From the Inside Flap
Bringing the person back into the organization
In the books in this series Manfred Kets de Vries—failed engineer, entrepreneur manqué, reluctant economist, international management guru, psychoanalyst, wit, and outdoorsman—offers an overview of his work spanning four decades, a period in which he has established himself as the leading figure in the clinical study of organizational leadership.
At a key point in his career, working, as he puts it, “in the twilight zone of economics, management, and psychoanalysis,” he decided to strike out on a little-trodden path and “bring the person back into the organization.” Now Kets de Vries occupies a unique position in the academic business world, putting leaders and companies on the couch and working at the often intimate interface where the inner theater of the individual meets the outer world of the organization.
The first book in this series, Reflections on Character and Leadership, examines some major contemporary issues about leadership. What makes a leader? What is good leadership? And what is bad? What happens to organizations if a leader derails? What are the impacts of successful and failed leadership on followers and organizations? How must organizational leadership respond to globalism and the opening of new markets? Kets de Vries looks at the way various dysfunctional character types are thrown into sharp focus against an organizational background. Among the heroes and villains in this book are Alexander of Macedon, Shaka Zulu, Richard Branson, Jack Welch—and numerous executives who have spent time, literally or metaphorically, on the author’s famous couch.
“Once again, Manfred Kets de Vries Shines a light on the link between the personality of leaders and the influence this has on the organizations they lead. The breadth and depth of his latest book offers insights that will benefit everyone involved in the development and appointment of tomorrow’s leaders.” – William Alexander
From the Back Cover
“Manfred Kets de Vries has a profound understanding of what drives leaders, how they make sense of personal situations, make decisions, and take action. This book provides leaders with inspiring and helpful lessons learned when reflecting on a global context and having to change in respect of it. His is an innovative and well-founded approach that we also use when training the global leadership fellows at the WEF.”
—Professor Gilbert Probst
“Manfred Kets de Vries goes straight to the heart of the matter: character! Not the idealized character of a mythical Perfect Leader, but the multifaceted, ambiguous, and often moving result of an individual life molded by mysterious darkness and occasional grace.”
—Pierre Gurdjian
“We all strive to create a consistent high-performance organization, and that means discovering or creating leaders. These are the people with the ‘fairy dust’ that can make the organization special or alternatively can cause untold damage. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand and then manage their top executives better.”
—John Stewart
“An absorbing insight into the personalities and motivation of leaders and their profound impact on organizational success… or failure.”
—Tony Van Kralingen
“This compelling book unlocks the secrets of character and leadership that individuals need to withstand the pressures of modern business. The reader is given an empowering induction as to the importance of psychiatry and psychoanalysis in understanding creative talent-and in setting achievable personal and corporate goals.”
—David Ross
“For a seasoned leader, this book gives an o opportunity to see what followers see in him or her but do not dare say. For an aspiring leader it offers a roadmap for success, without sacrificing sanity and happiness. For a follower, it gives a chance to understand otherwise unexplainable behavior in his or her leader. This book makes people think and feel.”
—Professor Konstantin Korotov
“Manfred Kets de Vries has a deep understanding of the leader’s mind and soul. He brings a unique perspective to the studies of leadership through his knowledge of both business sand organizational behavior, coupled with his perspective of individual psychoanalysis.”
—Flavia B. de Almeida
About the Author
Manfred Kets de Vries brings a much-needed fresh perspective to the subjects of leadership and change, drawing on his knowledge of economics, management, psychology and psychoanalysis.
He is Clinical Professor of Leadership at INSEAD where he holds the Raoul de Vitry d’Avaucourt Chair of Leadership Development. He has also held professorships at McGill University, the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Montreal and Harvard Business School, and has lectured at management institutions all over the world. He is the author, co-author, or editor of m ore than 30 books including The Leader on the Couch and Family Business on the Couch, and over 300 articles and papers.
In November 2008, Manfred Kets de Vries was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Leadership Association in Los Angeles. He and six others were inducted into the leadership legacy project as “founding professionals of the development of leadership as a field and as a discipline.” Previously, in 2005, he was the first non-American recipient of the ILA Leadership Award for his ‘Contributions to the Classroom and to the boardroom.” The Financial Times, Le Capital, Wirtschaftwoche and The Economist have also judged him one of the world’s leading thinkers on leadership.
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