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Dartmouth College · on Coursera

Superbosses: Managing Talent & Leadership

Beginner English University CertificateFREE
SkillsLeadershipTalent developmentCoachingTeam buildingManagement mindset

Is this course right for you?

Our take
A short, idea-led leadership course from Dartmouth's Sydney Finkelstein, built on his research into bosses who consistently grow great people.

Good for: Managers and aspiring leaders who want to get better at developing people.

Skip if: You want practical, first-time-manager how-tos, or a longer course.

Rather than management mechanics, it digs into the mindset and habits behind leaders who develop talent well, drawn from real cases. It is engaging and reflective, best treated as a way to sharpen how you think about people rather than a checklist to follow.

If you want first-time-manager how-tos or something longer and more structured, look elsewhere; this rewards managers who already lead and want to lead better. Free to audit on Coursera, certificate on subscription with aid available, and because it is about people, its lessons don't go out of date (as of 2026).

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About this course

Superbosses: Managing Talent & Leadership distils years of research into how the very best bosses develop people. From Dartmouth's Sydney Finkelstein — author of the bestselling 'Superbosses' — it's full of case studies and interviews showing how exceptional leaders find talented people, keep growing them, and build success for their organisations and themselves.

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Instructor

SF
Sydney Finkelstein
Coursera instructor

Sydney Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and author of 25 books, including the bestsellers 'Superbosses' and 'Why Smart Executives Fail.' The course is built directly on that research.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, though it is more inspirational than a step-by-step manual. Based on Sydney Finkelstein's research, it studies how exceptional leaders — 'superbosses' — develop extraordinary talent, drawing lessons any manager can apply about mentoring, delegating, and growing people. New managers get a valuable model of what great talent development looks like, though they should pair it with practical management basics for the day-to-day mechanics.

It sits between concept and practice. It offers concrete principles and vivid real-world examples of how superbosses cultivate talent — high expectations, hands-on mentoring, letting people go on to succeed elsewhere — that you can apply to how you lead. But it is more a way of thinking about talent than a checklist, so the practicality comes from adopting the mindset and applying it to your own team.

For managers and leaders serious about developing people, yes — it comes from Dartmouth's Tuck School and respected research, and reframes talent development in a genuinely useful way. Its value is the perspective and principles rather than tactical how-tos, so weigh it as leadership-thinking material. Combined with hands-on management skills, it is a strong addition; on its own it is inspiration more than a full toolkit.

It is a relatively short, focused course — a few hours — so most people complete it over a sitting or two. That makes it an efficient way to absorb the superbosses model of talent development without a large time commitment, and it works well alongside more practical management courses that cover the day-to-day mechanics of leading a team.

Yes, you can audit it on Coursera and watch the lectures at no cost. The graded elements and the certificate require a subscription, with financial aid available if you apply. Since much of the value is the ideas and examples, auditing gives you the substance if you want the leadership thinking rather than the credential.
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