Marshall Goldsmith
Encyclopedia
Marshall Goldsmith is an American
author of management-related literature, professor, executive educator and coach. Born in Valley Station, Kentucky
, he received his BS from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
in 1970, his MBA from Indiana University
's Kelley School of Business in 1972 (from which he received the 2009 Distinguished Entrepreneur Award), and his PhD from UCLA Anderson School of Management in 1977 (where he was recognized in 2010 as one of the school's 100 most inspirational alumni over the past 75 years). From 1976-1980 he was Assistant Professor and then Associate Dean at Loyola Marymount University
’s College of Business. He currently teaches executive education at Dartmouth College
's Tuck School
, and he frequently speaks at leading business schools.
In 1977, he met Dr. Paul Hersey
, a noted consultant in leadership development, and began his work of teaching executives and managers. He was later co-founder of Keilty, Goldsmith and Company and is now a partner in the Marshall Goldsmith Group, a network of top-level executive educators and coaches.
Goldsmith was a pioneer in the use of customized 360-degree feedback
(confidential feedback from direct reports, peers and managers) as a leadership development tool. His early efforts in providing feedback and then following-up with executives to measure changes in behavior were precursors to what eventually evolved as the field of ‘executive coaching.’ In acknowledgment of his work in helping leaders change behavior, he received his first national recognition in 1993, being ranked as one of the top ten executive educators in the Wall Street Journal.
While serving as a board member of the Peter Drucker Foundation in 1996, Goldsmith co-edited his first book, The Leader of the Future (with Frances Hesselbein
and Richard Beckhard
). Peter Drucker
wrote the foreword for this book. This book has since sold hundreds of thousands of copies and has been translated into 28 languages. It is perhaps the most popular edited book on leadership ever written. The success of this first book led Goldsmith (with Frances Hesselbein and the Drucker Foundation, which became the Leader to Leader Institute) to co-edit six more books, which have been extremely well received in their field.
Goldsmith's work in helping successful leaders achieve positive lasting change in behavior has been featured in a The New Yorker
profile, Harvard Business Review
interview, Forbes
feature story and Business Strategy Review cover story (from the London Business School
). He is one of the few executive advisors who has been asked to work with more than 120 major CEOs and their management teams. In 2009 Dr. Goldsmith was recognized as one of the fifteen most influential business thinkers in the world in the bi-annual study sponsored by The (London) Times and Forbes. In 2005 he was elected as a Fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources – and recognized in Business Week as one of the most influential practitioners in the history of leadership development. In 2004 he was recognized by the American Management Association
as one of 50 great thinkers and business leaders who have impacted the field of management over the past 80 years.
Goldsmith is the author or co-editor of 31 books, including What Got You Here Won’t Get You There (a New York Times best-seller, Wall Street Journal #1 Business Book and winner of the Harold Longman Award as Best Business Book of the Year). Harvard Business School
has recommended six of his books in their Working Knowledge series. Almost all of Dr. Goldsmith's articles, interviews, columns and videos are available for viewing and sharing online (free of charge) at the Marshall Goldsmith Library. By the end of 2010, visitors representing 195 countries had viewed, listened to, or downloaded more than 5.6 million articles, columns, interviews, webinars, audios, videos and resource pages from this site.
Several themes run through Goldsmith’s writings:
. He has two children, Bryan Goldsmith and Dr. Kelly Goldsmith. Kelly was a contestant on the third season of the hit CBS
show Survivor, which took place in Africa
that season. She then received her Ph.D. from Yale University and is currently an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. Bryan is working in the family business with his father.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author of management-related literature, professor, executive educator and coach. Born in Valley Station, Kentucky
Valley Station, Kentucky
Valley Station is a former census-designated place in southwest Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 23,489 at the 2010 census. When the government of Jefferson County merged with the city of Louisville, Kentucky in 2003, residents of Valley Station also became citizens of...
