At this critical junction in the history of humankind leaders that are proficient in magical
thinking aren't going to solve our problems. Creating alternative realities is not the answer.
We need a very different kind of leadership-leaders who can resist the calls of regression and
whose outlook is firmly based in reality. We need leaders who analyze and draw conclusions from
or use their own experiences as a development tool face their strengths and weaknesses and
critique their own experiences in order to build new understandings. In this very personal and
entertaining book Manfred Kets de Vries one of the gurus in the field of leadership studies
offers his thoughts on leadership and life reflections written for executives and the people
who deal with them. As a psychoanalyst and leadership professor let loose in the world of
renowned global organizations-as a passionate educator and scholar or just a human being at
the receiving end of heart-rending emails-he examines thepitfalls of leadership and the
challenges for the professionals who work with senior executives in today's AI-focused world.
He points out why leaders can derail and what steps they can take to prevent this from
happening. Ultimately this book encourages you to Know yourself but makes no bones about the
challenge it represents. Understanding our inner theatre will always be an uphill struggle.
Kets de Vries points out why deep dives into our inner world are always fraught with many
anxieties. Included in the many subjects covered by the author are the loneliness of command
the management of disappointment the destructive role of greed the impact of stubbornness
the role of storytelling the importance of wellness and the role of corporate culture. In
addition the book addresses the important topic of how to create great teams and best places
to work. Furthermore the book touches on endings- the ending of our career and the growing
realization of the inevitable ending of our life. As time grows short Kets de Vries emphasizes
that we have no time to lose in dealing with our anxieties regrets and the things we spend
much of our life determined not to see. Taking a deep dive into self-knowledge requires courage
and support and he is here to guide you through it.
