisse restaurant; and fashion designer Ralph Lauren.

In his new book, “Superbosses,” Finkelstein explores exactly how those leaders go about spotting and cultivating brilliance. He identifies five key traits of a superboss, no matter what industry they work in.

Importantly, Finkelstein notes that the superboss mentality is completely learnable, meaning that any leader can become one, if they embody the following qualities:

1. Fearlessness

Finkelstein observed that superbosses often demonstrate tremendous fearlessness in their personal lives. For example, Larry Ellison enjoys the dangerous sport of sailboat racing, and the restaurateur Norman Brinker (another superboss) was an Olympian.

Playing competitive sports isn’t necessary for superboss status. But in an interview with Business Insider, Finkelstein said that sense of fearlessness often translates to innovativeness at work. Superbosses are rarely content with the status quo, and they encourage and expect their employees to be equally innovative.

In the book, Finkelstein cites former hedge fund manager and superboss Julian Robertson, who would sit in the middle of the office and debate his analysts’ ideas. If he thought an idea was bad, he wouldn’t hesitate to say so. Employees learned that Robertson wanted innovation in the form of new ideas, and that they shouldn’t be afraid of getting pushback from him.

2. Competitiveness

Finkelstein writes that superbosses thrive on competition: “They seek it out, and they create it.” At the same time, they manage to encourage collaboration between employees as well.

Robertson, for example, would hold sessions in which a few analysts got to show him what they were working on.

As one hedge fund manager who once worked for Robertson told Finkelstein: “There were always 50 people around the table at different times, and you were competitive with them in that you were fighting for capital, fighting for attention, for being the best person at the firm, the most profitable person in your age group … but we all want to make the pie grow, because that is in all of our best interests.”

3. Imaginativeness

“Superbosses are visionaries,” Finkelstein writes. “They think intensely about what they could be and are fired up to turn their dreams into a reality.”

A former marketing and sales executive for Ralph Lauren told Finkelstein that when he met with Lauren, they would talk about dreams: “If you were skiing in Aspen what would you wear, what kind of comforter would you have, what kind of car would you drive?”

4. Integrity

Finkelstein defines integrity as “strict adherence to a core vision or sense of self.” They know exactly what their beliefs and values are, and are committed to maintaining them.

This trait differentiates superbosses from leaders who are primarily interested in developing their own ego, Finkelstein says.

A maestro who once worked for the superboss conductor Jorma Panula told Finkelstein: Panula “is not interested in all the traffic. He’s just interested in making music the best that he can.”

5. Authenticity

Superbosses aren’t afraid to reveal their true personalities in interactions with employees, Finkelstein says.

One conductor told him about dining with Panula at a restaurant where music was playing in the background. Panula didn’t like the music and asked the waiter to turn it down. When the waiter declined, claiming that some customers were enjoying it, Panula shouted to the whole restaurant, “Is there anyone who wants to hear?” No one answered and Panula told the waiter he could shut it off.

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