The mystique of leadership essay. Read the book "The Mystic of Leadership. Developing Emotional Intelligence" online in full - Manfred Kets de Vries - MyBook. Downsizing and reorganization

This is a development book. emotional intelligence. It is written as an interactive guide to action. Therefore, the book is filled with practical exercises related to the development of emotional intelligence. The full version can be purchased from the publishing house "Alpina Business Books"

About the author................................................ ................................................. ..... eight
Gratitude................................................. ................................................ eleven
Introduction................................................. ................................................. . 13
1 Leadership in Controversy............................................................... ........................... twenty
Presentation of key issues .................................................................. ................. 22
The central position of the clinical paradigm .............................................................. .... 26
2 Emotional potential in the world of work.................................................... .............. 39
Intelligence is a multifaceted property ............................................... ................. 40
A Closer Look at Emotional Potential .............................................................. ..46
Honing Support Skills emotional development................................ 49
Dealing with Emotional Extremes ....................................................... ...... 54
The main theme of conflict relations............................................................... ............... 58
Deepening our understanding of our inner theater............................................................... .... 63
Escape from the prison of the psyche .............................................. .............................. 67
3 Oyster Syndrome............................................... ................................... 69
Consequences of the oyster syndrome for corporations .............................................. ...... 71
Changing the company model............................................................... ......................... 72
Companies that stand the test of time .................................................................. ..... 78
4 Failure Factor in Leadership .............................................................. .............................. 85
Behavior of leaders: myth and reality .............................................. ......... 86
Rational and irrational behavior .......................................................... ......... 88
Dysfunctional Leadership Models .................................................................. ........... 90
Trap of transfer .............................................................. ................................... 96
Influence of narcissism .............................................................. .............................. 106
5 Continuity .................................................................. .................................... 115
Dilemmas of middle age .................................................................. ............................... 117
Life cycle CEO......................................................... 119
Envy of generations .................................................. ................................. 124
6 The Dilbert Phenomenon............................................... ................................... 130
Spiritual indifference .................................................................. ............................... 132
Resurrection of "dead" leaders.................................................... ................... 136
Lifelong strategy and delayed life strategy .......................................................... 139
Tragedies of success and semi-success .............................................. ....................... 142
A short recipe for resurrection ............................................................... ......................... 146
7 Vices at the top............................................... .................................... 148
Neurotic styles and companies............................................................... .................... 149
Dramatic personalities/companies............................................................... ................... 151
Suspicious individuals/companies .................................................................. .................... 155
Dispassionate individuals/companies .................................................................. ................... 158
Depressed individuals/companies............................................................... ................... 161
Coercive individuals/companies............................................................... ................. 163
Examples ................................................. ................................................. 168
The vicious circle of the company .................................................................. ....................... 177

8 Changing ourselves and the company............................................... ........... 181
The process of change .................................................................. ................................. 182
Dynamics of individual changes .............................................................. .............. 183
Dynamics of changes in the company .................................................................. ...................... 190
Strategies for implementing change............................................................... ........ 199
9 Characteristics of effective leadership.................................................................... .......... 210
Leadership Chatter: A Primer on Leadership for Everyone.................................................................. 212
Leadership Models .............................................................. ............................... 214
10 Leadership in a global context.................................................... .................... 224
Wheel of culture .................................................. ................................... 227
Definition of abilities,
needed for global leadership .............................................................. ......... 237
Developing Global Leadership .................................................................. ................... 240
11 Roles of Leaders............................................... ......................................... 247
Leadership and management .................................................................. ........................... 252
The dual role of the leader .................................................................. ............................... 259
12 Developing the qualities of a leader.................................................... .............................. 271
Choice problems .............................................................. ................................. 272
Growth Challenges................................................... ............................................... 275
Leadership in the Digital Age ....................................................... ......................... 280
13 Improving Organizations............................................................... ................. 286
Best companies to work for .............................................................. ......................... 287
"Healthy" personality .............................................................. ................................. 289
Characteristics of improving companies .................................................................. .. 297
The problem of gender equality .............................................................. ................... 301
14 Closing remarks............................................................... ....................... 304
The Jester as the Necessary Voice of Truth .............................................................. ................. 304
Final Thoughts on Leadership............................................................... ................ 306
Recommended Further Reading .................................................................................. ............ 309
LIST OF TABLES
7.1. Brief characteristics five types of companies ............................................... ...... 152
LIST OF DRAWINGS
2.1. Thinking Styles .................................................................. .................................... 40
2.2. Processes in the company ............................................................... ................................... 61
7.1. The vicious cycle of the company: “neurotic” companies .. 178
8.1. Five Pillars of the Individual Change Process .................................................................. 189
8.2. Forces Involved in Changing Man .............................................................. ........... 190
8.3. “Mourning” of the company .............................................. .................................... 194
8.4. Stages of the process of transformation in the company.................................................... ........ 199

9.1. Leadership area .................................................................. ................................. 216
9.2. Supervisor-subordinate relationship .............................................................. .............. 217
9.3. Components of a Leadership Style .............................................................. ................. 218
9.4. Circle of Skills .................................................................. ...................................... 221
10.1. Wheel of culture .................................................. .................................... 230

10.2. Developing Global Leadership .................................................................. ..... 246
11.1. Matrix leadership/management .............................................. .......... 251
11.2. The dual role of the leader .................................................................. ......................... 259
12.1. Management in the digital age .............................................................. ......... 284
13.1. The Essential Elements of an Authentic Organization....................................... 300
LIST OF QUESTIONNAIRES
1.1. How do you understand leadership? ......................... 23
2.1. What type of thinking do you prefer? ............... 41
2.2. What kind of intelligence do you have? .............................................. .................... 43
2.3. What is your EQ (or "emotional development quotient")?.................................................................. 44
2.4. Are you an active listener? ......................... 51
2.5. How wide is your range of emotions? ................. 52
2.6. How would you rate your emotional potential? ... 55
2.7. What mood are you in? .............................................. .......... ".......... 57
2.8. What is the main theme of conflict in your relationship? ..... 62
2.9. What do your dreams tell you? ................................... 67

3.1. Do you have oyster syndrome? ....................... 70
3.2. How do you see the future of your company? ........... 73
3.3. What stage is your company at? .............................................. ............ 79
3.4. Has there been a change in the organization model in your company? .............................................. 81
3.5. Will the "boiled frog factor" kill you? .............. 84

4.1. What does your working day consist of? .................... 86
4.2. What is your leadership style? .............................................................. ......................... 91
4.3. Are you in control of your narcissism? ................. 109
4.4. How flexible are you? ............................................... ................................. 114
5.1. How are things going with inheritance in your company? ... 128
6.1. How well do you know your subordinates? ... 131
6.2. Do you suffer from overwork? ................................................. ................... 132
6.3. How cheerful do you feel? .............................................. ............... 134
6.4. Do you get tired in your company? .............................................. ...................... 135
6.5. Assess your sense of flow .................................................................. ................... 138
6.6. Can you define your "maximum" leadership? ............... 138
6.7. How balanced is your lifestyle? ........... 140
7.1. What management style do you prefer? ........... 173
8.1. What is your life? Revaluation .................................................................. ................. 185
8.2. How do you feel about change? ................................................. ............... 193
8.3. How do you rate your company's readiness for change?.................................................. 200
8.4. What is holding you back (and what can you do about it)? .... 205
8.5. What is valued in your company? ................................................. ................ 208
9.1. What skills are needed in your company? .. 220
9.2 What are you good at? .............................................. ...................................... 222
10.1. Do you have what a global leader needs? .............................................. .. 238
10.2. How global is your company? .............................................. ............... 239

11.1.Are you a leader or a manager?....................................... ......... ................. 251
11.2. What is your charisma? .................... 255
11.3. What is the main ideology of your company? ........ 263

