Forbes contributor, Best-selling author, Professor of Management
Martin Gutmann is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers on leadership and technology in the age of complexity. A bestselling author and internationally recognized voice on leadership, teams, and transformation, Martin combines captivating storytelling with sharp, research-driven insight. His talks inspire audiences to rethink what it means to lead—and leave them with practical tools to do it better.
When he’s not on stage, Martin serves as Professor at the Lucerne School of Business, in Switzerland.
Martin’s writing and commentary have reached over 60 million people and featured in outlets such as the New York Times, Forbes, Big Think, Fast Company, and Minute Hack. His book, The Unseen Leader, became an international bestseller in two categories and has been praised by thought leaders including Adam Grant, Erin Meyer, and Marshall Goldsmith.
”We need to rethink what good leadership looks like
His TED Talk—featured on the TED Talks Daily podcast—garnered nearly 2 million views in its first year and continues to spark conversations around the world.
Martin was included in the Thinkers50 2026 Radar List, which the Financial Times has referred to as the “Oscars of management thinking.”
What Good Leadership Looks Like
Based on the TED talk that became a global sensation, Martin challenges your team in this keynote to reconsider their definition of effective leadership, highlighting that true greatness lies in preventing crises rather than responding dramatically to them. Drawing lessons from the disaster-prone explorer Ernest Shackleton and other similarly famous (but consistently unsuccessful leaders), he challenges conventional views and offers a fresh perspective on what makes a leader truly exceptional. Attendees will learn to appreciate the often-overlooked skill of crisis prevention and learn to cultivate the three universal traits of effective leaders: fluency in context, a balance of humility and confidence, and a pragmatic mindset.
The Leadership playbook for an uncertain world
In his keynote, Martin Gutmann examines the early pioneers of aviation and the 1927 race to fly across the Atlantic, drawing parallels to contemporary leadership amid uncertainty and rapid change. He highlights three enduring yet counterintuitive principles for effective leadership: subtract rather than add, use a compass instead of a map, and practice humility. Attendees will gain valuable insights into navigating today’s complex challenges with confidence and clarity.
The Secret to Leading High Performance Teams
What really drives high-performance teams? In this eye-opening talk, Martin Gutmann breaks with conventional wisdom to reveal the secret behind truly resilient, high-performing teams (hint: the key is balancing relationships and performance), the critical role leaders play in making this happen, and why this matters now more than ever. Drawing on exceptional teams from sports—such as the Chicago Bulls—and business, as well as cutting-edge research on psychological safety, team dynamics, and humble leadership, this talk delivers surprising insights and actionable takeaways that will change the way you think about leadership and team performance.
Testimonials
Books
The Unseen Leader: How History Can Help Us Rethink Leadership
The Unseen Leader delivers one simple but immensely powerful point: we need to radically rethink how we discuss leadership.
In this book, American historian Martin Gutmann passionately challenges the received wisdom that history’s great leaders were individuals with a proclivity for action and brash words. Drawing on extensive historical scholarship and contemporary leadership theory, Gutmann delves into the journeys of four unknown or misunderstood leaders who achieved remarkable successes in vastly different environments—the Polar North, the deserts of Arabia, the sugar plantations of the Caribbean, and Second World War London. What emerges is an entirely new narrative on leadership. Contrary to the perception of heroic protagonists forging ahead boldly, history’s truly great leaders were often precisely those who didn’t need to generate excessive noise or activity. Instead, they skillfully minimized dramatic circumstances. Their stories challenge our present-day conception of leadership and can inspire the leaders of tomorrow.