, he received his BS from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology , formerly Rose Polytechnic Institute, is a small private college specializing in teaching engineering, mathematics, and science. RHIT is highly regarded for its undergraduate engineering program, which US News and World Reports ranked in 2011 as No...
in 1970, his MBA from Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
's Kelley School of Business in 1972 (from which he received the 2009 Distinguished Entrepreneur Award), and his PhD from UCLA Anderson School of Management in 1977 (where he was recognized in 2010 as one of the school's 100 most inspirational alumni over the past 75 years). From 1976-1980 he was Assistant Professor and then Associate Dean at Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
’s College of Business. He currently teaches executive education at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
's Tuck School
Tuck School of Business
The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration is the graduate business school of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States...
, and he frequently speaks at leading business schools.
In 1977, he met Dr. Paul Hersey
Paul Hersey
Paul Hersey is a behavioral scientist and entrepreneur. He is best known for conceiving Situational Leadership. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard published Management of Organization Behavior- now in its ninth edition....
, a noted consultant in leadership development, and began his work of teaching executives and managers. He was later co-founder of Keilty, Goldsmith and Company and is now a partner in the Marshall Goldsmith Group, a network of top-level executive educators and coaches.
Goldsmith was a pioneer in the use of customized 360-degree feedback
360-degree feedback
In human resources or industrial/organizational psychology, 360-degree feedback, also known as multi-rater feedback, multisource feedback, or multisource assessment, is feedback that comes from all around an employee. "360" refers to the 360 degrees in a circle, with an individual figuratively in...
(confidential feedback from direct reports, peers and managers) as a leadership development tool. His early efforts in providing feedback and then following-up with executives to measure changes in behavior were precursors to what eventually evolved as the field of ‘executive coaching.’ In acknowledgment of his work in helping leaders change behavior, he received his first national recognition in 1993, being ranked as one of the top ten executive educators in the Wall Street Journal.
While serving as a board member of the Peter Drucker Foundation in 1996, Goldsmith co-edited his first book, The Leader of the Future (with Frances Hesselbein
Frances Hesselbein
Frances Hesselbein is the President and CEO of Leader to Leader Institute and is its Founding President....
and Richard Beckhard
Richard Beckhard
Richard Beckhard was a pioneer in the field of organizational development. He co-launched theAddison-Wesley Organization Development Series and began the Organization Development Network in 1967. His classic work, Organization Development: Strategies and Models, was published in 1969. Beckhard...
). Peter Drucker
Peter Drucker
Peter Ferdinand Drucker was an influential writer, management consultant, and self-described “social ecologist.”-Introduction:...
wrote the foreword for this book. This book has since sold hundreds of thousands of copies and has been translated into 28 languages. It is perhaps the most popular edited book on leadership ever written. The success of this first book led Goldsmith (with Frances Hesselbein and the Drucker Foundation, which became the Leader to Leader Institute) to co-edit six more books, which have been extremely well received in their field.
Goldsmith's work in helping successful leaders achieve positive lasting change in behavior has been featured in a The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
profile, Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review is a general management magazine published since 1922 by Harvard Business School Publishing, owned by the Harvard Business School. A monthly research-based magazine written for business practitioners, it claims a high ranking business readership among academics, executives,...
interview, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
feature story and Business Strategy Review cover story (from the London Business School
London Business School
London Business School is an international business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London, located in central London, beside Regent's Park...
). He is one of the few executive advisors who has been asked to work with more than 120 major CEOs and their management teams. In 2009 Dr. Goldsmith was recognized as one of the fifteen most influential business thinkers in the world in the bi-annual study sponsored by The (London) Times and Forbes. In 2005 he was elected as a Fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources – and recognized in Business Week as one of the most influential practitioners in the history of leadership development. In 2004 he was recognized by the American Management Association
American Management Association
The American Management Association , based in New York City, is a corporate training and consulting group that provides a variety of educational and management development services to businesses, government agencies and individuals. The non-profit membership organization offers business courses in...
as one of 50 great thinkers and business leaders who have impacted the field of management over the past 80 years.
