Reflections On Leadership And Career Development

Views from the interface of psychoanalysis and organizational life 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 of the couch and working at the often intimate interface where the inner theater of the individual meets the outer world of the organization. The second book in this series, Reflections on Leadership and Career Development, takes different perspectives on the intimate connection between the personality or "inner theater" of individuals and the organizational context in which they work how different personality types, in positions of leadership or as members of management teams, affect the functioning and success of organizations. Kets de Vries looks at the way basic psychological processes operate on individual and corporate performance and analyzes them in the context of case studies of leaders and organizations. He examines narcissism, dysfunctional collusion between leaders and followers, some new leadership archetypes, and the roles that "organizational therapists" (coaches or consultants) can play in their interventions. The book includes a lengthy study of Vladimir Putin, as "CEO of Russia, Inc.," an assessment of the former Russian president's performance as an organizational leader. The final part of the book examines the career life cycle and how executives cope (or fail to cope) with rites de passage like succession and retirement. "For the first time this book provides a glimpse of Manfred Kets de Vries' own 'inner theater' as the wellspring of his success as psychoanalyst, mentor and inspiration to a generation of leaders. Reflections on Leadership and Career Development offers a rare opportunity to observe Manfred on his own legendary couch, a personal perspective not to be missed." Paul McMorran, HR Director, TNK-BP

"I believe that [Bob Greenleaf's] essay, 'The Servant as Leader' is the most singular and useful statement on leadership that I have read in the last 20 years. Despite a virtual tidal wave of books on leadership during the last few years, there is something different about Bob Greenleaf's essay, something both simpler and more profound . . . For many years, I simply told people not to waste their time reading all the other managerial leadership books. 'If you are really serious about the deeper territory of true leadership,' I would say, 'read Greenleaf.' " —from Chapter 20 by Peter M. Senge, Director of the Center for Organizational Learning at MIT's Sloan School of Management and author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization "There is a building momentum for enlightened leadership in the for-profit world, the social sector, and many areas of government today . . . Good books that deal with the beliefs and convictions that nurture this movement are not easy to find. This is one. Reflections on Leadership is a worthy and worthwhile gift to all those who attach high value both to their responsibilities and to the people with whom they work." —from the Foreword, by Max DePree, Chairman and CEO of Herman Miller Inc. and author of Leadership Is an Art and Leadership Jazz "I could give you three examples of major businesses who have used this business of servant-leadership training . . . at times of terrible crisis and have worked themselves out of the crisis. Practicing servant-leadership . . . had absolutely enormous incredible benefits for them . . . and then they threw it away. Because, as soon as the crisis passed, they said 'why exert ourselves?' The great problem is not how to . . . teach servant-leadership in the first place, but to get organizations to continue to use it and embed it in part of their culture." —from Chapter 7 by M. Scott Peck, author of The Road Less Traveled "Reflections on Leadership is fitting tribute to a man whose own sense of service has given all of us hope that at long last leaders will recognize that power of purpose is far stronger than power of position. After nearly 30 years, Robert K. Greenleaf's work has struck a resonant chord in the minds and hearts of scholars and practitioners alike. His message lives through others, the true legacy of a servant-leader." —Jim Kouzes, Chairman and CEO of TPG/Learning Systems and coauthor of The Leadership Challenge and Credibility "We are each indebted to Greenleaf for bringing spirit and values into the workplace. His ideas will have enduring value for every generation of leaders." —Peter Block, Founding Partner, Designed Learning Inc. and author of The Empowered Manager, Flawless Consulting, and Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest In the twenty-five years since Robert K. Greenleaf first articulated his vision of "servant-leadership," the world has seen a steady expansion in the influence of the man and his ideas. Hailed as the "grandfather" of the modern empowerment movement in business leadership, Greenleaf described true leaders as those who lead by serving others —empowering them to reach their full potential. He saw the ideal leader as one who transforms and integrates an organization; a steward with a commitment to the growth of people and the building of a community. Reflections on Leadership demonstrates the scope of Greenleaf's impact on contemporary management theory and offers key essays by Greenleaf and his leading business and intellectual disciples. They include such influential thinkers as M. Scott Peck, author of The Road Less Traveled, and Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline. "Despite all the buzz about modern leadership techniques, no one knows better than Greenleaf what really matters." —Working Woman magazine Reflections on Leadership opens with two remarkable essays by Greenleaf himself. One of them, "Reflections from Experience," published here for the first time, presents Greenleaf's prophetic observations on the use of executive power in an organization. In "Life's Choices and Markers," Greenleaf recounts five significant influences that led him to develop his revolutionary ideas on the nature of leadership. "Servant-leadership deals with the reality of power in everyday life—its legitimacy, the ethical restraints upon it and the beneficial results that can be attained through the appropriate use of power." —The New York Times In Reflections on Leadership, a host of notable management thinkers explore the implications of the servant-leadership concept in such areas as: Business ethics Team-building and servant-leadership Corporate risk-taking Spirit in the workplace Becoming a servant-leader The future of leadership For those who have already benefited from Greenleaf's ideas and wish to deepen their understanding, this is an essential book. It is also the ideal introduction for those eager to draw on a source of wisdom that has inspired so many others.

First Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Reflections on Character and Leadership is the first of the three books in the Manfred kets de Vries on the Couch series. Here, Kets de Vries looks at entrepreneurship, the pathology of leadership, and the personality of the leader. The reader will visit the disturbed inner worlds of leaders like Alexander the Great, Shaka Zulu and Robert Maxwell, discover how to distinguish between a cold fish and a live volcano, and identify impostors, despots, organizational fools and global leaders. The book highlights the basic principles of the clinical paradigm—the process of putting organizations and the individuals who lead them on the psychoanalyst’s couch. It includes studies of personality archetypes and the effects they have on organizational life and culture—and the effects that organizations have on them. Referring frequently to key management concepts, Kets de Vries looks not only at what happens when things go wrong, but also at how to create the psychological and organizational space to make sure that things go right. About the series: The series offers an overview of Kets de Vries’s work spanning four decades, a period in which he has established himself as the leading figure in the clinical study of organizational leadership. The books in this series contain a representative selection of Kets de Vries’ writings about leadership from a wide variety of published sources and cover character and leadership in a global context, career development and leadership in organizations. The original essays were all written or published between 1976 and 2008. Updated where appropriate and revised by the author, they present a digest of the work of one of the most influential management thinkers of the present day.

Your Guide to Creating Equitable Schools If we hope to interrupt educational inequities and create schools in which every child thrives, we must open our hearts to purposeful conversation and hone our skills to make those conversations effective. With characteristic honesty and wisdom, Elena Aguilar inspires us to commit to transforming our classrooms, lays bare the hidden obstacles to equity, and helps us see how to overcome these obstacles, one conversation at a time. Coaching for Equity is packed with the resources necessary to implement Transformational Coaching in any organization. In addition to an updated coaching framework and corresponding rubrics, a comprehensive set of coaching tools puts success in every coach’s hands. Extensive personal narratives demonstrate what coaching for equity looks like and help us see how we can make every conversation count towards building a more just and equitable world. Coaching for Equity covers critical topics in the larger conversation about racial equity, and helps readers develop the knowledge, dispositions and skills to be able to: Talk productively about race, Build trust to support vulnerability, Unpack mental models and change someone’s mind, Observe classrooms and collect data to support equitable outcomes, Inspire others and deepen commitment, Evaluate and celebrate growth. Perfect for teachers, teacher leaders, coaches and administrators, Coaching for Equity offers extensive strategies for talking about race, power, and systems of oppression. In framing the rationale for transformational conversations, Coaching for Equity gives us the context we need to enter into this work. In laying out the strategies, tools and models for critical conversations, it gives us the way forward. Comprehensive, concrete, and deeply human, Coaching for Equity is the guide for those who choose to accept responsibility for interrupting inequities in schools. It is for all educators who know there is a better way.

Reflections on Groups and Organizations is the third and final book in the On the Couch with Manfred Kets de Vries series. Broadening the Kets De Vries canvas, this book examines concepts of organizational health, performance, and change. Material ranges from studies of high performance teams – based on time the author spent with the pygmies of central Africa – to the study of organizational stars, to the use of coaching interventions to improve personal and organizational functioning. Kets de Vries looks at the interpersonal and group processes that determine how organizations work within specific contexts, including family firms. He studies dysfunctional leader-follower relationships, downsizing, and organizational transformation. Kets de Vries also introduces his concept of the "authentizotic" organization – a pleasant, healthy, well-functioning workplace.

An intimate look at the founding father of the modern leadership movement Warren Bennis is an acclaimed American scholar, successful organizational consultant and author, and an expert in the field of leadership. His much awaited memoir is filled with insights about the successes and failures from his long and storied life and career. Bennis' life and career have traversed eight decades of first-hand experience with tumultuous episodes of recent history-from Jewish child in a gentile town in the 30's, a young army recruit in the Battle of the Bulge to a college student in the one of the first progressive precursors to the civil rights movement to a patient undergoing daily psychoanalysis for five years, and later a university provost during the Vietnam protests. Reveals the triumphs and struggles of the man who is considered the pioneer in the contemporary field of leadership studies Bennis is the author of 27 books including the bestseller On Becoming a Leader This is first book to examine the extraordinary life of Warren Bennis by the man himself.

Bringing together cases written by experienced leadership and executive coaches from all over the world, this project explores the most demanding and challenging situations they have faced in their professional practices. By analysing and reflecting on the real life case studies the authors show how to deal with these situations in daily life.