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Manfred FR. Kets de Vries. Life and Death in the Executive Fast Lane: Essays on Irrational Organizations and Their Leaders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995, 252 pages, $26.00. Reviewed by Joyce EA. Russell, Professor, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Like many others who teach and train executives, I am attracted to "leadership books" for the new ideas that I might glean from them and share with my executive audiences. This book similarly appealed to me upon reading the title and background material on it. It looked to be a novel treatise on the topic of leadership. Was it "different" enough to warrant reading? Absolutely. Will it be a "value-added" experience for you? Unquestionably. With insight, humor, and a welcome dose of reality, Kets de Vries addresses some issues that are often ignored in traditional leadership courses and business schools.
As the author indicates, the essays in his book
Do not emphasize aspects such as infrastructure, job descriptions, and span of control. Instead, they explore the underlying structures of the organization: corporate culture, group dynamics, the nature of interpersonal relationships, emotional experiences. and individual motivation This is what makes the book intriguing. Kets de Vries combines what has been called by others the "dismal science" (economics) with the "impossible profession" (psychoanalysis) in an attempt to describe what really happens in organizations-why some succeed and others fail. He explores the role of the leader as an irrational influence in organizations.
The book is divided into two major sections. The first nine chapters focus on organizational issues, and the last 10 chapters address issues about the person. In the first section, he tries to "present principles that can be used to decipher what really goes on in organizations." He tries to "make sense out of specific behaviors, stories, myths, rituals, and jokes to help people understand the conflicts, anxieties, defenses, and tensions that constantly arise." This section offers excellent insights about organizational realities, and current organizational problems (e.g., downsizings, mergers, globalization).
The first chapter starts off by defining leadership and the role of the leader. Kets de Vries...