Synopses & Reviews
To ensure a competitive advantage, senior executives have to push themselves and their teams hard. Under stress and challenges, the qualities that executives have relied on to get them to the top can ultimately lead to organizational catastrophes.
The Leadership Shadow tackles the dark side of leadership, delving into what causes leadership derailment and how to avoid it. It also explains the ways in which a leaders performance can affect not just themselves, but the organization as a whole.
Using examples drawn from various executives experiences and descriptions of psychological behaviors based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) and the Hogan Personality Inventory model, the authors demonstrate how to find stability in the face of uncertainty, resilience in the face of grueling demand, and psychological equilibrium as a leader.
Review
Haan and Kasozi explore the dark side of leadership: To succeed intoday's business world, senior executives face unprecedented competition and relationship challenges. The stress can kick theleadership qualities they used to get to the top into overdrive with catastrophic consequences: unproductive patterns of demand,stubbornness, or frenetic activity. Hanna and Kasozi explore what happens when these problems occur and observe case studies of realexecutives to understand why they act out. The authors also present methods to find stability in the face of uncertainty and explore howleaders can provide sound, ethical leadership, distinguish between peripheral and pertinent issues, and integrate anxieties with their confidence. The book includes interactive figures and tables.Annotation ©2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
Review
"In the crowded field of leadership literature, The Leadership Shadow stands out for three reasons: (1.) it is briskly written and vigorously argued - it is as close to a page-turner as one can find in this genre; (2) it is nicely situated in the relevant empirical literature; and (3) it pays close attention to the fact that a large percentage of modern managers are doing a poor job. It is an engaging read that also provides a candid and dependable guide to action." Professor Robert Hogan
Review
“A refreshing book of real substance that explains negative personality traits that, left to the unconscious, can quickly derail todays leaders. Great research is discussed with real-life examples to create compelling insights. There are plenty of practical suggestions to deal with your own risks as well as a way to reframe irritating behaviours from others into something more useful. A must-read for professional coaches, talent management professionals and leaders who are serious about career development.” University of Tulsa
Review
“In The Leadership Shadow, Erik de Haan and Anthony Kasozi provide a welcome antidote to the usual overblown presentations to be found in the enormous number of books and research papers on leadership. Most writing on the matter of leadership presents an idealized, sanitized view of leaders which does not mention the pathologies and neuroses of those who take up leadership roles; because of this they provide very unrealistic and unhelpful views on leadership. The Leadership Shadow provides a much more realistic and helpful account of the problems leaders face and how they need to take into account their own leadership shadow. Leaders can do enormous harm if they do not sustain an awareness of the dangerous psychological states it is so easy to be sucked into as a leader. It is to this task that The Leadership Shadow provides an important contribution.” Chris Humphreys, CEO - Advanced People Strategies
Review
“While epic leadership failures capture headlines, the underlying reasons usually lurk in the shadows far from view. This timely book does a masterful job of throwing light on the dark side of leadership by synthesizing a growing body of research and distilling concrete, actionable lessons any leader can use to avoid coming off the track.” Professor Ralph Stacey - University of Hertfordshire
Review
“There are always two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason. Anyone who desires to know more about these real reasons, about what creates leadership pathologies, and what makes for leadership's core qualities, would do well to study this book. Not only will they become more knowledgeable about the shadow side of leadership, but they will also acquire a profound insight into how to overcome the various pitfalls that accompany the leadership journey.” Rob Kaiser - Kaiser Leadership Solutions and Editor of Consulting Psychology Journal
Review
"This is an important, lucidly written and extremely interesting book. It covers with great clarity and many very illustrative case studies why so many leaders fail and derail. This will become a classic in the field." Professor Manfred Kets de Vries - INSEAD
Review
"Much of the literature seems to suggest that only people with superhuman power can be effective leaders. No wonder we end up disappointed in so many of them, and no wonder many leaders fall prey to hubris, or worse. This eminently sensible book is a refreshing contrast. It shows a deep understanding of the many demands now imposed on leaders. Better still, its awareness of the importance of context, relationships and the perils and opportunities offered by having power turns it into a series of wise, stimulating and helpful reflections on how the practice of leadership can be improved. Organizations and leaders alike will benefit from its rich insights." Professor Adrian Furnham - University College London
Synopsis
The Leadership Shadow tackles the dark side of leadership, delving into what causes leadership derailment and how to avoid it.
