Street sessions consist of Goldman Sachs leaders teaching other
leaders. This approach is consistent with the firm’s apprenticeship
culture and has the added benefit of being a powerful developmen-
tal experience for those who teach. Within the financial service
industry, as in many other places, ideas move most efficiently and
most credibly through the voices of respected line leaders. Even
outstanding leaders, however, vary in their teaching skills. Pine
Street tries to ensure high-quality instruction by (1) partnering
with these leaders in developing course content, whether based on
internal best practices (cross-marketing skills, leadership commu-
nications, delegation, and so on) or translation of ideas from out-
side the firm (such as cross-cultural skills and decision-making
models), and (2) offering professional presentation coaching
through an “educate the educators” initiative.
Pine Street’s partnership with line leaders extends well beyond
their teaching roles. They are also advisers and partners in execut-
ing its key initiatives. The Pine Street board of directors is chaired
by joint chief operating officers John Thain and John Thornton,
and it includes senior leaders from all the key businesses. Pine
Street undertakes no major initiatives without the approval and
active participation of board members and other line leaders, who
are generous with their reminders that Pine Street’s offerings must
be linked with business priorities and be relevant to the challenges
faced by line leaders.
Finally, of course, leaders participate as students. The courses
they attend are primarily directed toward career transitions. Pine
Street seeks to provide just-in-time learning for relatively homoge-
neous populations. For example, when people first assume man-
agerial responsibilities, they are presented with models of vertical
influence and are taught how to delegate, give feedback, and make
effective use of financial rewards. As people progress in their careers
and take on firmwide or global responsibilities, the emphasis
becomes less on management and more on such leadership con-
cepts as strategy, cross-cultural skills, and key business drivers across
the range of the firm’s businesses.
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