Leadership Unhinged

The recent proliferation of populist movements worldwide — along with the often dangerous, demagogic leaders that accompany them — have prompted questions about the underlying conditions that give rise to such troubling developments. Leadership Unhinged: Essays on the Ugly, the Bad and the Weird examines what is going on at a deeper level, both collectively and individually, between leaders and followers. Employing theories derived from psychoanalytic psychology, developmental psychology, neuroscience and evolutionary psychology, these essays help to unravel and expose the pathological leader-follower dynamics that generate such movements. The book is infused with Kets de Vries’s now famous and inimitable style of analysis, which draws from myths, creates fairy tales, and uses irony and metaphor to bring his conclusions into greater relief and trigger new insights. As Kets de Vries explains, effective leaders have the capacity to bring people together and even make them better, stronger. Doing so suggests that those leaders are value driven, able to set a moral tone. Yet, when such a tone is absent or, at worst, twisted toward the destructive, leadership quickly becomes dangerous. History has shown the devastation left in the wake of unhinged leaders who have gone unchecked. To become fully conscious of the conditions that allow for the emergence of such leaders has become a moral requirement of our time. In ways both moving and entertaining, Kets de Vries’s new contribution puts us in a better position to fulfil that requirement.

The unprecedented challenges of today—a world-wide pandemic, climate disruption on a global scale, and an economic instability that knows no boundaries—require a leadership grounded in a profound and unflinching awareness of our interconnectedness and the existential stakes before us. The Path to Authentic Leadership frames the dilemmas of leadership within the insights provided by the Ouroboros, the mythic snake willing to destroy parts of itself so that it can be renewed. Like the Ouroboros, today’s leaders must be prepared to enter into a dynamic, uncertain, and ever-changing environment with the capacity to reflect, adapt, let go of what is no longer working, and create solutions that are not only renewing, but sustainable. Drawing from his decades of training in psychoanalysis and the systems-psychodynamic method, Kets de Vries discusses the effects of the pandemic in the context of the seven deadly sins, the impact of shame, evil, the lure of charisma and even the perils of procrastination. Also, he explores the inner theatre of white-collar criminals and the super-rich. He comments on the role of magic in management and the paradoxical role of koans, serving as catalysts for change. From there, he goes on to outline a path toward organizational transformation, turning again to the self-renewing process presented by the Ouroboros. This dynamic is applied to his 7C sequence for organizational transformation—Context, Confrontation, Clarification, Crystallization, Cascading, Consolidation, and Continuity. Its enactment is brought to life through the story of a troubled CEO and the careful, step-by-step advice offered by an experienced executive consultant. Throughout, Kets de Vries reminds us that the path to authentic leadership will be meaningless unless it is guided by a deeply held commitment to serve as a force for good.

Global, multi-faceted, and applied: the most contemporary introduction to leadership, which considers individual, organizational, and societal perspectives.Providing a robust and engaging overview of the leadership field, Exploring Leadership is a highly practical and insightful guide that supports the personal and professional development of both aspiring and experienced leaders. Investigating the complex dynamics of power, identity and purpose in organizations and wider society, this essential resource critically examines significant global issues such as diversity and inclusion, the environmental crisis, and recent Covid-19pandemic to reveal the systemic nature of leadership in a complex and ever-changing world. Fascinating topics are brought to life through a variety of international examples and case studies, such as ancestral leadership in Maori communities; consideration of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as a transformational leader; and leadership paradoxes in the Singaporean Civil Service. Individual and group exercises will also stimulate you as an emerging leader, as you consider how you may apply the key theoretical concepts in your future careers. The following additional resources are also available to students: Visual matrix mapping the key theories and themes explored in the text. Skills development guidance. Links to further videos for each chapter (students). Template for reflective activities. Adopting lecturers will have access to the following teaching support resources: Tutorial suggestions for in-class activities PowerPoint presentations Links to further videos for each chapter (lecturers).Selling Points:- A range of original exercises, activities and resources (for both face-to-face and online courses), that support the development of practical skills as well a critical understanding of leadership.- Examples will be complemented by a range of mini case studies authored by invited contributors from around the world, in order to increase diversity and international relevance and appeal.- Exploration of a range of significant global issues, such as the environmental crisis, Covid-19, inequality and Brexit that extend beyond organisational boundaries to reveal the systemic nature of leadership in a complex and changing world and which will be explored from a variety of perspectives.- Illustrates the importance of critical reflection on the intersection of personal and professional identities, subsequently developing the capacity of readers to reframe their understanding of what it means to be an ethical, inclusive, and effective leader.New to this edition:- Now vastly enriched with a range of pedagogical features throughout, which develop a reader's capacity for critical thinking and reflection in relation to leadership theory and practice across a range of contexts.- Carefully-curated digital learning resources - including videos introductions to each chapter, multiple-choice questions, and a flashcard glossary - have been designed to further stimulate, assess and consolidate learning. - Available as an e-book with links to the bespoke digital resources, providing a more engaging and flexible learning experience. - Widely updated to reflect the very latest research and coverage of important topics such as diversity and inclusion; ethical leadership; leading movements of protests and rebellion; and leadership traits and competencies.Digital formats and resources:The second edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats, and is supported by online resources.The e-book gives students the flexibility to support their learning in ways that work best for them; resources include links to author videos which offer pithy introductions to each chapter, multiple-choice questions, a flashcard glossary and more.

