Description
Book SynopsisThe Mind of the Leader is a unique book on leadership, written through the prism of a seasoned professor of psychiatry and himself a leader in his field. For decades, T. Byram Karasu has treated, advised, and coached highly successful executives and captains of various industries.
Some books on leadership focus on strategies, management styles, information systems, and other technical skills, such as being disciplined, proactive, a consensus builder, and courageous. This book starts where these how-to manuals end. Dr. Karasu offers a different paradigm for leadershipa course of personal growth as well as the cultivation and embodiment of these highly desirable qualities.
The ultimate success for leadership is dependent on a leader's stability, namely having a coherent and cohesive state of mind--a synchrony of one's inner and outer worlds. With case vignettes, formal and informal encounters, and intertwined with old-world parables filled with uncommon wisdom, Dr. Karasu deals with leaders' reticence and their intimating Alpha presence. He demonstrates sources of formidable successes and causes of potential catastrophic failures. He identifies psychological fault-lines responsible for these personal and professional disasters and discusses not only how to recover from them but how to prevent them from re-occurring.
Trade ReviewThe Mind of the Leader is an original and significant contribution to the preconditions and problems of organizational leadership. Karasu’s subtle, tactful, yet courageously direct interventions with leaders are illustrated with multiple examples throughout the book, revealing not only his sophisticated psychoanalytic understanding, but also his outstanding common sense, life experience, and wisdom.
-- Otto F. Kernberg, MD, professor emeritus of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College; training and supervising analyst and past president, International Psychoanalytic Association
Dr. Karasu brings his great expertise as an eminent psychiatrist, researcher, teacher, and author to this important book, The Mind of the Leader. Drawing on his vast experience, he describes four essential pillars of leadership: an acute awareness of self and others, effective communication, strong relationships, and the ability to manage stress in a healthy way. He primarily uses a cognitive conceptualization to understand the common dysfunctional patterns of beliefs and behaviors characteristic of leaders who experience psychological impediments that impede their effectiveness. Clinical examples, metaphorical stories, and relevant aphorisms bring these topics to life. I highly recommend this book to leaders, their therapists, consultants, and coaches.
-- Judith S. Beck, Ph.D.
The radically polarized and socio-politically turbulent world of our times desperately needs the wise, good-hearted, and deeply informed understanding offered by Byram Karasu's book The Mind of the Leader. Based upon extensive in-person work with political leaders and movers and shakers of our society, Karasu introduces us to the emotional and cognitive intricacies of decision-making and exercising power. He describes the conflicts, tensions, and inhibitions felt by leaders, without ever pathologizing them, and delineates a path for their obtaining equanimity and clarity. This is a masterly blend of mentoring, psychotherapy, personal coaching, and, what he playfully calls,' Socratic midwifery'. Karasu's book is a remarkable conceptual achievement and a landmark societal contribution!
-- Salman Akhtar, M.D., emeritus professor of psychiatry, Jefferson Medical College, training and supervising analyst, Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia
from succeeding? Often, according to Dr. Byram Karasu, it is their own psychological limitations that get in the way. With a perspective drawn from a half-century in psychiatry, executive coaching, and leadership development, Dr. Karasu helps established and potential leaders become more aware of their inner states and more understanding of how they come across to others. No matter a leader’s characteristic style, he or she will benefit from the insights provided by this well-written and profoundly engaging book.
-- Peter Salovey, PhD, Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology, University President, Yale University
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Cultivate Awareness - Inner and Outer Awareness
Chapter 2: Cultivate Communication – Personal and Professional Communication
Chapter 3: Cultivate Relationships – Personal and Professional Relations
Chapter 4: Cultivate Stress Management – Personal and Professional Stresses
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
