Marshall Goldsmith (March 20, 1949) is an American author of management-related literature, professor, consultant and executive coach. Born in Valley Station, Kentucky, he received his BS from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (1970), his MBA from Indiana University (1972) and his PhD from UCLA (1977).^[2] From 1976-2000 he was Assistant Professor and then Associate Dean at Loyola Marymount University’s College of Business. He is currently a professor at Alliant International University, he teaches executive education at Dartmouth College's Tuck School, and he frequently speaks at leading business schools.

In 1977, he met Paul Hersey, a noted consultant in leadership development, and began his work of teaching executives and managers. He was co-founder of Keilty, Goldsmith and Company and eventually of Marshall Goldsmith Partners, a network of top-level executive 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 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 that has ever been 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 helping successful leaders achieve positive lasting change in behavior for themselves, their people and their teams 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 consultants who has been asked to work with more than 80 major CEOs and their management teams. 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. 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 and an icon in the field of executive coaching.

Alliant International University (which evolved from the merger of the California School of Professional Psychology and United States International University) named their graduate colleges of business and organizational psychology the Marshall Goldsmith School of Management in 2006.

Goldsmith is the co-editor or author of 24 books, including The Leader of the Future (a Business Week best-seller), "Coaching for Leadership," and in 2007 What Got You Here Won’t Get You There (a New York Times best-seller, a Wall Street Journal #1 Business Book, a USA TODAY and Business Week #1 best-seller, and a winner of the Harold Longman Award as Best Business Book of 2007). Harvard Business School has recommended six of his books in their Working Knowledge series. His next book project will be "Developing Your Successor" (in the Harvard Business Memo to the CEO series). Many of Marshall's articles, interviews, columns and videos are available for viewing and sharing online (free of charge) at the Marshall Goldsmith Library.

Basic ideas

Several ideas run through most of 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).
• 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.

Awards and Critique

Along with the American Management Association and National Academy of Human Resources, Goldsmith’s work has been recognized by almost every business publication and professional organization in his field, including the:

• Academy of Management
• Institute for Management Studies
• Best Practice Institute
• Human Resource Planning Society and American Society for Training and Development

His ‘pay-only-for-results’ behavioral coaching process has been criticized by some in his field as overly simplistic.

His ‘feedforward’ technique has been criticized for not dealing with the deeper psychological causes of dysfunctional behavior.

Major Press Acknowledgments

• One of the top ten executive educators - Wall Street Journal
• One of five most-respected executive coaches - Forbes
• One of five rajgurus of America - The Economic Times (India)
• One of three most credible executive advisors in the new era of business - Economist (UK)
• America's preeminent executive coach - Fast Company (magazine)

Key Work

• Gets a PhD in Organizational Behavior from the UCLA School of Management (now the Anderson School)
• Teaches then becomes an Associate Dean at Loyola Marymount University
• Works as a leadership development teacher with Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard
• Is recognized in the Wall Street Journal as one of the top ten executive educators
• Co-edits "The Leader of the Future" with Frances Hesselbein, Richard Beckhard and the Peter Drucker Foundation
• Authors or co-edits 24 books, numerous articles, columns and interviews
• Has his work recognized by almost all major business publications and professional associations
• Works with more than 80 major CEOs and their management teams – on achieving positive, lasting change in behavior
• Becomes a University Professor at Alliant International University’s Marshall Goldsmith School of Management

Volunteer Work

• Volunteer teacher for US Army Generals, Navy Admirals, Girl Scout Executives
• National Volunteer of the Year for International and American Red Cross Leaders

Biography

Marshall Goldsmith lives with his wife, Dr. Lyda Goldsmith, in Rancho Santa Fe, California.^[1] He has two children, Bryan Goldsmith and Dr. Kelly Goldsmith.^[1] 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 pursuing a graduate degree at Chapman University. In addition to his two children, Goldsmith has a dog named Beau.

