Mastering the Mind of a Leader: Sébastien Page on the Psychology of High Performance

Why do companies spend billions on leadership development only to see engagement scores tank and top talent quit? The answer often lies in the "blind spots" of the human mind. In this episode of the Growth Hacking Culture podcast, we sit down with Sébastien Page, a leader in quantitative finance and author of The Psychology of Leadership.

Sébastien shares how his own journey through high-stakes stress led him to the world of behavioral and sports psychology. We discuss why the most effective leadership doesn't start with managing your team, but with managing your own brain. From distinguishing between luck and skill to understanding the "Roger Federer mindset," this conversation provides a science-based roadmap for anyone looking to improve their management of individuals, teams, and themselves.

Key topics include:

• Self-Management: Why the journey to better leadership starts with changing your brain, not just your team.

• Luck vs. Skill: How to distinguish between talent and randomness in high-stakes decision-making.

• The Feedback Loop: Strategies to reduce the stress response during performance reviews.

• Goal-Induced Blindness: Avoiding the ethical pitfalls and "metrics obsession" that can tank organizational culture.

Books Mentioned

• The Psychology of Leadership: Timeless Principles to Improve Your Management of Individuals, Teams, and Yourself by Sébastien Page

• Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts by Annie Duke

• Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink

Timestamps

• 3:54 – Sebastien's journey from quantitative finance to sports psychology

• 8:12 – The Dr. Daniel Zimmert story: Why losing can be your "best match"

• 17:18 – The Roger Federer 54% rule for handling professional losses

• 21:50 – The Luck vs. Skill trap in leadership decision-making

• 26:22 – Handling "Black Swans" and building organizational resilience

• 31:15 – The "Feedback Fallacy" and the biology of the stress response

• 35:50 – Why asking for feedback is 50% less stressful than receiving it

• 40:24 – Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic motivation: Moving beyond "Carrot and Stick"

• 45:08 – Goal-Induced Blindness: Lessons from Volkswagen and Wells Fargo

• 49:40 – The Harvard Study: Why relationships are the ultimate indicator of success

• 51:10 – The foundation of leadership: Why sleep and ethics matter most

Connect with Sebastien

• About the book: The Psychology of Leadership

• LinkedIn: Sebastien Page

 

Read about the upcoming Ivan Palomino's book THE VINTAGE UPGRADE (the science  of staying relevant in a world obsessed with youth)