Goldsmith is the author or co-editor of 31 books, including What Got You Here Won’t Get You There (a New York Times best-seller, Wall Street Journal #1 Business Book and winner of the Harold Longman Award as Best Business Book of the Year). Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
has recommended six of his books in their Working Knowledge series. Almost all of Dr. Goldsmith's articles, interviews, columns and videos are available for viewing and sharing online (free of charge) at the Marshall Goldsmith Library. By the end of 2010, visitors representing 195 countries had viewed, listened to, or downloaded more than 5.6 million articles, columns, interviews, webinars, audios, videos and resource pages from this site.
Several themes run through Goldsmith’s writings:
- The same beliefs that lead to our success – can make it very difficult for us to change behavior – and, as difficult as it is to change our own behavior, it is even more difficult to change others’ perception of our behavior.
- The behavior of leaders needs to be reflective of the stated values of the corporation – and key executives need to ‘go first’ in modeling positive behavioral change.
- Managers who receive feedback and engage in ongoing follow-up with co-workers will almost always achieve positive, change in behavior and be seen as more effective leaders by their key stakeholders. This was shown in a Strategy+Business article that involved over 86,000 respondents. (In 2010 this article, "Leadership Is a Contact Sport," was recognized as one of the greatest articles ever published in Strategy+Business.)
- The key to success in executive coaching is not the coach (who is a facilitator of change) – it is the people being coached and their key stakeholders.
- Leadership development should provide tools that can be used in a positive, simple, focused and fast manner. Complex theories of change, while interesting, will not work in the ‘real world’ with over-extended executives.
- Most executive education has historically been based upon an invalid assumption, “If they understand – they will do.” The basic challenge faced by managers is not understanding the practice of leadership – it is practicing their understanding of leadership.
Professional recognition
Along with the American Management Association and National Academy of Human Resources, Goldsmith’s work has been recognized by almost every professional organization in his field, including the:- Academy of ManagementAcademy of ManagementThe Academy of Management is a professional association for scholars dedicated to creating and disseminating knowledge about management and organizations. The Academy of Management was established in 1936...
, - Thinkers50,
- Best Practice Institute,
- Human Resource Planning Society,
- American Society for Training and Development,
- Institute for Management Studies (where in 2009 he became the second recipient of the IMS Lifetime Achievement Award), and
- Leader to Leader Institute (where in 2010 he became the fifth recipient of the Leader of the Future Award).
Major press acknowledgments
- The Times - 15 Greatest Business Thinkers in the World
- BusinessWeek - 50 Great Leaders in America
- Wall Street Journal - Top Ten Executive Educators
- Forbes - Five Most-Respected Executive Coaches
- Leadership Excellence - Top 5 Leadership Thinkers
- The Economic TimesThe Economic TimesThe Economic Times is an English-language Indian daily newspaper published by the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.. The Economic Times was started in 1961. It is the most popular and widely read financial daily in India, read by more than 8 lakh people...
(India) - Top CEO Coaches of America - Economist (United Kingdom) - Most Credible Executive Advisors in the New Era of Business
- Fast CompanyFast Company (magazine)Fast Company is a full-color business magazine that releases 10 issues per year and reports on topics including innovation, digital media, technology, change management, leadership, design, and social responsibility...
- America's Preeminent Executive Coach
Volunteer work
- Volunteer Teacher for US Army Generals, Navy Admirals, Girl Scout and International Red Cross Executives
- National Volunteer of the Year for American Red Cross
Biography
Marshall Goldsmith lives with his wife, Dr. Lyda Goldsmith, in Rancho Santa Fe, CaliforniaRancho Santa Fe, California
Rancho Santa Fe known locally as ″The Ranch″, is one of the most exclusive and affluent communities in Southern California. It is also a census-designated place in San Diego County, California and an unincorporated bedroom community of San Diego County...
. He has two children, Bryan Goldsmith and Dr. Kelly Goldsmith. Kelly was a contestant on the third season of the hit CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
show Survivor, which took place in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
that season. She then received her Ph.D. from Yale University and is currently an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. Bryan is working in the family business with his father.