Reflections on Character and Leadership

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.

Reflections on Character and Leadership is the first of thethree books in the Manfred kets de Vries on the Couchseries.Here, Kets de Vries looks at entrepreneurship, the pathology ofleadership, and the personality of the leader. The reader willvisit the disturbed inner worlds of leaders like Alexander theGreat, Shaka Zulu and Robert Maxwell, discover how to distinguishbetween a cold fish and a live volcano, and identify impostorsdespots, organizational fools and global leaders.The book highlights the basic principles of the clinicalparadigm--the process of putting organizations and theindividuals who lead them on the psychoanalyst's couch. Itincludes studies of personality archetypes and the effects theyhave on organizational life and culture--and the effects thatorganizations have on them. Referring frequently to key managementconcepts, Kets de Vries looks not only at what happens when thingsgo wrong, but also at how to create the psychological andorganizational space to make sure that things go right.About the series:The series offers an overview of Kets de Vries's workspanning four decades, a period in which he has established himselfas the leading figure in the clinical study of organizationalleadership.The books in this series contain a representative selection ofKets de Vries' writings about leadership from a wide varietyof published sources and cover character and leadership in a globalcontext, career development and leadership in organizations. Theoriginal essays were all written or published between 1976 and2008. Updated where appropriate and revised by the author, theypresent a digest of the work of one of the most influentialmanagement thinkers of the present day.