12.1. What Criteria Really Matter? ..... 273
12.2. Where do you add value to the organization? ................................................. ........ 280
12.3. Are you ready to be a leader in the digital age? .. 281
12.4. Are you ready for action? ....................................................... ............................. 285

13.1. How “healthy” are you? .............................. 290
13.2. Are you a “real” man (or woman)? ............. 302

The main objective of my study of leadership is the return of the person to the organization. Despite the obvious importance of the human factor, much of the research on organizations stands out for its apparent lack of attention to the people who are the main actors of these organizations. Too many professionals prioritize structures and systems over people. In general, the world of organizations is dominated by positivism and objectivity. Key takeaway: What you can't see doesn't exist. One explanation for this approach may be the fact that it is much easier to study structures and systems than people. People are more complex. Moreover, it is more difficult for people to change. (As I sometimes say, it's easier to change people than it is for people to change.)
The clinical approach to management costs me dearly. While my interest in the stories people tell me enriches my research, it makes my life difficult in many ways. Finally,

16 THE MYSTERY OF LEADERSHIP

structures and procedures are far more tangible than personality and biography. Moreover, my attention human factor caused a flood of condemnation among organizations researchers. For most of them, storytelling is not a serious occupation. For them, real life consists of "rats and numbers"; in their opinion, only controlled experiments based on objects that do not cause any emotional reactions and give unambiguous statistics make the phenomenon a reality. Naturally, this approach greatly facilitates both work and life. The inner, subjective world of a person (a complex of influences of one person on another) is more difficult to control.
In my work, I pay a lot of attention to the inner world of people, to each person individually. I ask myself questions like: What are the main questions on this individual's mind? What has an emotional resonance for him/her? What is the script and scenery of this man's inner theater? But not only the inner world of the individual is important. Man is part of social conditions. We can adequately talk about a person only in the environment of others. No one is an island in itself (as many would like to think); people function in interaction with others. Thus, I also pay attention to the interpersonal aspect. I am interested in the relationship of one person to another, especially how leaders affect the lives of those who work (and live) with them.
In the process of cognition of the individual in the working atmosphere, noting both personal and social aspects, when working with people in their organizations, I always try to stick to the basic rule of journalists: I focus on the 5 Ws. When I talk to people, I ask the following questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why?
This leadership book is based on a series of lectures I gave to various audiences in many countries, the exact number of which I do not remember, over a long period of time. Although the observations and conclusions contained in this book are based on extensive research material, it is not my intention to write a highly theoretical book. This book was conceived as workbook, a book containing practical exercises for leaders who want to learn more about leadership and its vicissitudes, that is, for people who want to improve the effectiveness of their leadership.
However, despite the practical bias of this book - this is not a simple "guide to action." It is also an attempt to reflect on what leadership is. Many of the observations

INTRODUCTION 17

The ones you'll find in this book are based on research I've done over many years of studying organizations and their leadership. Those readers interested in deepening their understanding of the clinical approach to organizational analysis may refer to the original sources. (At the end of the book, I have compiled a list of some of my scientific papers and those of others on which this book is based.)
I would like to warn readers that much of what I say in this book is not new; some of the ideas I've put forward have been around for some time. Moreover, many of them may seem rather obvious. However, do not ignore ideas that lack the brilliance of novelty. Ideas with a long history are not necessarily worse than trendy ones. (But neither will they necessarily be better, I must say.) What matters is how these ideas work in practice, in the lives of real leaders and their followers. Therefore, I advise you to look at my ideas in the light of your own experience and critically evaluate this experience. Ask yourself what you are doing with the leadership factor. How do you implement your own leadership style? Whether you work in a store or an office on the top floor of a glittering skyscraper, what have you done today to become a more effective leader? Are you trying to be as efficient as possible?
There is a story about a frog that was lying on a log in the river. Because there were crocodiles around the log, the frog did not know how to get across the river unharmed. Suddenly she looked up at the tree and saw an owl sitting on a branch. She said, “Wise owl, please help me. How can I get across the river without being eaten by crocodiles? The owl replied: “It is very simple. Push off with your paws as hard as you can. This should work. You will fly and you will be able to cross the river, and the crocodiles will not reach you.” The frog did as the owl advised her, and before falling into the water, where the crocodile grabbed her, she asked the owl: “Why, why did you give me this advice ?! I'm going to be eaten now." To which the owl replied: “Sorry. I'm just thinking. I'm not good at bringing ideas to life."
As history suggests, only a fraction of the strategies that organizations develop are used effectively. Many people are not particularly good at synchronizing action and vision, aligning ideas and execution. Anyone who works with ideas must take into account the ability of people to implement these ideas. Deep contemplation alone does not bring fantasy to the drawing board. To succeed, leaders must understand both action and theory.

18 THE MYSTERY OF LEADERSHIP

I hope that this book will help leaders to act effectively. To do this, we turned to the following topics:
* Chapter 1 "Leadership in Controversy" first considers what
such leadership, and then introduces the concept of a clinical paradigm
(which, as I noted earlier, is the basis of my approach to
theory and practice of organizations).
* Chapter 2 "Emotional Potential in the World of Work"
focuses on emotional potential, identifying ways,
that can improve the leader's ability to understand himself
themselves, motivate and support their followers.
* Chapter 3 "The Oyster Syndrome" deals with the natural human
chesky tendency to resist change - the tendency to
which fails both individual leaders and the organization
generally. In addition, it analyzes the changes that occur
in the world of organizations.
* Chapter 4, The Fail Factor in Leadership, examines the interplay between the rational and the irrational in leadership behavior, examining the influence of phenomena such as narcissism and transference on leadership and suggesting ways to counteract them.
* Chapter 5 "Continuity" introduces you to the life cycle
manager and considers some of the issues that
undermine the leadership succession process.
*Chapter 6, "The Dilbert Phenomenon," describes how the organization
draws vitality from its servants, and ways are suggested
"revitalization" of apathetic people.
* Chapter 7 "Vices at the Top" introduces you to a special "neurotic
"Chemical" leadership style - a style that arises from
the phenomenon of a new leader, but ultimately has a "poison
overall” impact on the organization as a whole - and offers options
ant retuning of these "neurotic" styles.
* Chapter 8, "Changing Ourselves and the Company," explores the dynamics of the process of change in relation to the people and organizations they make up.
*Chapter 9 "Characteristics of Effective Leadership" review
defines what requires leadership from a person, and highlights some for
skills that distinguish an effective leader from others.
* Chapter 10, Leadership in a Global Context, focuses on
cultural differences and their impact on business, examines

INTRODUCTION 19

the specific requirements of international leadership and highlights ways in which organizations can select and develop leaders who will operate effectively in a global environment.
* Chapter 11, Roles of Leaders, focuses on the two dichotomies—leadership vs. management, and charismatic leader vs. architectural leader—and advises on how to balance these contrasting but necessary strengths.
*Chapter 12, Developing Leadership Qualities, looks at how companies
can assess the leadership abilities of potential candidates and develop leadership skills in those already in leadership positions.
*Chapter 13, Improving Organizations, defines a new type of workplace and the challenges companies face in the new model.
* Chapter 14, Closing Comments, talks about the jester in the company and offers some final reflections on leadership.
As I have already noted, this book was conceived as interactive. Therefore, in it you will find many riddles, self-assessment exercises and questions. I hope these exercises will help leaders to reflect on themselves. However, keep in mind that while all of these exercises are based on extensive research, neither the questions nor the interpretation of the answers have been tested. For this reason, the results of the exercises should not be used as a basis for making decisions. Moreover, they should be taken only as instructions that will help the leader to think and improve his leadership abilities. These results should be considered as part of the total, consisting of personal experience, life circumstances and other factors. Our behavior is too complex a thing to be reduced to a few questions on a questionnaire. Exercise is valuable, but it's only part of the puzzle. The results should be taken as indicators, not absolute indicators.
To facilitate reading, I have refrained from listing reference literature in the text. If you would like to continue reading about my research and the work of other authors, please refer to the list of recommended reading at the end of the book.

