Thinkers50 Hall of Fame: Stew Friedman

Stew Friedman has been inducted into the
Thinkers50 Hall of Fame 2023.

An organisational psychologist, Stew Friedman is emeritus professor of management practice at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he founded the Wharton Leadership Program (now called the McNulty Leadership Program) and Wharton’s Work/Life Integration Project, in 1991. Creator of the concept of ‘total leadership,’ Stew created the Wharton course of the same name and is founder and CEO of the management training and consulting company, Total Leadership.

Stew is also the author of Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life (HBR Press, 2008) and Leading the Life You Want (HBR Press, 2014). In 2013, his study of two generations of Wharton students, Baby Bust: New Choices for Men and Women in Work and Family (Wharton Digital Press) was published. His most recent book is Parents Who Lead (HBR Press, 2020).

With his research interests in the fields of leadership development, work/life integration, and the dynamics of change, Stew co-founded Wharton’s P3: Purpose, Passion, Principles – a co-curricular experience run collaboratively by students, faculty, and administrators. He has been listed among HR Magazine’s most influential thought leaders, acclaimed by Working Mother as instrumental in making life better for working parents, and presented with the Families and Work Institute’s Work Life Legacy Award.

Here is Stew in conversation with Thinkers50 co-founder, Stuart Crainer, who asked about the golden thread running through his career.

• Stew Friedman’s bio
• Full press release