Leading Beyond the Ego: How to Become a Transpersonal Leader

306 Pages·2018·8.043 MB·English

by  John Knights

“Finally a book explaining in a rational, scientific and systematic way that
Leadership is not about what you know and do, but about who you are and how
you act. I truly recommend this book to every Leader who genuinely strives to
unleash the power of authentic leadership and who is courageous enough to start
this exciting journey by looking at themselves. When reading the book, every-
thing seems so obvious, but then again, this always tends to be the case with
masterpieces.”
– Sandro Giuliani, Managing Director of
the Jacobs Foundation, Switzerland
“This book is packed with new thinking and yet resonates easily as if I had
always known it! Since the values and ethics spotlight on the City of London
after 2008, we have been looking to identify behaviours, which when
championed by motivated and engaged leaders, could change culture and make
capitalism more inclusive. My focus has been on capturing the benefits of
diversity where leaders have expressed frustration at the slow progress. The
essences and steps to Transpersonal Leadership in this book link leadership
for the ‘greater good’ to enabling others to do the right thing, increasing
performance, productivity and profitability. It is key to unleashing the power
of diversity and rising to many of the challenges that society faces.”
– Dame Fiona Woolf DBE, DL, Lord Mayor of London 2013–14;
Partner at CMS Cameron McKenna, UK
“It’s not hard to see, in business and society, how the old model of an ego
driven, charismatic leader has failed. I recommend this book as required reading
for anyone who wants to develop as a leader – and who wants to make a
positive difference to the world.”
– Natalie Ceeney CBE, former CEO of the Financial
Ombudsman Service, National Archives and
HM Courts & Tribunals Service, UK
“People who talk and write about leadership fall into two groups. Firstly, there
are people who are good at doing it and often they are inarticulate, shrugging
their shoulders and just saying ‘well we just did it this way’ and usually, they
are impatient to analyse why they did it in a particular way because they are
keen to get on to the next leadership challenge. At the other end of the
spectrum, there are people who write, at length. The LeaderShape team has an
enviable reputation at both ends of this spectrum, with deep understanding of
the theory, their own particular variant of the theory of leadership, but also very
many examples where they have helped individuals and organisations put the
theory into practice. This book is an excellent introduction to the highly
complex and often confusing field of leadership.”
– Professor Sir Muir Gray, Director of Better Value
Healthcare; Chief Knowledge Officer of the NHS; Professor
of Knowledge Management, Oxford University, UK
“Leadership in the modern age is more challenging than ever before, with more
uncertainty, change and disruption across many dimensions. The idea of
transpersonal leadership with its heart in the notions of humility, learning, and
caring is ultimately a very human centred model of leadership and has never
had more relevance in helping leaders get the best out of themselves, their
people and their organisations. John Knights and his team at LeaderShape have
been a positive force for change, and this book provides a fantastic guide for
leaders at all levels to improve themselves and their leadership focus.”
– Peter Cheese, CEO at Chartered Institute of
Personnel & Development (CIPD), UK
“This book articulates leadership in all its fascinating and rich dimensions in the
most relevant, holistic, integrated and practical way that I have come across.
John Knights and the LeaderShape team must be congratulated and thanked for
an excellent and very valuable piece of work. Leading beyond the ego as
presented and explained in the book, brings with it the fundamental focus on
relationships as the field of leadership. The book presents a timely emphasis
on the ‘how’ of becoming a more values-based leader. Lastly, science, philosophy
and practical 21st Century experience is very well balanced in the argument for
transpersonal leadership.”
– Dr Gerhard van Rensburg, Chairman of Future Leaders
Development; Director of Future Leaders Africa, South Africa
“Scholars, students, or practitioners of leadership will benefit from this impressive
book that traverses multiple disciplines and challenges us to design values-driven
pathways for leading ourselves, before leading others. An important contribution
to the HOW of leadership, this book ‘connects the dots’ from multiple perspectives
including neuroscience, servant leadership, experiential learning, and action
learning. As a leadership educator for over 35 years I was challenged to reflect
deeper and analyze more about my own leadership journey and effective ways to
contribute to the greater whole. Through new and existing concepts and case
studies, this is a fine blueprint for sustainable leadership practices.”
– Dr Ronald J. Kovach, Vice President of Academic Affairs,
Virginia International University and Past President of the
National Society for Experiential Education, USA
“A great read. Leading Beyond the Ego is an excellent book about transpersonal
leadership – a much needed concept in this day and age. The way trans-
personal leadership has been defined in the book, as the overlap between Rational
Intelligence (RI), Emotional Intelligence (EI), and Spiritual Intelligence (SI),
is particularly valuable. The authors not only explain what it means to be a
transpersonal leader, but also describe how to become one. A must read for every
aspiring leader, who is looking to create an emotionally-bonded, ethical, high-
performing and sustainable organization.”
– Warren Harris, CEO at Tata Technologies, USA and India
“While the entire journey covered in the book is impressive, I found the use
of a combination of intuition, instinct, insight and ethical philosophy to support
rational logic particularly interesting and immensely powerful for improving
judgment and decision making. The case studies are very insightful and support
the concepts effectively. The concepts are straightforward to learn and can be
easily put into practice. Constant practice will undoubtedly yield the desired
results. Leading Beyond the Ego is a manual for creating sustained leadership in
the challenging environment of rapid change.”
– Vishnu R. Dusad, MD, CEO at Nucleus Software, India
“Although you may or may not agree with all of the many conceptual models
and conclusions in this densely packed short volume that links emotional
intelligence and neuroscience with practical approaches to leadership from a
transpersonal vantage, it is sure to be thought provoking.”
– Professor Harris Friedman, PhD, Research Professor
of Psychology, University of Florida; Editor of
the International Journal of Transpersonal Leadership