Chapters from the book The Mystery of Leadership: Developing Emotional Intelligence. Manfred Kets de Vries. Alpina Business Books, Moscow, 2007

Intelligence is a multifaceted property.
According to the classification of the Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner, intelligence is presented in seven variants: spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, linguistic, logical-mathematical, interpersonal and intrapersonal.
People with spatial intelligence think in images and pictures, easily navigate the terrain
People with physical intelligence accurately use their body, have good coordination
People with musical intelligence have a very delicate ear, music is an integral part of their life.
People with linguistic intelligence are highly sensitive to the meanings of words, learn foreign languages quickly
People with logical-mathematical intelligence know how to solve logic puzzles
People with interpersonal intelligence are able to feel the feelings of others, understand how a person feels, get along with people and achieve everything with the help of others.
People with intrapersonal intelligence understand their own feelings very well, lead a rich emotional life, understand well own motivations and behavior, have a developed intuition.

Despite this variety of intelligence around us, many are limited only to the logical-mathematical component - the form of intelligence that can be measured using an IQ test. But IQ is not everything. A person who does well in college may fail in life.
Some human development researchers have said that high IQ is only 20% of a person's success in life. There are many other factors that influence success, such as luck, serendipity, and other forms of intelligence. IQ does not guarantee success, especially in leadership. First, people with high IQs don't necessarily make the right decisions. In fact, IQ and leadership qualities, such as decision making, are very loosely related. (After all, if high IQs were the deciding factor, employment agents would tear down the doors of math departments to hire mathematicians.) solutions. Third, people with high IQs are often so good at criticizing others that they pay more attention to it than to seeking constructive solutions.
In the world of business, emotional intelligence - Gardner's blend of interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence - is as important as logical-mathematical intelligence. A high IQ ("intelligence quotient") can be beaten by a high EQ ("emotional development quotient").

A closer look at emotional potential.
The word "emotion" comes from the Latin "motere", which means "to move"; and, of course, emotions move people in different ways, both at work and in other areas of life. Many organizations have come to realize that a drop of emotion can be more effective than a ton of facts. The three main components of emotional potential are:
Understand your own feelings.
Learn to manage them.
Learn to recognize the emotions of others and manage them.

Understand your own emotions.
Knowing yourself is the first step to emotional development. A year ago, I taught a seminar for corporate executives called "The Leadership Challenge: Examining Our Emotional Growth." Twenty people, mostly men, participated in three cycles of five workshops over a period of six months. The focus of each seminar was the study of a specific "life situation" that was told by one of the participants. When we talked about feelings at the beginning of the meeting, some participants said the following words: “I don’t know how I feel. My wife (my son, or assistant) tells me how I feel!” Years of work have obliterated the distinction between their own feelings and what they are expected to feel, so the "False Self," the caricature of the "good employee," takes over. One of the goals of the workshops is to try to help the participants break free from the habit of explaining the world neatly and understanding their own feelings and using them effectively, in short, to increase their emotional intelligence.

Learn to manage emotions.
The next step in developing emotional intelligence is to learn how to manage your emotions, i.e. learn to recognize and deal with the range of feelings we have (even if we don't like what some feelings say about us). If we control this process, then we can use emotions to achieve our goal, in other words, we can motivate ourselves.

Learn to recognize the feelings of others and manage them.
The art of empathy, i.e. understanding the feelings of another can be learned. Leaders who are too focused on themselves can find it very difficult to put themselves in the position of others. They cannot imagine what the world would look like through the eyes of someone else.

Hone the supporting skills of emotional development.
We listen actively.
This is much more than just silently waiting for your turn to speak. This is how psychotherapists listen: with full attention, trying to fully understand the meaning of what the person says (as well as what he or she chooses not to say).
Communication students say that most people speak between 125 and 150 words per minute, while they can perceive 750-1200 words per minute. Perhaps it is this imbalance that makes us bad listeners - our brain wanders somewhere in the free time between words. Mind wandering is the most innocuous manifestation of the habit of bad listening. Some people try to do a few things while listening - send a letter to e-mail, complete clerical work or answer calls. There are people who do not want to wait for the interlocutor to finish thinking or finish, and interrupt him.
Active listeners, on the other hand, are engaged in only one thing: they fully participate in what is said, they do not necessarily remain silent. They periodically relay what was said in their own words to make sure they heard what they want to say. Also, good listeners think about the meaning of what was said. They comment by saying “what do you mean by…?” or “Are you saying that because…?” In addition, they provoke further statements by the interlocutor: “Can you tell me what happened next?” They try to think about the speaker's feelings as well: "If this happened to me, I would be upset" or "How did you feel then?" or "You must have been very pleased to hear that."

We listen with our eyes.
Good listeners use sign language and pay attention to the body language of others, remembering that “fit” is determined by context. For example, in Western cultures, the listener tries to look into the eyes of the interlocutor. In Japan, Korea, and some countries in the Middle East, eye contact can be regarded as aggression.
Attention to non-verbal details is an element of emotional development. Facial expressions, gestures, reservations - all this plays a role in the communication process. Imperceptible movements are explained almost unconsciously.

We adapt to the spectrum of emotions, our own and other people's.
Every emotional state has a positive and a negative side.
Take anger, one of the most so-called negative emotions, for example. Although anger removes us from others, interferes with critical self-esteem, and paralyzes the body, it also serves as a defense against self-love: it creates a sense of justice and motivates a person to action. Positive emotions are pleasant and contribute to positive relationships with others, there are negative side– With positive emotions come less fear of risk and unrealistic expectations that can lead to disappointment.
In order to increase the positive effect and reduce the negative one, we must become proficient in recognizing feelings and learn how to express them fluently and constructively. And as leaders, we must be able to help our people do the same.

Test yourself: how wide is your range of emotions?
1. What makes you angry? Think back to the last time you were angry. How did you deal with the situation? Could you do it differently?
2. What makes you sad? Can you describe a few times when you felt sad? How did you deal with these situations?
3. What makes you feel ashamed? Describe several situations in which you felt ashamed.
4. What makes you happy? Can you describe a few instances of joy?
Write down your answers and think about them. They should tell you how sensitive you are to your emotions and help you better understand your emotional life.

We extract experience from the auxiliary skills of emotional development.
My experience is that people with high emotional potential:
? build stronger interpersonal relationships;
? are better able to motivate themselves and others;
? more active, innovative and creative
? more effective leaders
? work better under stress
? cope better with change
? are more in harmony with themselves

The higher a person is career ladder company, the more important emotional intelligence becomes. Although people are most often hired initially for their specific technical skills, at higher levels of an organization it is emotional potential that separates successful careers from career stagnation. As mentioned earlier, high EQ does not mean that you are just a nice person. Moreover, it does not give from free control of emotions. This means that you are realistic about yourself and others, accepting human nature in all its diversity, and using the senses correctly. The reward is great: high EQ leads to better decision making, adds realism to interactions with others, and prevents frustration.

How would you rate your emotional potential?
Ask yourself the following questions and rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 from bad (1) to very good (10). If you can, ask your loved ones to answer these questions about you too. Looking from the outside will help to avoid bias.
How well do you understand others from their point of view?
How sensitive are you to the emotions of others?
Is it easy for you to make friends?
Are you willing to share your feelings with others?
Do you easily resolve conflicts?
Can you easily adapt your behavior to changing circumstances?
Does your behavior make others feel warm towards you?
Are you aware of the influence you have on others (even if they don't show it)?
When you face a difficult situation, can you handle it?
Do you easily deal with people who ask you about your personal life?
Do you find help easily when needed?
Do you constantly think about your actions?

