How Great Leaders Are Made: Insights from The Economist’s "Boss Class"

Guest: Andrew Palmer, The Economist columnist & Boss Class host

What makes a great boss, and why do so many managers get it wrong? The Economist columnist and Boss Class host Andrew Palmer joins Maureen Metcalf to break down what actually works in leadership today. From radical autonomy at Supercell to intentional culture-building at Toyota, this episode explores real-world strategies for creating high-performance teams and organizations.

Learn how qualities like self-awareness, transparency, and systems-thinking separate mediocre managers from truly effective leaders. Whether you’re new to management or shaping culture as a CEO, these stories and insights will elevate your leadership practice.

Here's what Andrew and Maureen cover:

• Why most managers never receive formal training (and what to do about it);
• How exceptional leaders optimize their impact; and
• Radical autonomy and other ways Supercell, Stryker, Toyota, Novo Nordisk, and others create the world’s top workplaces.

Other episodes you'll enjoy:

- From Ego to Impact with New Rhein’s Subhanu Saxena

- The White House Lessons for Every Leader with Presidential Advisor Betsy Myers

- Hilton’s Pillars for Thriving After Disaster with Hampton Inns & Spark SVP Shruti Gandhi Buckley

For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

 

RESOURCES:  

You can find Andrew’s Boss Class (and other podcasts from The Economist) at  http://bit.ly/3HR1ATy.

 

Andrew’s Bartleby column is online at https://www.economist.com/topics/bartleby.

 

Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 

 

Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.

 

Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 

 

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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  

Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf

Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko

Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan

Booking Producer: Jenna Reik

Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.

CONNECT WITH US: 

YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 

Instagram: @innovativeleader 

Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 

 

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About Our Guest:  

Andrew Palmer writes the Bartleby column on the workplace, and is the host of “Boss Class”, our limited-season podcast on management. He was formerly Britain editor, executive editor, business-affairs editor, head of the data team, Americas editor, finance editor and banking correspondent, having joined The Economist as management correspondent in February 2007.