Leading Beyond the Ego:
How to Become a
Transpersonal Leader
Building on the concept of Transpersonal Leadership, as defined by LeaderShape
Global, Leading Beyond the Ego offers a practical approach to becoming an
authentic, ethical, caring and more effective leader.
Rooted in the experience of senior organisational leaders and mentors,
readers will embark on a personal journey to innovate and enhance their
leadership skills. Reflections are rooted in recent advances in neuroscience, and
acknowledge the challenges faced by leaders in light of new organisational
and commercial structures, technological developments, increased diversity and
rapid globalisation. The reader is encouraged and supported in the process
of transcending the individual ego to develop beyond emotional intelligence to
a higher level of consciousness and ethical behaviour; able to build strong,
collaborative relationships, and to create a caring, sustainable and performance-
enhancing culture.
Learn how to lead beyond your ego!
An essential read for current and aspiring organisational leaders, HR
professionals, executive coaches and mentors, Leading Beyond the Ego is a vital
point of reference for anyone in a position of leadership.
John Knights is a Co-founder and Chairman of LeaderShape Global. He is an
author, lecturer and thought leader in leadership development.
Danielle Grant is a Director of LeaderShape Global with many years’
experience coaching and facilitating programmes at CEO and Director level.
She is a thought leader in blended learning methodologies.
Greg Young is a Co-founder and Chief Executive of LeaderShape Global. He
is inspirational in the field of leadership development and a thought leader in
women in leadership.

Leading Beyond the Ego
How to Become a Transpersonal Leader
Edited by John Knights,
Danielle Grant and Greg Young
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 selection and editorial matter, LeaderShape Global Ltd.;
individual chapters, the contributors
The right of LeaderShape Global Ltd. to be identified as the author of
the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters,
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Knights, John, 1946- editor. | Grant, Danielle, editor. |
Young, Greg, 1961- editor.
Title: Leading beyond the ego : how to become a transpersonal
leader / edited by John Knights, Danielle Grant & Greg Young.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2018. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017035533 (print) | LCCN 2017056812 (ebook)
| ISBN 9781315178806 (ebook) | ISBN 9781138897670 (hbk) |
ISBN 9781138897694 (pbk) | ISBN 9781315178806 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Leadership—Psychological aspects. | Management—
Psychological aspects. | Executive coaching.
Classification: LCC HD57.7 (ebook) | LCC HD57.7. L437436 2018
(print) | DDC 658.4/092—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017035533
ISBN: 978-1-138-89767-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-89769-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-17880-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Keystroke, Neville Lodge, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton
To all the leaders we have learned from who have made this
project possible.