If you (and people you know) consistently put the highest scores, you are lucky, it looks like you have a High emotional potential. If not, you need to make efforts for further development. Pay Special attention the difference between your assessments and those given by your friends. If the difference is large, you may be deluding yourself or giving others the wrong idea of yourself.

Chapter 1. Mystery of the human factor. Through the lens of the clinical paradigm

Organizations are like cars. They move by themselves only downhill. A company can have all sorts of virtues - good financial resources, an enviable position in the market, outstanding technology - but if its leadership fails, all these virtues dissolve, and the organization, like a car without a driver, rolls downhill.

In this book, I am going to focus on three issues:

1. I challenge the claim that "irrational" behavior is a common pattern for the life of an organization and demonstrate that detailed behavior has a "rational" part in it. This "rational" is the understanding of the internal theater of man - those key themes that affect the human personality and leadership style.

2. I will try to shed light on the dark side of leadership by highlighting some of the most common behaviors that lead to the downfall of leaders.

3. I'll talk about what an effective leader needs by pointing out what effective leaders do to keep the organization performing well and outlining what a successful organization looks like.

Logical substantiation of the irrational. Leaders are not always an example of rationality. “Emotional intelligence” is what we call the understanding of motivations - one's own and other people's. …people with greater emotional sensitivity are much more likely to become effective leaders. Unfortunately, this cannot be learned by reading a tutorial. On the other hand, the acquisition of emotional sensitivity is an experiential process. Moreover, this is best done with the help of a spouse, friend, colleague or professional who can tell you your blind spots and help you see how you interact with other people.

The dark side of leadership. Much of the literature on leadership describes the leader as a model of merit and speaks eloquently of the qualities that make a leader. I would like to remind the reader that there is another side to the coin. We can all name at least five politicians corrupted by the dark side of leadership. Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic immediately come to mind. We are much less likely to notice this shadow when we see it in the workplace, although it often ruins the lives of many. … the second point of my plan is to illuminate the dark side of leadership.

Finding the essence of effective leadership. Here I will address the following questions: What is charisma and transformational leadership? What defines a charismatic leader? What knowledge, skills and roles distinguish an effective leader from an ineffective one? What can be done to develop the qualities of an effective leader?

The central position of the clinical paradigm. My work with organizations is based on a clinical paradigm. This means that I use concepts from psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, developmental psychology, family system theory, and cognitive psychology to understand the behavior of people in organizations. The clinical paradigm is based on the following three assumptions:

1. What you see does not necessarily correspond to reality. The world around us is much more complex than it seems at first glance. Much of what is happening is beyond our conscious awareness. The most effective leaders are those who can look at difficult situations from a different angle. By changing their perception of the problem, they change their vision of it. We rarely think outside the usual framework. If we hear this advice as we grow up—when our out-of-the-box thinking is blunted, our creative spark is extinguished—we begin to see innovation as disruptive, and end up giving everyone the same advice ourselves. But what's worse, we stick to this advice even if we want a different result. In other words, we want change without changing anything! The challenge for an effective leader is to break out of the box.

2. Any human behavior, no matter how irrational it may seem, has a logical justification. The first step towards change is understanding that the behavior is dysfunctional. So feedback is very important.

3. We are all the result of our past.

The force that holds these three positions together is our vast subconscious. Most motivations and behaviors originate outside of consciousness.

So why use the clinical paradigm? Because thanks to it, we will better understand what leadership is. We will be better informed about what is happening around us and more aware of the constant interaction of past and present. (As T. S. Eliot once said, “The present and the past are both presented in the future. And the future contains the past.”) Moreover, we will get another level of understanding: by applying the clinical paradigm, we become emotionally more educated. And people who have an emotional sense are more effective at creating motivations for themselves and for those around them. They also work better as leaders because they can see the rational behind the irrational behavior.

Chapter 2 Emotional Potential in the World of Work

Brain researchers have found that left hemisphere is responsible for speech, language, writing, logic, mathematics, science and the right hand, and the right - for spatial construction, creative thinking, fantasy, art, understanding of music and the actions of the left hand. In other words, the two hemispheres are responsible for different thought patterns. In general, people with a more developed left hemisphere tend to have a more cognitive style of thinking, while those with a better functioning right hemisphere tend to have a more emotional style.

According to the classification of the Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner, intelligence is presented in seven variants: spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, linguistic, logical-mathematical, interpersonal and intrapersonal.

Despite this variety of intelligence around us, many are limited only to the logical-mathematical component - the form of intelligence that can be measured using an IQ test. This is what we value as individuals and as a society and want to instill in ourselves and others. But IQ (mental development) is not everything. A person who does well in college may fail in life. IQ does not guarantee success, especially in leadership. First, people with high IQs don't necessarily make the right decisions. In fact, IQ and leadership qualities, such as decision making, are very loosely related. (After all, if high IQs were the deciding factor, employment agents would tear down the doors of math departments to hire mathematicians.) solutions. Third, people with high IQs are often so good at criticizing others that they pay more attention to it than to finding constructive solutions. In the world of business, emotional intelligence - a mixture of interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence according to Gardner's classification - is no less important than logical-mathematical. A high IQ ("intelligence quotient") can be beaten by a high EQ ("emotional development quotient").

The three main components of emotional potential are:

Understand your own feelings.
Learn to manage them.
Learn to recognize the emotions of others and manage them.

The three most important support skills that form emotional potential are the ability to actively listen, understand non-verbal communication and adapt to a wide range of emotions.

Listening actively ... most people speak between 125 and 150 words per minute, while they can perceive and process 750-1200 words per minute. Perhaps this imbalance is what makes us such bad listeners. Our brain wanders somewhere in the free time between words. Mind wandering is the most innocuous manifestation of the habit of bad listening.

QUESTIONNAIRE. Are you an active listener?

Answer the following questions "yes" or "no".

Can you let others finish talking without interrupting them?
Do you ask questions if you don't understand what is being said?
Do you pay attention to what is being said and do you maintain eye contact?
Do you understand what is being said to you?
Do you repeat what you have been told to make sure you understand the other person correctly?
Do you think about the meaning of what was said and do you confirm the correctness of understanding?
Are you trying to get into the feelings behind the words?

If you couldn't answer yes to all questions, you may not be a good listener. Whether you answered yes or no, you may want to check your answers with people close to you to see what people think about your listening style.

The higher a person ranks in a company's career ladder, the more important emotional intelligence becomes (and less important technical skills). While people are more likely to be hired initially for their specific technical skills, at higher levels of an organization it is emotional potential that separates successful careers from career stagnation. Empathy and introspection are the most important factors that drive a career. High EQ leads to better decision making, adds realism to interactions with others, and prevents frustration.

Let's imagine for a moment that the company is an iceberg. Most of my organizational colleagues pay attention to what is happening on the surface (Figure 2). They pay little attention to the struggle that takes place in the depths, preferring to look only at what is visible. In other words, they avoid fighting the angel. They study obvious phenomena such as mission, vision, goals, strategies, activities, job description, tasks, roles, selection process, system of control and rewards, and norms of control. In short, they focus on the more rational dimensions of a company's life. Of course, these factors are important. I pay attention to them too. But I am interested - or rather, I am more interested - in what happens at those levels of the iceberg that lie deep under the water. What informal processes take place there? What is the underlying dynamic? In other words, what are the "irrational" variables that make up a company's culture? How are decisions actually made? These variables include factors such as the underlying values corporate culture, power and influence structures, group dynamics, interpersonal relationships, responses to stress, and what some psychiatrists refer to as the "major theme of conflict relations" (RTCR) of those in power.

Mental health is all about choice.

Warning: I would like to emphasize that questionnaires are of limited use in measuring emotional development, as many of the factors related to emotional development are sensory-based (relating to touch, sound, and smell) and therefore difficult to measure in questionnaires. In addition, the “social desirability factor” affects the results: people answer such questionnaires not truthfully, but in the way they would like to be perceived.

