Many executives have a nagging sense that something is amiss in their lives. But not all of them find the courage – or the tools – to tackle what needs fixing. In his new book, The CEO Whisperer, Manfred Kets de Vries, INSEAD Distinguished Professor of Leadership Development and Organisational Change, shares lessons and insights he gleaned from decades of helping CEOs and executives become their best selves. First and foremost, he encourages leaders to know themselves and to step away from their manically busy schedules in order to self-reflect. He also discusses the tools he has been using in his long-running INSEAD seminar, The Challenge of Leadership. These include the storytelling-based life case study, dream analysis and a thorough examination of one’s inner theatre. A fully trained psychoanalyst, Kets de Vries has pioneered the art of team coaching as a way to promote better behavioural patterns. His experience has taught him that most changes are incremental, but they do share an element of pain, as a critical motivator. To those who worry about making mistakes on their journey of change, he offers an important reminder: Life is not a rehearsal.

Read more: https://knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/what-it-means-to-embark-on-a-journey-of-change-16071