The Leadership Mystique Manfred Kets de Vries

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The Leadership MystiqueManfred Kets de Vries

• Nicole DiScala
• Prof. Mary Ellen Georgas
• Leading Change in Internet Business
• February 2, 2006

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Who is de Vries?

• A professor at INSEAD business school who teaches
  on subjects such as developing emotional
  intelligence.
• His research interests include cross-cultural
  leadership, stress, entrepreneurship,
  organizational change and career dynamics.
• His books focus on practicing leaders who want to
  be more effective.

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1 Leadership and the Clinical Paradigm

• deVries is a strong believer in the relationship
  between emotional intelligence and effective
  leadership.
• The clinical paradigm has three facets that are
  underpinned by our unconscious.

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2 What you see isnt necessarily what you get!

• Perception isnt reality
• He performs a study where most executives cannot
  count how often the letter F appears in one
  sentence.
• This proves that these are just cognitive
  distortions.
• We also have emotional distortions.
• Individuals that are able to reframe problems and
  work both sides of their brain are most likely to
  succeed.

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3 All Behavior has a Rationale!

• deVries believes that we behave irrationally in
  the name of reason.
• He believes that we avoid confrontation because
  we face unpleasant consequences.
• This behavior is called transferential (meaning
  confusion in time and place).
• Many executives are prone to character disorders
  such as narcissism, schizophrenia,
  hypersensitivity, and mood swings.
• Because these disorders live within our character
  they are difficult to change.

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We are all products of our past!

• deVries believes that we are a developmental
  outcome of earlier experiences modified by our
  genetic endowment.
• This follows his belief of why we avoid
  confrontations (past experiences with parents -
  when we confronted them, we lived through
  unpleasant consequences).
• He believes that we live our lives forwards but
  understand them backwards.

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Emotional Intelligence

• Society focuses on logico-mathematical
  (left-brain) intelligence that can be measured in
  an IQ test.
• deVries believes that a high IQ does not
  necessarily equate to being a good leader.
• deVries believes that (right-brain) emotional
  intelligence (EQ) is equally as important as IQ.
• Since EQ can be developed and IQ cannot, it is
  very important to get to know our emotions, learn
  to manage them, and learn to deal with others
  emotions we can build our EQ.

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REMEMBER! We have two ears and one mouth
because we should actively listen twice as much
as we speak!A great leader listens to his/her
workers.
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The Mussel Syndrome

• Employees today are not lifelong employees.
• Executives that surround themselves with yes
  men are being replaced by idea and information
  organizations.
• Leaders today are challenged to build an
  effective relationship with subordinates who are
  suspicious of them.

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The Failure Factor

• deVries believes that irrational behavior by a
  leader is common and often leads to failure.
  Some examples include
• Leaders who get others to do their dirty work
• Tyrannical behavior
• Micro-managing and distrusting others
• Playing games at work

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Can you be honest with your boss?

• deVries believes that many leaders ask for
  constructive criticism but rarely accept it well.
  
• Employees are left realizing that is better to
  just keep their opinions to themselves.
• The resilient (high EQ) leader deals with
  problems proactively, reframes situations
  positively, and fantasizes about a rosy future.

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The Dynamics of Succession

• Leaders are like wine some age well, others
  turn to vinegar
• Senior leaders are like products they have a
  life cycle.
• Leaders either follow an evolution or revolution
  path.
• Senior positions should always realize that
  succession should be planned.

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The Dilbert Phenomenon

• Many organizations say that people are our
  greatest asset but take human capital for
  granted.
• People nowadays would rather save their energy
  for activities outside of work.
• Employees should feel alive at work but
  unfortunately, the more important the job the
  more emotional restraint you are expected to show.

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LIFE LESSONS!

• Learn to say no.
• Spend time with your families.
• Dismiss the work now and enjoy life later
  strategy.
• Nobodys last words were ever, I should have
  spent more time at the office.