Chapter 3

Silent oysters can tell us a lot about change and stagnation. This clam has only one important decision to make in life: where to "settle". Having decided this, the oyster attaches its head to the stone and remains there for the rest of its life. I have found that many people behave the same way: they are so resistant to change that they can also cement themselves in one place. If a leader has this trait (if he suffers from what might be called the "oyster syndrome"), the results can be devastating to the organization.

…success can only be sustained if the company is able to adapt to change.

For much of the 20th century, organizations were modeled after the Catholic Church or the army. General Motors was the main prototype of such a "modern" company - a surprisingly durable prototype. Alfred Sloan's book My Years with General has become the bible of generations of office workers and business school students. It advocated a pyramidal structure, hierarchical organization, departments, decision-making from above, functional and branch structure, power in accordance with the position.

From three Cs to three Is. Organizations dominated by control, obedience and hierarchy (three Cs: control, compliance, compartmentalization) gave way to organizations focused on ideas, information and interaction (three Is: ideas, information, interaction).

From the Traditional Psychological Contract to the Employability Paradox. With the advent of the new paradigm comes a change in what is often referred to as the "psychological contract," the tacit understanding of employer and employee obligations in the context of the employment relationship. Under the old model, the consequence of this psychological contract was that in exchange for loyalty to the employer, a person received a job security until retirement and a good pension. The new companies of the information age, instead, stick to the idea: “We offer you opportunities; you are building your career."

From dictatorial guardianship to new forms of leadership. Jack Welch explained his ideas to followers by saying, "A company with no future is a company that has turned its back on its president and its back on its customers."

Chapter 4

Leaders are not rational people how we think... Let's look at some of the most common causes that lead to leadership failures.

The desire to avoid conflicts. While we tend to think of leaders as powerful and fearless, many of them tend to walk away from conflict. Fearful of doing anything that threatens approval, they are unable (or unwilling) to make difficult decisions and exercise control. They become empty suits, unwilling to face the fact (and it is a fact) that setting boundaries is more important than reconciling differences. I don't have an exact formula for success, but I do know the formula for failure: try to please everyone.

Treating subordinates.

Micromanagement. Managers pay so much attention to detail that they can not give up part of the control. Not believing that anyone else can do their job as well as themselves, micromanagers are reluctant to delegate authority. Transition from step control to general management is one of the most difficult problems for many managers.

manic behavior. Maniacal behavior causes companies to lose sight of the main tasks. Maniacal leaders focus so much on the inner life that they forget about the main component: their clients. Leaders don't have to look in the mirror; they have to look out the window! Only if they focus on the outer life will they be able to maintain contact with clients.

Inaccessibility. Some leaders are so full of their own importance that they don't have time for others. It doesn't occur to them to set an example or walk around workplaces and shops and listen to what their customers have to say.

Intrigue. Every company has its own "dealers" - political beings, masters of counting power. They keep their subordinates from shining by using and even abusing them instead of helping them grow and develop; at the same time, they do everything possible to attract the attention of their superiors to themselves.

All of these behaviors form the two Hs of bad leadership: Mistrust and Sickness. An indicator of effective leadership is how much people in the company trust their leadership. If the level of trust is low, then there is some kind of ailment (problems).

Transfer trap. Transference means that none of our relationships are new; they are all colored by previous relationships. There are few universals in life, but transference is one of them: an absolutely ubiquitous element of the human condition, it is how each of us processes information and organizes experience. The most common transfer models are idealization and reflection.

The world of liars. It would be much better if the leaders said in response to the flattery of subordinates: “Don't tell me what I think. I know what I'm thinking. Tell me what you think!" When the conqueror rode into Rome in a chariot, he always had a slave standing behind him, who told him: "You are a man, Caesar, you are a man."

One of the most important tasks of any company is to create an atmosphere in which people would calmly support honest relationship with senior leaders. The effective operation of the company requires from people a healthy disrespect for the boss, freedom in expressing feelings and opinions, calm banter and mutual concessions. Of the means of creating openness in a company that I know of, the 360 system is one of the most effective. With it, company employees receive feedback not only with their superiors (as in the case of the traditional system of praise), but also with their colleagues and subordinates.

Influence of narcissism. Now that we've looked at the transference trap (and honesty is the only sure way to avoid it), let's take a closer look at the narcissism that underlies this trap. Psychologists call the stage narcissism child development through which everyone passes; the stage when the growing child enjoys his own body and its activities.

Monte Cristo Complex. Revenge is a negative way to deal with childhood wounds. More effective way cope with the pain of childhood - what we call "correction" (compensation). Behind it is the following idea: "I did not grow up well myself, so I will create a better life for my children." And while correction usually starts in those close to you, the same principles apply in the workplace. Corrective people try to alleviate their pain by making life better for the company.

Chapter 5

QUESTIONNAIRE. How well do you know your subordinates?

What do your employees do outside of work? Can you immediately or after the conversation tell about the life of five or six of them?

Many managers are surprised to learn how loyal, creative, energetic and imaginative their employees are - except for the eight hours they spend on the job.

Anhedonia (emotional anesthesia) - the inability to experience pleasure. Top management anhedonia can have a devastating effect on a company, as leadership takes a lot of energy. A dead fish will not have enough energy to lead people to success.

Resurrection of "dead" leaders. What can be done to restore the sense of inspiration?

Feeling the flow. We must discover in ourselves what psychologist Michal Csikszentmihaly calls the feeling of "flow" - a feeling that is made up of animation, concentration and such involvement that we lose track of time. How to do it? First, we need a challenge. Secondly, intermediate results are needed.

It is very important that each of us understand what activities bring us maximum energy and pleasure. It's even more important to do it regularly.

A short recipe for resurrection. We should look for signs that we:

We continue to strive for a sense of personal growth through self-knowledge.
We surprise ourselves and others.
Balancing work and personal life.
We develop caring and trusting relationships with others.
We stay physically active.
We control our own lives.

Chapter 6

We all think differently, perceive differently, experience emotions differently, have different subjective experience and different models of activity. There is a Spanish proverb about the connection between an ineffective leader and decline: "The fish starts to rot from the head." In companies where power is concentrated in one hand, the boundary between the person and the company is so thin that any "rot" at the top spreads very quickly. In companies where power is distributed, that is, culture and strategies are determined by several leaders, the relationship between leadership style and company pathology is weaker.

Brief characteristics of the five types of companies ("healthy" firms usually use a mixture of styles):

Dramatic. Characterized by excessive centralization that hinders the development of an effective information system; too simple for many product lines and a wide market; there is not enough influence at the level of second-level managers.
Suspicious. It is characterized by complex information processing, excessive analysis of external trends and centralization of power.
Alienated. Characterized by focus on the inner life; insufficient study of the external environment; imposed barriers to the free flow of information.
Depressive. Characterized by ritualism, bureaucracy, inflexibility, excessive hierarchy, poor internal communication, and resistance to change.
Coercion. It is characterized by immutable formal rules, a complex system of information, ritualized evaluation procedures, excessive thoroughness, precision, and a hierarchy in which the personal status of the leader is directly related to his position.

Closed culture, depressed companies

The culture of a company run by a depressed leader is best described by the term "introverted." The CEO creates a negative and lethargic atmosphere, and second-tier executives imitate him. In some cases, the personality of the leader alone creates such an atmosphere, in others, external forces, such as the death of a founder or a takeover of a company, make normal leaders lose their sense of control, power, self-esteem, and, accordingly, initiative. In any case, the insular culture infiltrates the company through unmotivated, lazy executives who see it as a mechanism that simply needs to be monitored on a daily basis, and which requires minimal participation from them. Shifting responsibility and procrastination is a common thing here, as well as the lack of high-quality interaction and communication between managers. Worse, nothing changes, even when the firm gets into trouble.