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.

Discover true leadership with this actionable guide from a world renowned leadership expert, psychoanalyst, and executive coach In Leading Wisely: Becoming a Reflective Leader in Turbulent Times, renowned leadership expert, psychoanalyst and executive coach Manfred Kets De Vries delivers an insightful and unique exploration of what it means to lead with wisdom. The book demonstrates that exclusive reliance on knowledge, data, and information yields a superficial leadership style lacking in depth and discernment. What's more important in the wisdom equation is possessing humility, judgment, empathy, compassion, and night vision. With eleven chapters full of anecdotes and tales from a variety of spiritual and cultural traditions that enrich and lend a deeper significance to the choices we make as leaders and members of organizations, Leading Wisely provides readers with: A thorough exploration of dealing with negative—but entirely natural motivations, like envy and greed An emphasis on the Golden Rule—treating others as we like to be treated ourselves An opportunity to be courageous—to consciously and intentionally pick our battles, saving energy for what really matters Lessons on how to listen intently and actively, truly hearing what our colleagues, friends, family, and followers are saying before reacting Finding happiness within ourselves Leading Wisely: Becoming a Reflective Leader in Turbulent Times is a startlingly incisive book, filled with messages that make the book required reading for anyone in a position of leadership or power. It also belongs in the libraries of well-being and health practitioners who frequently deal with businesspeople as clients or patients.

How can I lead my team to better performance while being true to my values and integrity? Weaving brain chemistry, Gandhi’s three purposes of work, management theory, history, philosophy, and literature with the scientific method, Stephen Sloan offers a balance of compassion and accountability he calls humane leadership. This book is designed for leaders seeking better results and more fulfillment. This will transform the way you lead yourself and your team. With clear mental models and tools, it teaches practical approaches to having delicate yet powerful performance improvement conversations. The core model outlines how motivation, opportunity, clarity of expectations and ability drive performance. Learn how to create a collaborative setting where you and your team can evaluate these variables and design improvement experiments together. To ground your experiments, this book offers 12 wisdom jig thinking tools to shift your mindset and help you earn influence with others, structure time, and manage risk. Also included are scripts to address 15 common performance challenges with curiosity and clarity. By outlining how to lead from values of fair strength, generative care, and wise balance, Sloan hopes to transform our standards of leadership: how we lead ourselves, how we empower others, and how we choose who we allow to lead us.

Offers lessons on leadership to a new generation encouraging young people to be a catalyst for change in the world.

Business schools are critical players in higher education, educating current and future leaders to make a difference in the world. Yet we know surprisingly little about the leaders of business schools. Leading a Business School demystifies this complex and dynamic role, offering international insights into deans’ dilemmas in different contexts and situations. It highlights the importance of deans creating challenging and supportive learning cultures to enhance business and management education, organizations and society more broadly. Written by renowned experts on the role of the dean, Julie Davies, Howard Thomas, Eric Cornuel and Rolf D. Cremer, the book traces the historical evolution of the business school deanship, the current challenges and future sources of disruption. The leadership characteristics and styles of business school deans are presented based on an examination of different dimensions of their roles. These include issues of strategic positioning, such as financial viability, prestige, size, mission, age, location and programme portfolios, as well as the influences of rankings, sector accreditations, governance structures, networks and national policies on strategy implementation. Drawing on international case studies and deans’ development programmes globally, the authors explore constraints on deans’ autonomy, university and external relations, and how business school deans add value over the period of their tenures. This candid and well-researched book is essential reading for aspiring business school leaders, those hiring and working with deans, and other higher education leaders. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license. Funded by EFMD Global.