How can lessons from sports and psychology transform the way we lead, especially when the pressure is on? Kevin is joined by Sebastien Page to explore how high-performance mindsets from sports apply to leadership. They discuss how goal-induced blindness, where an intense focus on achieving goals can obscure ethical or practical considerations, impacts leaders and organizations. Sebastien shares how strong relationships, not fame or fortune, are the most significant predictors of long-term happiness and fulfillment. The episode also highlights a few of the eighteen principles from the book, including: Don’t Die on Everest – The dangers of goal-induced blindness. Think About Death – Why zooming out to the end of your life can sharpen your focus today.

Listen For

00:00 Introduction: Leadership and Self-Awareness
01:03 Book Promo: Flexible Leadership
01:57 Guest Introduction: Sebastien Page
03:21 Opening Banter and Book Discussion Kickoff
03:54 Sebastien’s Journey from Finance to Leadership Psychology
05:34 Key Insight: Sports Psychology Isn’t About Winning
07:13 Federer’s 54% Win Rate and the Power of Marginal Gains
08:04 Not a Book About Sports but About Resilience
09:19 Why Positive and Personality Psychology Matter
10:05 The Gummy Bear Story: Ethics vs. Goals
13:18 Positive Psychology’s Key Finding: Relationships Matter Most
14:36 Goals, Leadership, and Broader Impact
17:17 Principle 1: Don’t Die on Everest
20:19 How to Recognize and Avoid Goal-Induced Blindness
24:07 Principle 11: Think About Death
26:01 Stephen Covey’s Influence and the Book Title Journey
27:21 Applying These Ideas to Your Team
28:24 Counterintuitive Leadership Lessons
29:59 Fun and Reading: Running and Billionaire Biographies
31:29 Where to Connect with Sebastien
32:13 Kevin’s Final Question: Now What
32:55 Wrap-Up: Climbing Everest or Not

Sébastien's Story: Sébastien Page is the author of The Psychology of Leadership: Timeless principles to improve your management of individuals, teams… and yourself! Head of Global Multi-Asset and Chief Investment Officer at T. Rowe Price. He has more than two decades of leadership experience and has done extensive research on positive, sports, and personality psychology. He currently oversees a team of investment professionals actively managing over $500 billion in Assets Under Management. He has also written two finance books: Beyond Diversification: What Every Investor Needs to Know, and the co-authored Factor Investing and Asset Allocation, and he has won six annual research-paper awards: two from The Financial Analysts Journal and four from The Journal of Portfolio Management. He appears regularly on CNBC and Bloomberg TV, and in 2022 was named a Top Voice in Finance by LinkedIn. He has been quoted extensively in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Barron’s. Sébastien lives in Maryland with his wife and kids.

This Episode is brought to you by...

Flexible Leadership is every leader’s guide to greater success in a world of increasing complexity and chaos.

Book Recommendations

The Psychology of Leadership: Timeless principles to improve your management of individuals, teams… and yourself! by Sébastien Page
Gambling Man: The Secret Story of the World's Greatest Disruptor, Masayoshi Son by Lionel Barber
The Nvidia Way: Jensen Huang and the Making of a Tech Giant by Tae Kim

Like this?

Join Our Community

If you want to view our live podcast episodes, hear about new releases, or chat with others who enjoy this podcast join one of our communities below.

Join the Facebook Group
Join the LinkedIn Group