Depressed companies, because of their cultural isolation, are characterized by passivity, lack of confidence, extreme conservatism, isolation, and aimlessness. Only programmed, typical tasks are performed that do not require special initiative.

Most depressed firms are well organized and operate in established markets, those that have practiced the same technologies and competition patterns for years, with trade agreements, trade restrictions, and stable tariffs. Minor changes, the absence of serious competition and the homogeneity of customers make the task of management quite simple.

Although power is formally concentrated in one hand and based more on position than on personal experience, this is not an important issue for most depressed companies. Control is carried out according to formalized programs and rules, rather than on the initiative of managers. Proposals for change and action are met with resistance as top management suffers from feelings of powerlessness and incapacity; leaders do not believe they can control events or somehow resurrect the company.

Firms suffering from depression should take the following steps:

Resurrect the leader and transfer power to him.
Reassess strategy.
Develop and adhere to corporate values focused on high results.
Simplify structure and procedures.
Become more sensitive to customer needs.
Update products.
Improve the quality of service.
Look up to high-performing companies.

Chapter 7

Change is hard to come by, whether we're talking about people or companies. Even those who talk about their belief in the value of change are usually dishonest. They want others to change, but they don't want to change themselves. It is important that every attempt to change something - in a person or company - be cognitive and emotional; in other words, people must want it with their minds and hearts. Intellectually, they should understand what benefits the changes will bring, but understanding is not enough. It should also affect them emotionally. Since a company is made up of people, the successful implementation of change in an organization depends on understanding the human response to the process.

Dynamics of individual changes. By examining from a clinical perspective the various stages an individual goes through in the process of change, we can draw parallels for companies as well. Then, by applying the data obtained from observing individual changes to the field of companies, we can start, facilitate, and even accelerate the process of change in the company.

Five C changes; from English words: concern, confrontation, clarification, crystallization, change

Anxiety: negative emotions; the person must experience a sense of unease associated with the status quo.
Confrontation: decisive event; the image of the last drop is very suitable as an example.
Clarification: public announcement of intent.
Crystallization: an inner journey.
Change: acceptance of a new attitude; inner transformation occurs only when there is a new way of looking at things.

Dynamics of change in the company: "pain" of the company, "mourning" of the company, resistance in the company (change causes fear, which in turn breeds resistance; one way to overcome the resistance caused by fears is to explain to everyone that maintaining the status quo poses more problems than jumping into the unknown).

Downsizing and reorganization. The contraction usually results in a slight increase in the share price at first. However, the long-term impact of a business reorganization is much less likely to be positive. A reduction based on numbers alone is doomed to failure.

Changing the corporate mindset. Usually success is achieved by those who break the rules; those who abide by them remain in the minor leagues. Nothing kills trust faster than a lack of respect. If we want to create an atmosphere of trust in the company, we should not punish the messenger.

Chapter 8. Characteristics of effective leadership

It is difficult for someone who is not inclined to change to be an effective leader. Modern society does not give the opportunity to choose between peace and change. They are inevitable, and the degree of change is growing every day. Think, for example, of the difference between your lifestyle and that of your grandparents. In just two generations we have gone from horse and carriage to spacecraft. Or here's another example: one issue of the Herald Tribune contains more information than a person in the Middle Ages would learn in a lifetime.

Interaction based approach. Leaders cannot live without followers, and all the actions of leaders take place in a certain context. It is the ratio of leader, followers, and situation that makes leadership so difficult. In order to successfully combine all the elements, the “interaction” model is most suitable.

Situation and followers as components of leadership. We must evaluate the followers. What can be said about their worldview? What do they expect from the leader and from the job? What is their relationship with the leader? For example, do they seek leadership from above, or do they work best in self-managed teams?

The main component of leadership: the competence of the leader. A person's leadership style is the result of a subtle interaction between the forces of his or her inner theater and the skills he or she acquires over time. These character traits are manifested through certain patterns of behavior, which we can call competence. In a particular situation, a certain set of skills increases the effectiveness of leadership. The task of a leader (including a potential one) is to develop a skill set that covers as many cases as possible.

The results of new research on personality traits are promising: they place the behavioral manifestations of desirable traits in context. In other words, character traits themselves are less important than what they lead to.

The most effective leaders have a set of skills in the following three areas:

Personal skills such as motivation, self-confidence, energy and personal effectiveness.
Social skills such as influence, political awareness and empathy.
Cognitive skills such as conceptual thinking and big vision.

Chapter 9. Leadership in a Global Context

With the increasing globalization of business, we can no longer ignore the fact that leadership has a strong cultural connotation. This means that different national cultures have different attitudes about what is acceptable in the manual. Although a leadership style that is very effective in one country may be completely ineffective in another, people are not always aware of these differences. This is especially true for residents of large countries. We divide people into groups and call them "others" to define who we ourselves are. In other words, we define ourselves more easily if we are different from others in some way.

Development of global leadership. When effective global leaders are asked what has most influenced the development of their global skills, most people talk about the five Ts (tradition, travel, training, transfer, team learning) of global leadership: tradition, travel, training, transfers, and team education.

Chapter 10 Leadership Roles

Charismatic people are constantly unhappy with the current situation. They never take the current situation for granted, they always ask: Can this mousetrap be improved? Can we do it better? By asking such questions, they increase the feeling of discomfort in others and make them think. But charismatic leaders don't stop there: they provide real options. Complaints may keep people short; before complaints lead to action, the hope of a new beginning is needed. Charismatic people provide this hope by creating a new focus that expresses the collective imagination. By providing possible solutions, true leaders know how to wait.

Effective leaders play two roles - charismatic and architectural. In a charismatic role, the leader envisions a better future and inspires his subordinates. In an architectural role, he addresses issues related to company structure and control and reward systems.

Chapter 11

AT life cycle There are usually three stages of a CEO: inauguration, approval, and decline.

Realizing that no one is indispensable, the CEO must ensure continuity. In particular, the CEO's monetary compensation should be related to development and succession planning.

Chapter 12

I am often asked if leaders are born or made. Like many other traits, leadership is perhaps a combination of both. In what ratio: 50% to 50% or 60% to 40%, it doesn't really matter... Most leadership education is already completed by the time people choose their careers; basic personality development is almost complete. Thus, a company that is looking for "great potentials" (as future leaders are often called) is better off starting to choose right person rather than creating it from someone.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, "The best manager is one who has the intelligence to select the right people for the job to be done and the restraint not to interfere with their work while they are doing it." It sounds like the best way to prove you're smarter than the people you hire is to hire people who are smarter than you! As the saying goes, “First class people hire first class people. Second class people hire third class people."

But it is very difficult to assess abilities (leadership or any other) on the basis of limited information and a short acquaintance (see questionnaire).

QUESTIONNAIRE. What criteria really matter?

Imagine that now is the time to choose a new world leader. Here are some facts about the top three candidates:

Candidate A is associated with dishonest politicians and consults astrologers. He has two mistresses. He is a heavy smoker and drinks eight to ten glasses of martinis daily.

Candidate B dropped out of college twice, used opium as a student, now sleeps until noon and drinks a liter of whiskey every night.

Candidate B is a war hero. He is a vegetarian, does not smoke, only drinks beer on special occasions, and has no extramarital affairs.

Who did you choose? If you chose B, you may be surprised by the result:

Candidate A - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Candidate B - Winston Churchill, Candidate C - Adolf Hitler

Departure to Timbuktu. When I ask people what made them a leader, many people say things like: “When I was twenty-five years old, the boss sent me to Timbuktu to open new department sales. Unfortunately, too many companies prevent their young employees from feeling responsible for the project and do not allow them to make mistakes. You cannot learn to lead without making mistakes, and mistakes are cheaper when people make them when they are young. Mistakes, properly treated, are the bridge between inexperience and wisdom. Failure teaches success. Success does not mean never making mistakes. This means never making the same mistake twice.