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The Rot at the Top

• deVries believes that the personality of the
  leader influences the organizations strategy and
  structure.
• The five big faults are
• Dramatic
• Suspicion
• Being detached
• Depression
• Compulsion

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Dramatic Leaders

• They are superficially warm and charming but they
  lack sincerity and consideration for others and
  their work relationships are unstable.
• The goal of these kinds of leaders is unbridled
  growth in order to meet their own narcissistic
  need.

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Suspicious Leaders

• Distrust others and are easily offended or
  angered.
• They are cold to followers as they supervise
  closely and punish mistakes severely.
• Employees that share these kinds of views are
  hired and promoted.
• Employees that dont agree are treated with
  suspicion.

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Detached Leaders

• Are mistrustful and prefer not to interact with
  followers.
• These leaders want social acceptance but have
  cognitive and emotional deficits which means they
  are unconcerned about social isolation.
• They are often bored and their organizations
  always look internally.

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Depressive Leaders

• Feel a sense of helplessness and have low
  self-esteem.
• They throw money at bank managers and
  consultants.
• They are trying to buy the imagination and plan
  of action to substitute for not having one of
  their own.
• These types of leaders are generally found in
  mature markets.

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Compulsive Leaders

• They are whizzes at aspects and management.
• deVries believes that they fear being at the
  mercy of people or events, and want to control
  anything that may affect their lives.
• They are obsessed by details and exclude pleasure
  and fun from their lives.
• Their organizations supervise their staff closely
  and have standard operating procedures and
  bureaucratic structures.

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A leaders faulty personality can damage an
organization BUT a faulty organization can
damage a leaders disposition and manner.
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Achieving Personal and Organizational Change

• For change to happen at work, deVries believes
  that peoples heads and hearts have to be
  affected.
• Workers have to be willing to be stretched and
  uncomfortable.
• Willingness to forget old ideas and accept new
  ones comes one individual at a time.
• It is believed that organizational change occurs
  in terms of individual change.

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The Five Cs of Change

• Concern about present, unpleasant emotions like
  sadness, anger and frustration induce a
  reappraisal of behavior and then change.
• Confrontation is a trigger for the first
  incremental changes.
• Clarification of change means making it public.
  You have to go through with the change once it is
  made public.
• Crystallization stage brings ideas and plans to
  definite form.
• It is then that the mindset shows that Change has
  been achieved.

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Effective Leadership Includes

• Change-oriented
• Able to draw on bases of power to influence the
  group
• Contextually aware
• In possession of competence clusters personal,
  social and cognitive
• In possession of surgency skills they are
  assertive
• In possession of impression management skills
  they appear confident even when they are not.

• Sociable
• Agreeable they are flexible and willing to
  reframe situations
• Dependable and trustworthy
• Analytically intelligent and able to think
  strategically
• In possession of high EQ they know what they
  stand for and know how to develop relationships.

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Leadership in a Global Context

• Cultural values influence leadership practices
  and decision-making styles, and should be learned
  by cross-cultural leaders.
• Global leaders are adaptable, are at ease with
  ambiguity and have a sense of humor and the
  ability to relate to all people.

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Roles Leaders Play

• True leadership needs an architectural and a
  charismatic aspect both can be learned.
• The architectural aspect means that the leader
  needs to repeat their message and model the
  behavior they want repeated.
• This means decentralizing decision-making and
  letting people feel that they are making a
  difference.
• The most powerful people in the world are people
  who know when to let go.

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Leadership Development

• There is a strong relationship between leadership
  and learning.
• Hire the right person, dont try to train someone
  to be.
• It comes from getting responsibility early, being
  exposed to different business functions, learning
  from mistakes, being mentored, and having a high
  EQ and a work-life balance.

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Authentizotic Organizations

• Translates from two Greek words that translate to
  authentic and vital to life.
• This type of organization spreads
  decision-making, has shared values, and develops
  its entire staff.
• Work is not stressful in this situation. It is
  an anchor of psychological well-being that
  provides a means of identity and self-esteem.
• These organizations run contrary to bottom-line
  business practice and make concerns for their
  people a priority.

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deVries psychiatric perspective on leadership
brings about a different perspective but an
important one. Can anyone really disagree that a
well brought up, self-confident and rounded
individual wouldnt be an effective leader?