Today the world offers us more and more tasks that require extraordinary solutions. To lead people, a rational approach and logical thinking are no longer enough.
Manfred Kets de Vries is a man who knows everything and even more about leadership. Specialization in the field of management and psychoanalytics allows him to combine a logical approach to the study of the phenomenon of leadership with the irrational. He is an international scientist whose advice is listened to by the heads of such large companies as: Alcatel, Bang & Olufsen, Ericsson, GE Capital, Goldman Sachs, KPMG, Lego, Lufthansa, McKinsey, Nokia, Shell, Unilever, Volvo Car Corporation and many others.
The thinking of many leaders is too stereotyped to lead the company to success, - Manfred shares his ideas.
"When a crisis moment is outlined in an organization, the leader's strength lies precisely in going beyond the box-based solutions."
“In 70% of cases, the change process fails because top management does not know how to do it,” the scientist is convinced. - If you want to change the situation, then you have to do many different things at the same time. This is ensuring the direction of the company as a whole, and writing a remuneration system, and management at the level of cooperation with other organizations, but the most difficult thing is changing attitudes in your own mind."
During his career, the scientist wrote more than 7 books and 250 scientific papers on leadership issues. He also provided advice to a huge number of international corporations. This tremendous experience helped him to highlight the main points that can help managers become more effective.
First, he advises getting rid of narcissistic tendencies. During consultations, Manfred noticed that many top managers are overwhelmed with a sense of self-importance. And most of them recognize the need to have an environment around them that will tell them about the actual state of affairs, looking straight in the eye. “There are very specific examples of such managers in Russia who admit:“I am surrounded by liars. Everyone around me only tells me what I want to hear,”the specialist notes.
Secondly, he calls for emotionality and eccentricity. The modern world operates with the categories of logical thinking. IQ potential is considered one of the most important criteria. But we live in a more diverse world and our behavior is too complex to be measured by tests. The fact that a person has good logical thinking does not mean at all that he will be successful in life. Therefore, the scientist suggests paying attention to the EQ potential (coefficient of emotional development). “If we describe the concept of leadership with the example of a group of monkeys, or other animals, then we can say that leadership is protection, choosing the path and direction in which everyone else should go. But in our world, everything is much more complicated. A modern manager needs to implement a lot of innovations and new developments in his activities for this to really work."
And third, he advises you to use the qualities that you apply outside of work. Understanding what can get you and your team overwhelmed and lose track of time comes through introspection and interest in the privacy of employees. Every leader can learn a lot by knowing how his colleagues live. And, of course, in order to lead people, he himself must maintain the necessary level of energy in himself. “The most important thing in leadership is providing focus, direction. As Napoleon used to say, a leader is a merchant of hope. I make people more aware of their own strength, help them learn to think, learn more about themselves. I pay great attention to how they communicate in the office and with loved ones."
At the end of November, Manfred Kets de Vries arrives in Moscow to speak at the Synergy Global Forum. At the largest business forum, which will be held at the Olympic Stadium on November 26-27, the practical scientist will talk about the management tools that he has developed specifically for implementation in Russian practice. Within the framework of the Synergy Global Forum, Russian entrepreneurs and all those who are interested in issues of personal effectiveness will be able to receive unique information from the leading scientist and business analyst of our time.
Photo: Getty Images, Press Services Archive
Related materials
- 5 easy ways to make decisions efficiently and quickly (and be a good leader)
- How to manage different generations in a team: 5 main rules
- Leader with a capital letter: who are superbosses (and how they become)
- Where to look for adrenaline: 5 adventure travel destinations