Despite the proven benefits of emotional intelligence, organisational life has typically been hostile to the inner world of feeling. Rationality is deemed superior to feeling, which can contaminate judgment. But without feeling there is no passion, and no action.
Tapping into the startling parallels between the journey to emotional intelligence, the process of psychoanalysis, the practice of leadership coaching and the Zen journey to enlightenment, the author helps executives, consultants, and coaches to peel back the layers of self-deception and reveal how inner personality–largely hard-wired since early childhood–affects the way they lead and manage others. This book sets out to change people and organisations for the better, by revealing the ‘dark side’ of leadership behaviour and its impact on performance.
Also Available in:
Wiley, 2006
Purchase
Life and Death in the Executive Fast Lane: Essays on Irrational Organizations and Their Leaders
This book presents eclectic advice on how things really work in organisations, by combining the dismal science of management and the impossible profession of psychoanalysis.
Published on 16 Aug, 1995
"Unconscious dynamics and impact on organisational life"
Organizations on the Couch: A Clinical Perspective on Organizational Dynamics
In this article the argument is made that unconscious dynamics have a significant impact on life in organisations.
Published on 1 Apr, 2004
Organizational Paradoxes: Clinical Approaches to Management
The objective of this book is to develop a theory of organizational functioning as viewed from a clinical perspective. For that purpose psychoanalytic concepts are applied to the study of leadership behavior, organizational stress, work disorders, career, power, and authority.
Published on 27 Feb, 2009
Organizations on the Couch, Perspectives on Organizational Behavior and Change
This book introduces the work of a number of leading scholars interested in the clinical approach to organisational analysis.
Published on 19 Nov, 1991
"A look at a clinically oriented consultation"
Organizations as Optical Illusions: A Clinical Perspective on Organizational Consultation
This article addresses the subject of clinically oriented consultation in the workplace, offering an example of an intervention to illustrate the limitations of more traditional, rational forms of organisational consultation.
Published on 17 Nov, 2005
"Motivating teams with a psycho-dynamic approach"
Chief executives on the couch: Even successful leaders have hang-ups
This blog, published in the Financial Times, reports on a working paper by Manfred Kets de Vries on the Psychodynamic Approach to leadership studies.
Published on 20 Aug, 2014
Handbook of Character Studies: Psychoanalytic Explorations
This book provides a comprehensive review of the state of knowledge in the field of psychoanalytic character studies.
Published on 13 Nov, 1991
"Overview of the psycho- dynamic approach to leadership study"
This working paper provides an overview of the psychodynamic approach, including historical underminnings, its key concepts, and includes three case studies with which to apply the psychodynamic approach as well as a short self-assessment on leadership archetype.
Published on 19 Jun, 2014
"Attachment theory applied in an org context"
The Attachment Imperative: The Kiss of the Hedgehog
This working paper explores the evolution and function of attachment in the context of adult relationships.
Published on 18 Apr, 2013
This book explores the role of power in organisations.
Published on 1 Aug, 1975