Synopsis
C-suite level executives, leaders and aspiring leaders, managers, coaches and consultants
About the Author
Erik de Haan is the Director of Ashridge's Centre for Coaching and Professor of Organization Development and Coaching at VU University Amsterdam. He regularly works with a range of universities and multinational companies, including BP, Heineken, Nike and Qualcomm. He is also the author of several books including Supervision in Action (Open University Press), Relational Coaching (Wiley) and Behind Closed Doors (Libri Publishing).
Anthony Kasozi is Director of Quilibra Consulting and an associate with Ashridge Consulting and previously worked with Unilever and Deloitte. He is a highly experienced management and organization consultant with clients that include HP Services, Masterfoods (Mars),The World Health Organization, Oxfam, Siemens Financial Services, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), The International Finance Corporation (World Bank), UNAIDs and The Global Fund.
Table of Contents
Preface: Leadership in the 21st centuryPart One The way leaders thrive
Introduction: the importance of framing the leadership dance
01 The context that produces a leader
The 21st-century world of work: not a place for wimps
Organizations have changed beyond recognition
The new demands on executives are leading to cycles of hubris and humility
Notes
02 Patterns of leadership
What is leadership and what makes good leadership?
A relational perspective on leadership
Leading relationally
Notes
03 The leadership shadow
Knowing about your own shadow
Connections between your ‘shadow side and your ‘light side
Development of your leadership shadow over time
04 How you thrive as a leader: do-it-yourself
The story of yourself as a leader
Explore what drives you as a leader
Explore a critical relationship at work
Part Two The way leaders come to grief
Introduction: the importance of leading oneself
05 What makes top leaders tick?
Effectiveness through being focused and tough
Overdrive leading to relational myopia and ineffectiveness
Relational effectiveness coming under strain
Three real-world cases
An intuitive and psychological description of relational overdrive and myopia
Notes
06 The ‘movers and shakers
Introduction
Antisocial patterns in leaders
Passive-aggressive patterns in leaders
Narcissistic patterns in leaders
Schizoid patterns in leaders
07 The ‘rigorous thinkers
Introduction
Obsessive-compulsive patterns in leaders
Borderline patterns in leaders
Paranoid patterns in leaders
Schizotypal patterns in leaders
08 The ‘sensitive carers
Introduction
Dependent patterns in leaders
Histrionic patterns in leaders
Avoidant patterns in leaders
Note
09 Neurotic patterns in leaders
Neurotic responses to stress
How these overdrive patterns may be related to leadership outcomes
10 Your own leadership patterns
Exploring your qualities, opportunities, threats and challenges
Exploring your own neurotic patterns as a leader
Exploring your own hubris
Part Three Overcoming the excesses of leadership
Introduction: the importance of invisibility
11 Coming in, staying on and going out as a leader
Coming in as a leader: getting into a leadership position
Staying on as a leader: lasting success in a leadership role
Letting go as a leader: ways and snares when going out
12 Balancing your patterns as a leader
The experience of complexity
The risks of hubris
The need for balance
Note
13 Balancing relational patterns in organizations
Teamwork is a ‘passing game
Vicious cycles in organizations
Virtuous cycles in organizations
Note
14 Balancing your own organizational patterns: do-it-yourself
Reviewing your strengths and overdrive patterns as a leader
Reviewing your capacity to ‘balance as a leader
Improving the dynamics in your own team
Note
Epilogue: historical models of leadership
1 The shadow king: a Chinese model of leadership
2 Democracy: an Athenian model of leadership
3 Ubuntu: an African model of leadership
Conclusion
Appendix A Drivers questionnaire
Appendix B Resilience questionnaire
Glossary
References
Index