Books by Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

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 the pitfalls of leadership and the challenges for the professionals who work with senior executives in today's AI-focused world.

Also touching upon mental health issues and how organizations should deal with this, this section gives a deep insight into the leadership issues that we now face in what might be termed 'the new normal.'Finally, Kets de Vries places societal issues under the microscope.

The recent proliferation of populist movements worldwide ¿ along with the often dangerous, demagogic leaders that accompany them ¿ have prompted questions about the underlying conditions that give rise to such troubling developments. Leadership Unhinged: Essays on the Ugly, the Bad and the Weird examines what is going on at a deeper level, both collectively and individually, between leaders and followers. Employing theories derived from psychoanalytic psychology, developmental psychology, neuroscience and evolutionary psychology, these essays help to unravel and expose the pathological leader-follower dynamics that generate such movements.The book is infused with Kets de Vries¿s now famous and inimitable style of analysis, which draws from myths, creates fairy tales, and uses irony and metaphor to bring his conclusions into greater relief and trigger new insights.As Kets de Vries explains, effective leaders have the capacity to bring people together and even make them better, stronger. Doing so suggests that those leaders are value driven, able to set a moral tone. Yet, when such a tone is absent or, at worst, twisted toward the destructive, leadership quickly becomes dangerous. History has shown the devastation left in the wake of unhinged leaders who have gone unchecked. To become fully conscious of the conditions that allow for the emergence of such leaders has become a moral requirement of our time. In ways both moving and entertaining, Kets de Vries¿s new contribution puts us in a better position to fulfil that requirement.

In the previous book in this series, Manfred Kets de Vries observed the experiences of leaders on a rollercoaster ride through their professional and personal lives. Now, he follows them down the rabbit hole into the unknown, where, like Lewis Carroll's Alice, they find a dystopian Wonderland in which everyone seems to have gone mad and life functions according to its own crazy logic, throwing up all kinds of obstacles in the search for truth.Understanding what is happening around us has become more difficult than ever in the Age of Trump. Don't imperatives like "build that wall" sound very much like "Off with his head"? Unfortunately, and unlike Alice, we are not going to wake up from a bad dream and discover that everything is "nothing but a pack of cards".The first part of this book looks at the psychodynamics of leadership in both a business and a political context. The second focuses on the psychopathology of everyday life in organizations and the seemingly endless ways people can make a mess of things - including mega pay packages, acting out, digital addiction and other dysfunctional behaviour patterns. Each chapter ends with a brief anecdote to illustrate the dilemma it presents.In short, sharp nuggets, Kets de Vries helps make sense of how the madness of the present has affected leadership in organizations and the workplace.

In the previous book in this series, Manfred Kets de Vries observed the experiences of leaders on a rollercoaster ride through their professional and personal lives. Now, he follows them down the rabbit hole into the unknown, where, like Lewis CarrollΓÇÖs Alice, they find a dystopian Wonderland in which everyone seems to have gone mad and life functions according to its own crazy logic, throwing up all kinds of obstacles in the search for truth.Understanding what is happening around us has become more difficult than ever in the Age of Trump. DonΓÇÖt imperatives like ΓÇ£build that wallΓÇ¥ sound very much like ΓÇ£Off with his headΓÇ¥? Unfortunately, and unlike Alice, we are not going to wake up from a bad dream and discover that everything is ΓÇ£nothing but a pack of cardsΓÇ¥.The first part of this book looks at the psychodynamics of leadership in both a business and a political context. The second focuses on the psychopathology of everyday life in organizations and the seemingly endless ways people can make a mess of things ΓÇô including mega pay packages, acting out, digital addiction and other dysfunctional behaviour patterns. Each chapter ends with a brief anecdote to illustrate the dilemma it presents.In short, sharp nuggets, Kets de Vries helps make sense of how the madness of the present has affected leadership in organizations and the workplace.

Mindful Leadership Coaching takes an in-depth look at the coaching processes. The insights provided here will help coaches and executives to use frameworks for transforming attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. It advises on how the best leadership coaches help their executive clients create significant personal and professional change.

Reflections on Character and Leadership is the first of the three books in the Manfred kets de Vries on the Couch series. Here, Kets de Vries looks at entrepreneurship, the pathology of leadership, and the personality of the leader.

Spend some time with three of today's most noted business pioneers and share their secrets for achieving international success.

Is your organization obsessive-compulsive or passive-aggressive? Corporate neurosis expert Manfred Kets de Vries analyzes dysfunctional organizational behavior in terms of accepted psychoanalytic types and arrives at some genuine insights into why some companies are healthier than others.

In short essays this collection captures the essence of the irrationalities that pervade organizations and compromise leaders. This book develops surprising ideas about how organizations tick, and why they, and the people within them, ultimately succeed or fail.