Another significant factor influencing the development of a leader is mentoring. People learn about company practices from mentors. More importantly, mentors can teach through constructive feedback.

It is wise to rely on your strengths rather than looking for ways to cope with your weaknesses. Usually the first brings more profit.

Effective leaders in the digital age know how to manage cognitive complexity. Usually this is not an acquired quality, it is a cognitive skill that either exists by adolescence or never will. This skill is related both to progressive thinking and to reducing the level of interference in the system. Sometimes referred to as "helicopter view", it is, in fact, the ability to see the forest through the trees. People with this skill grasp the essence of a complex idea very quickly, and then they can simplify it for others. To test yourself for this skill, take a complex concept and explain it to your child.

Impression management is also a very important feature. Good leaders always have a bit of an actor and a storyteller, which allows them to convince very different groups of people of the wisdom of their vision and values. Believe it or not, acting classes often turn out to be a good investment. Recording yourself on video and then "reviewing the performance" with the help of others, such as a coach, can be highly educational. Effective leaders use every tool available to improve their communication skills.

Chapter 13

Authentic companies are “flat”, hierarchical differences in them are minimized (although it is human nature to strive to be different from others), powers and responsibilities are distributed throughout the organization. This does not reduce the role of the leader, but simply changes the traditional view. The leaders of the authentic organization do not give orders from above. They are available to their employees and attentive to their input. You can tell they are in control just by walking around. Authentic companies have a lot of "air" (air):

A They give people more autonomy to develop their creativity.

I They encourage interaction between different parts of the organization to create synergies.

R They recognize (Recognition) individual contributions to encourage greater responsibility.

Chapter 14

One day I was having lunch with the president of one of the largest banks in Singapore, and he told me that every leader should have a few friends who will always tell him the truth. Friends who will tell him things he or she may not want to hear. Once leaders are in power, they tend to forget that they are only human. Because of this inclination, they need those who have the courage to point them to the feet of clay of the Colossus.

Let me introduce four H (from the English words: hope, humanity, humility, humor) necessary for efficient operation leader: hope, humanity, modesty and humor.

Hope. Leadership begins with hope. The leader must create a sense of hope, otherwise his aspirations will fail. Without hope, the leader has nowhere to lead and his followers to follow.

Humanity. As I noted earlier, a leader should never forget that he is human. The leader's humanity is best shown in his dealings with people from whom he cannot benefit.

Modesty. Humility is closely related to humanity; a true self-perception is based on it. A good leader realizes that no victory belongs solely to him.

Humor. Successful leaders have a sense of humor, even in the face of disaster. They laugh at their own weaknesses. Humor is a good indicator of mental health and will be a valuable asset to any activity.

Helpful synopsis? Download!

This book is about leadership qualities and what can be achieved by their owners. By the author's own admission, his interests lie somewhere on the border of management and clinical psychology, which directly affected the content of the book.

Preface to the book "The Mystery of Leadership"

I would like to start this book with one story, which is most likely unreliable. It concerns Wilfred Bion, the psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who greatly influenced my judgment. During World War I, Bion was a tank commander. For those who have never been in a tank, I will explain that there is really little “working space” there. During his service, Bion learned a lot about the behavior of people in small groups. After one more world war When he was the head of a hospital for the mentally ill, in which people suffering from military neuroses were treated, Bion got the opportunity to put into practice some of the knowledge gained during military service.

Although by that time Bion had deeply penetrated the problem of the development of military neuroses, he still had many questions. For example, what factors contributed to the problems experienced by patients in his hospital? What led them to neurosis? Why did they suffer from war fatigue? But the more important question at that point was: how can he help them? Bion worked with his patients in small groups and recorded his observations psychological process. His work intrigued many, but he wrote in a very condensed style and many of his ideas were too complex.

Many years ago there was a conference in London at which Bion was supposed to be a speaker. There was a lot of noise around his forthcoming speech: people were interested in what he had to say, they were waiting for him to explain his intricate ideas. As the story goes, when Bion walked to the podium, he looked at the crowded audience and said: "Here we are!" And having uttered these words, he departed without saying anything more.

One of the conference organizers approached him during lunch that day and said diplomatically, “Dr. But it seemed to them that the speech was somewhat short. Could you expand on your thoughts? Could you add anything else? Do you mind if we arrange an additional meeting this afternoon?” Bion agreed, and an additional meeting was scheduled for the afternoon. Again the auditorium was full. Bion stepped onto the podium, looked around the room and said (or so the story goes): "Here we are again!" And left.

When I have to give a speech, I am often tempted to do as Bion did. As was probably the case with him, a lot of ideas go through my head before I step onto the podium. I ask myself: Will I be able to express my thoughts clearly? Will I remember everything I wanted to say? Will I live up to audience expectations? I am realistic enough to understand that the answer to each of these questions can be negative, given my own human shortcomings and the interests of the assembled audience. It's no wonder that every time I give a speech, I myself find it interesting to hear what I have to say!

I teach at the largest business school in the world, an institute called INSEAD located in France and Singapore. The main campus is located in the forest of Fontainebleau, not far from Paris. What used to be the hunting grounds of the French kings is now a gathering place for students from many countries. Most of them, as I say jokingly, walk around the institute with their heads slightly tilted to the left (as do the teachers). And it makes them go in circles.

Most of my students are "rational" engineers and "logical" thinkers whose left brain is more developed. Preoccupied with questions of rationality and objectivity, they seem to be interested only in reliable data for the analysis of complex business situations. They tend to perceive intuition, emotion, and subjectivity as something between feeble and dangerously easy, not realizing that "easy" questions can be very "difficult." Because easy questions can ruin careers, I occasionally lightly tap my students (and colleagues) on the head to bring their brain back into balance and help them work both parts of this vital organ. But my efforts last only a short time. Soon, many "lefties" return to their "usual" state - they continue to walk in circles.

In his scientific activity I try to combine the two main disciplines. As I sometimes say, I'm trying to combine what John Maynard Keynes called "dismal science" (I was once an economist) and what Sigmund Freud called "an impossible profession" (I also trained as a psychoanalyst). Thus, my interests lie on the border between management and clinical psychology.

In this book, I have addressed several leadership topics using the clinical paradigm as a microscope through which I view the world. (By clinical paradigm I mean a particular perspective on psychoanalysis and other related disciplines, but more on that later.) Unlike many of my colleagues in the study of organizations, I am not simply organizational structures and systems. While I take these factors into account when studying an organization, I'm more interested in the people who make it up.

The clinical approach to management costs me dearly. While my interest in the stories people tell me enriches my research, it makes my life difficult in many ways. After all, structures and procedures are far more tangible than personality and biography. Moreover, my focus on human factors has generated a flood of condemnation among organizational researchers. For most of them, storytelling is not a serious occupation. For them, real life consists of "rats and numbers"; in their opinion, only controlled experiments based on objects that do not cause any emotional reactions and give unambiguous statistics make the phenomenon a reality. Naturally, this approach greatly facilitates both work and life. The inner, subjective world of a person (a complex of influences of one person on another) is more difficult to control.

In my work, I pay a lot of attention to the inner world of people, to each person individually. I ask myself questions like: What are the main questions on this individual's mind? What has an emotional resonance for him/her? What is the script and scenery of this man's inner theater? But not only the inner world of the individual is important. Man is part of social conditions. We can adequately talk about a person only in the environment of others. No one is an island in itself (as many would like to think); people function in interaction with others. Thus, I also pay attention to the interpersonal aspect. I am interested in the relationship of one person to another, especially how leaders affect the lives of those who work (and live) with them.

In the process of getting to know the individual in the working atmosphere, noting both personal and social aspects, in the process of working with people in the conditions of their organizations, I always try to adhere to the basic rule of journalists: I focus on 5 W. When I communicate with people, I ask the following questions : Who? What? Where? When? Why?

