Leaders, Fools and Impostors: Essays on the Psychology of Leadership - Hardcover

In this book of insightful essays, Kets de Vries explodes the myth that rationality is what governs the behavior of leaders and followers, and he provides a more realistic perspective on organizational functioning and the leader-follower relationship. The author shows that a great potential for distortion exists when leaders try to act out the fantasies of their followers, and explores the many psychological traps into which leaders frequently fall.

Citing examples from business, history, literature, the arts, and from his own psychoanalytic and management-consulting practise, the author identifies distinct leader types.

Manfred Kets De Vries is a clinical professor of leadership development and a consultant on organizational design/transformation and strategic human resource management to leading worldwide companies. He holds the Raoul de Vitry d'Avaucourt Chair of Leadership Development at 'Instead', Fontainebleau, France. He has also held professorships at McGill University, the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales, Montreal, and the Harvard Business School, and he has lectured at management institutions around the world. He is the author, co-author, or editor of over 20 books. The Financial Times, Le Capital, Wirtschaftswoche, and The Economist have judged Manfred Kets de Vries one of Europe's leading management thinkers.