Table Of Content

REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP On the Couch with Manfred Kets de Vries On the Couch with Manfred Kets de Vries offers an overview of the author’s work spanning four decades, a period in which Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries has established himself as the leading fi gure in the clinical study of organizational leadership. The three books in this series contain a representative selection of Kets de Vries’ writings about leadership from a wide variety of published sources. They cover three major themes: character and leadership in a global context; career development; and leadership in organizations. The original essays were all written or published between 1976 and 2008. Updated where appropriate and revised by the author, they present a digest of the work of one of today’s most infl uential management thinkers. Published Titles Refl ections on Character and Leadership Forthcoming Titles Refl ections on Leadership and Career Development Refl ections on Organizations REFLECTIONS ON CHAR ACTER AND LEADERSHIP Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8SQ, England Telephone (+44) 1243 779777 Under the Jossey-Bass imprint, Jossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco CA 94103-1741, USA www.jossey-bass.com Email (for orders and customer service enquiries): [email protected] Visit our Home Page on www.wiley.com All Rights Reserved. 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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kets de Vries, Manfred F. R. Refl ections on character and leadership / Manfred Kets de Vries. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-470-74242-6 (cloth) 1. Leadership–Psychological aspects. I. Title. HD57.7.K483 2009 658.4'092—dc22 2009004180 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-0-470-74242-6 Typeset in 10.5/12 pt Bembo by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall This book is printed on acid-free paper responsibly manufactured from sustainable forestry in which at least two trees are planted for each one used for paper production. To my brother Florian— the intimacy of our many shared memories has been a source of great solace. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii PREFACE xv Psychoanalysis and organizational life xv First case: an entrepreneur xix The clinical paradigm xxi About this book xxii PART I: LEADERS, FOOLS, AND IMPOSTORS 1 INTRODUCTION 2 Playing the organizational fool 4 1 THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PERSONALITY 6 Introduction 6 Entrepreneurship: views from other disciplines 8 Common psychological themes in the entrepreneurial personality 10 The effects of family dynamics 17 Case study: The entrepreneur’s story 18 Falling into extremes 22 viii CONTENTS The Medusa women 24 The meaning of work 26 Competition and self-defeating behavior 28 The symbolic nature of the enterprise 29 The process of change 31 The entrepreneurial life cycle 33 Working effectively with entrepreneurs 39 Endnotes 42 2 THE HYPOMANIC PERSONALITY 43 Introduction 43 The Dionysian quality of charismatic leadership 44 Case study: Hypomania in action 46 Elation and its vicissitudes 50 Managing a hypomanic 53 Hypomania in the workplace 55 Possible interventions 56 Self-help measures 58 The plus side for organizations 60 Endnotes 61 3 THE ALEXITHYMIC PERSONALITY 62 Introduction 62 The ‘dead fi sh’ syndrome 62 Identifying alexithymia 63 Alexithymia as a communication disorder 64 Where do the origins of alexithymia lie? 66 Degrees of alexithymia 68 Alexithymics in the workplace 69 The Alexithymic CEO 70 Working with an alexithymic manager 72 Managing an alexithymic 73 Searching for solutions 75 Endnote 78 4 THE IMPOSTOR SYNDROME 79 Introduction 79 What makes an impostor? 82 The creative artist as impostor 85