Leader on the Couch

Recently awarded the Leadership Scholar of the Year prize by the International Leadership Association, Manfred Kets de Vries brings a different view to the much-studied subjects of leadership and the dynamics of individual and organizational change. The Financial Times, Le Capital, Wirtschaftswoche and The Economist have judged Manfred one of the world's leading thinkers on leadership. A clinical professor of leadership, he is Chair of Leadership Development and director of INSEAD's Global Leadership Centre. He is responsible for the top management seminar, The Challenge of Leadership: Creating Reflective Leaders and the program Consulting and Coaching for Change. Manfred has received INSEAD's distinguished teacher award 5 times and has also held professorships at McGill University, Montreal, Harvard Business School and Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales. Author, co-author or editor of over 22 books and over 200 articles, his work has featured regularly in The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune and many other professional press publications.

• Preface xiii1 Introduction: The Clinical Paradigm 1Giving the unconscious its due 3Tapping into psychoanalytic theories and techniques 6Philosophical underpinnings of the clinical paradigm 9The inner theater 11Motivational need systems 13Core conflictual relationship themes 15Using the clinical paradigm to rewrite dysfunctional scripts 16References 17Part One: Entering the Inner Theater of Leaders 212 The Narcissistic Leader: Myth and Reality 23Back to the future 25Two modern myths: healthy neglect and tough love 28Narcissistic personality disorders 31Another fi ne Messier 33Lost in space: introducing the T-word 42Downsizing the narcissist 45References 493 A Parade of Personalities 51A question of character 52Assessing leaders and followers 56The dramatic disposition 59The dramatic individual within the organization 62The controlling disposition 63The controlling individual within the organization 68The dependent disposition 70The dependent individual within the organization 74The self-defeating disposition 75The self-defeating individual within the organization 79References 804 Leaders and Followers: Moving Away From People 83The detached disposition 84The detached individual within the organization 91The depressive disposition 94Depressives within the organization 98References 1005 Leaders and Followers: Moving Against People 101The abrasive disposition 103Abrasives within the organization 106The paranoid disposition 110The paranoid disposition within the organization 114The negativistic disposition 118The negativistic individual within the organization 123The antisocial disposition 124Antisocials within the organization 127Prototypes and beyond 130Table 5.1: An overview of the spectrum of personalities 131References 1326 Elation and Its Vicissitudes 135The gift and curse of charisma 138The sirens of hypomania 142Surviving the “maniac” 151References 1557 The Impostor Syndrome: The Shadow Side of Success 157Being a fraud versus feeling fraudulent 160The fear of success 163The dread of not living up to expectations 166Infecting the organization 172A search for origins 175The light at the end of the tunnel 177References 184Part Two: Changing Mindsets 1878 Can Leaders Change? Yes, But Only If They Want To 189Why ride a dead horse? 191Change and the triangle of mental life 193Figure 8.1: Triangle of mental life 193Hitting your head against the wall 194The CEO “recycling” seminar 196Looking in on “the challenge of leadership” 199Theoretical underpinnings 203References 2079 Taking The Road Less Traveled 211Owning your own life 212Challenge 1: preparing for the journey 213Case study 215Catalysts for change 218Challenge 2: identifying the problem 220Major themes for executives 221The triangle of conflict 226Figure 9.1: Triangle of conflict 227Challenge 3: unhooking “false connections” 230Figure 9.2: Triangle of relationships 231Linking the past with the present 232Challenge 4: creating a holding environment 234Challenge 5: actively working on the problem 235Restructuring the inner theater 239Keeping on track 243Challenge 6: consolidating the change 244Making the best of a poor hand of cards 245References 24710 Coach or Couch, Anybody? 251Who are the clients? 254What is leadership coaching? 256Short-term psychotherapy versus leadership coaching 258The coaching parade 262The fundamentals of coaching: why and how 263What makes for coaching success? 265The vicissitudes of leadership coaching 269References 27311 Group Leadership Coaching 275A case in point 277Getting started 279Gathering data 280Figure 11.1: Sample personal graph 281Figure 11.2: Sample personality audit graph 283Group leadership coaching dynamics 285Creating high-EQ teams 291Figure 11.3: Leadership group coaching 295Making group leadership coaching work in executive teams 296The role of commitment and follow-up 296The role of storytelling 297The role of trust 298References 300Part Three: Understanding the Psychodynamics of Groups and Organizations 30312 The Unconscious Life of Groups and Organizations 305Basic group assumptions 311The organizational ideal 316Neurotic organizations 322Organizational archetypes 323Strengths of each style 325Placing leaders on the couch 327References 32813 Unraveling The Mystery of Organizations 331Clinical organizational interventions 332Focal areas of intervention 333The prickly CEO 337Through the looking glass: the Stratec collusion 341Consulting with the third ear 354Connecting with a clinically informed consultant 357Staying in for the long haul 358Emulating Sherlock Holmes 359References 36214 Conclusion: Creating “Authentizotic” Organizations 363Transcending the leadership crisis 368True self versus false self 369Authenticity: beyond the gulag organization 375References 381Index 383

"One new book that does deserve praise" (Financial Times Career Point, September 2006) "As Manfred Kets de Vries, a professor at Insead business school, shows in a new book, the psychological condition of leaders can have a profound impact on all those who work under them." (Financial Times, October 2006)"Fascinating Freudian look at chief executives and their occasionally rather damaged psychologies. Read this ..." (FTmagazine, December 2006)"...Manfred Kets de Vries, sets out to change people ... for the better by revealing the 'dark side' of leadership behaviour..." (Professional Consultancy, January 2007)