This leadership book is based on a series of lectures I gave to various audiences in many countries, the exact number of which I do not remember, over a long period of time. Although the observations and conclusions contained in this book are based on extensive research material, it is not my intention to write a highly theoretical book. This book was conceived as a workbook, a book containing practical exercises for leaders who want to learn more about leadership and its vicissitudes, that is, for people who want to improve the effectiveness of their leadership.

However, despite the practical bias of this book - this is not a simple "guide to action." It is also an attempt to reflect on what leadership is. Many of the observations you will find in this book are based on research I have done over many years studying organizations and their leadership. Those readers interested in deepening their understanding of the clinical approach to organizational analysis may refer to the original sources. (At the end of the book, I made a list of some of my scientific articles and other authors on which this book is based.)

Mystery of leadership. Developing Emotional Intelligence - Manfred Kets de Vries (download)

(introductory fragment of the book)

The full version can be bought and downloaded here - Litres

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What is leadership? Are leaders born or made? How does emotional intelligence affect leadership? Provides detailed answers to these questions. Manfred Kets de Vries in his book “The Mystery of Leadership. Development of emotional intelligence »(Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries "The Leadership Mystique. A User's Manual for the Human Enterprise").

The titles of the chapters of the book speak for themselves and fully reveal it. content: "Leadership in Contradictions", "Emotional Potential in the World of Work", "Oyster Syndrome", "Leadership Failure Factor", "Continuity", "The Dilbert Phenomenon", Vices at the Top", "Changing Ourselves and the Company", "Characteristics Effective Leadership”, “Leadership in a Global Context”, “The Roles of Leaders”, “Developing the Qualities of Leaders”, “Improving Organizations”, “Concluding Comments”.

Pros:
The definition of the concepts of "leadership" and "emotional intelligence" is given, the characteristics of effective leadership are given and the skills necessary for an effective leader are determined.
Questionnaires are presented in each chapter, allowing each reader to assess their leadership qualities and abilities.
No water, the content of the book is very practical, including many interesting quotes in chapter epigraphs.
The main ideas are highlighted in the text in the margins.
The book contains graphic schemes, facilitating the perception of information, and a list of recommended additional literature, including several dozen foreign sources.

Minuses:
More examples from the life of the leaders of specific companies of changing themselves and their subordinates could be given, although the methods of such changes are described in great detail and in an interesting way. There is no short summary of the content of each chapter. No other downsides were noted.

Best Quotes From Manfred Kets de Vries' book "The Mystery of Leadership":
We all must be the architects of our own destiny, the authors of our own script. If we leave the writing of this script to others, we will not live, we will just play a role. Much better to own your life. And we can do it if we want to discover the possibilities for change (p. 68).
Beware of your wishes - they will come true. Ralph Waldo Emerson(p. 85).
There are many cacti in the world, but it is not necessary to sit on them. Will Foley(p. 148).
Give me the peace to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Reinhold Niebuhr(p. 181).
I've always admired the ability to bite off more than you can chew and then chew it. William DeMille(p. 210).
The world is divided into those who do business and those who receive praise. Try, if you can, to belong to the first category. There is much less competition. Dwight Morrow(p. 210).
It is better to do a little well than to do a lot badly. Socrates(p. 247).
The leader is the seller of hope. Napoleon Bonaparte(p. 247).
It's more important to know where you're going than to get there quickly. Don't confuse activity with achievement. Mabel Newcamer(p. 247).
One wit said that there are three categories of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch something happen, and those who wonder what is happening. Effective leaders aggressively want to fall into the first category. They don't give up until they reach their goal. Understanding the importance of action Percy Barnewick once said: “The best thing you can do in my company is to make the right decision; the next right thing to do is make the wrong decision. But you will be fired if you don't make any decisions!"(p. 269).
“He who has health has hope, he who has hope has everything!” (Arabic proverb, p. 298).

Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries takes a fresh look at the widely studied issue of leadership and the dynamics of individual and organizational change. Drawing on his knowledge and experience in Economics (Ph.D. in Economics, University of Amsterdam), Management (M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard Business School) and Psychoanalysis (Psychoanalytic Society of Canada and International Psychoanalytic Association), he conducts research at the crossroads of several sciences: international management, psychoanalysis , psychotherapy, cognitive theory and functional psychiatry. He is particularly interested in leadership, career dynamics, employee stress, entrepreneurship, family business, succession planning, intercultural management and the dynamics of organizational change.

Independent researcher in leadership development, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries is the head of the Department of Human Resources Management. Raoul de Vitry d "Avocourt at INSEAD University, Fontainebleau, France and received awards from this institution five times for outstanding pedagogical activity. He chairs the Leadership Challenge: Developing Your Emotional Potential management program at INSEAD. In addition, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries is co-leading the joint INSEAD and HEC Coaching and Advice for Change program. He has held professorships at the University of McGill, at the Graduate School of Business in Montreal, at the Harvard Business School and has lectured worldwide in educational institutions involved in management. He is a member of 17 editorial boards and a founding member of the International Society for Psychoanalytic Organizational Research. In addition, he is a member of the Academy of Management. The Financial Times, Le Capital, Wirtschaftwoche and The Economist named Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries is one of Europe's leading thinkers in the field of management.

Kets de Vries is the author, co-author and editor of 21 books: Power and the Corporate Mind (1975, last edition 1985, with Abraham Zaleznik), Organizational Paradoxes: Clinical Approach to Management (1980). , republished 1994), The Irrational Executive: Psychoanalytic Explorations in Management (1985), The Neurotic Organization: Diagnosing and Changing Counter-Productive Styles of Management (1984, republished 1990 jointly with Denny Miller), Unstable at the Top (1988, with Denny Miller), Prisoners of Leadership (1989), Handbook of Character Studies (1991, with Sydney Perzow), Organization of Couch (1991), Leaders, Fools and Impostors (1993), Life and Death in the Executive Fast Line: Essays on Organizations Leadership (1995, won the Critics' Choice Award in 1995–96), Family Business: Human Dilemmas in the Family Firm (1996), The New Global Leaders: Percy Barnevik, Richard B ranson, and David Simon" (1999, with Elizabeth Floren-Tracy), "Struggling with the Demon: Perspectives on Individual and Organizational Irrationality" (2001), "Meditation on Happiness" (2001), " The New Russian Business Leaders (2004), Are Leaders Born or Are They Made? The Case of Alexander the Great (2004), Lessons on Leadership by Terror: Finding Shaka Zulu in the Attic (2004) and Leaders on the Couch (2006).

In addition, Kets de Vries has published more than 200 scientific works in various books and journals such as Behavioral Science, Journal of Management Studies, Human Relation, Administration & Society, Organizational Dynamics, Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Forecasting, California Management Review, Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Academy of Management Executive, Psychoanalytic Review, Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, European Management Journal, Harper's and Psychology Today. He has written many case studies and video cases, six of which have received the annual award for best European educational videos.Kets de Vries is a regular columnist for several magazines.His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, Fortune, Business Week, The Economist, Financial Times and The Herald Tribune His books and articles have been translated into 16 languages.

Kets de Vries is an organizational design/transformation and strategic human resources consultant for leading companies in the US, Canada, Europe, Africa and Asia. He has provided executive training and consultancy to companies in more than 30 countries. Among them are Volvo Car Corporation, NovoNordisk, KPMG, Novartis, Heineken, Air Liquide, Alcan, Alcatel, Shell, BP, Unilever, Standard Bank of South Africa, ABB, General Electric Capital, Aegon, HypoVereinsbank, L. M. Ericsson, Lufthansa, Nokia, Bonnier, Rank Xerox, Investec, SEDCO, SHV, Accenture Consulting, Bain Consulting, Bang & Olufsen, Goldman Sachs International and Lego. In addition, Kets de Vries is a member of the New York Explorers Club. He spends his free time in the jungles of Central Africa, in the Siberian taiga, the Pamir Mountains and the Arctic.