Bibliography

• MOJO: How to Get It, How to Keep It, and How to Get It Back If You Lose It. Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter, Hyperion (2010)
• The AMA Handbook of Leadership. Marshall Goldsmith, John Baldoni, Sarah McArthur (eds.), AMACOM (2010)
• Best Practices in Talent Management. Marshall Goldsmith and Louis Carter (eds.), Jossey Bass and Best Practice Institute (2010)
• Succession: Are You Ready? Marshall Goldsmith, Harvard Business Press (2009)
• The Organization of the Future – 2. Frances Hesselbein and Marshall Goldsmith (eds.), Jossey-Bass (2009)
• What Got You Here – Won’t Get You There. Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter, Hyperion (2007)
• The Leader of the Future – 2. Frances Hesselbein and Marshall Goldsmith (eds.), Wiley (2006)
• Coaching for Leadership: The Practice of Leadership Coaching from the World’s Greatest Coaches. Marshall Goldsmith and Laurence Lyons (eds.), Pfeiffer (2005)
• The Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching: 50 Top Coaches Reveal their Secrets. (Howard Morgan, Phil Harkins and Marshall Goldsmith (eds.), Wiley (2005)
• Best Practices in Leadership Development and Organizational Change. Louis Carter, David Ulrich and Marshall Goldsmith (eds.), Wiley (2005)
• Leading Organizational Learning. Marshall Goldsmith, Howard Morgan and Alexander Ogg (eds.), Jossey-Bass (2004)
• Global Leadership: The Next Generation. Marshall Goldsmith, Alastair Robertson, Cathy Greenberg, Maya Hu-Chan. FT Prentice Hall (2003)
• Human Resources in the 21st Century. Marc Effron, Robert Gandossy and Marshall Goldsmith (eds.) Wiley (2003)
• Partnering: The New Face of Leadership. Larraine Segil, Marshall Goldsmith and James Belasco (eds.) AMACOM (2003)
• The Many Facets of Leadership. Marshall Goldsmith, Vijay Govindarajan, Beverly Kaye and Albert Vicere (eds.) FT Prentice Hall (2002)
• Leading Authorities on Business: Winning Strategies from the Greatest Minds. Marshall Goldsmith and James Belasco (eds.) Leading Authorities Press (2002)
• Leading for Innovation: & Organizing for Results. Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith and Iain Somerville (eds.) Jossey-Bass (2002)
• Best Practices in Organization Development and Change Handbook: Culture, Leadership, Retention, Performance, and Consulting. Louis Carter, David Giber and Marshall Goldsmith (eds.) Jossey-Bass; Book and CD-ROM edition (2001)
• The Leadership Investment: How the World’s Best Organizations Gain Strategic Advantage Through Leadership Development. Robert Fulmer and Marshall Goldsmith. AMACOM (2001)
• Coaching for Leadership: How the World’s Greatest Coaches Help Leaders Learn. Marshall Goldsmith, Laurence Lyons and Alyssa Freas (eds.) Jossey-Bass (2000)
• Learning Journeys: Top Management Experts Share Hard-Earned Lessons on Becoming Great Mentors and Leaders. Marshall Goldsmith, Beverly Kaye and Ken Shelton (eds.) Davies-Black (2000)
• Linkage Inc.’s Best Practices in Leadership Development Handbook: Case Studies, Instruments and Training. Louis Carter, David Giber, and Marshall Goldsmith (eds.). Jossey-Bass (2000)
• Leading Beyond the Walls: Wisdom to Action Series Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith and Iain Somerville (eds.) Jossey-Bass (1999)
• The Community of the Future. Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith, Richard Beckhard and Richard Schubert (eds.). Jossey-Bass (1998)
• The Organization of the Future. Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard (eds.) Jossey-Bass (1997)
• The Leader of the Future. Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard (eds.). Jossey-Bass (1996)

References

External links

• An extensive collection of Goldsmith’s articles, columns, interviews, stories, podcasts and videos
• Website of Marshall Goldsmith Partners
• Official Marshall Goldsmith blog
• The website for Alliant International University’s Marshall Goldsmith School of Management
• Review of Marshall Goldsmith’s What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful
• Dr Marshall Goldsmith’s home page on Learn From My Life Website. This page is collection of various reference links, videos and books related to/ authored by Dr Goldsmith
• Marshall Goldsmith biography on Leading Thinkers Board at Best Practice Institute

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