A Different Way of Thinking Outside the Box: A Book Review of The Arbinger Institute’s Leadership and Self-Deception

Jul 29, 13 A Different Way of Thinking Outside the Box: A Book Review of The Arbinger Institute’s Leadership and Self-Deception

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Written by Jen Dawson under Melanie’s direction This is not a new book. Published in hardcover in 2000, the four pages of glowing reviews found inside the front cover, gathered from corporate heavy-hitters like Fed-Ex and anonymous readers from across North America, give a sense that the book has been around long enough to gain quite a following. The concept of self-deception is also not new. “Know Thyself” was inscribed over the entrance to the Oracle at Delphi. More recently, the psychoanalytic theory of Freud and co. could be described as the study of the many ways humans lie to themselves. In fact, the concepts explored in Leadership and Self-Deception are the Arbinger Institute’s take on the psychoanalytic concept of ‘resistance’ as applied to the world of business. The book is engagingly written, following the popular business book format of the likeable but imperfect main character who learns a life-altering lesson from a selection of gentle and inspiring gurus. At 168 pages, it’s a quick read. The concepts are clearly presented, the dialogue believable, and the take-away lesson profound. We journey along with Tom Callum, a fictional new employee at a highly successful company where the secret weapon–being “out of the box” in relations with others–has revolutionized the way business is done. Over the course of two days, Tom learns that all people, including his mentors, have a tendency to see others as objects rather than people. It all starts when we deny an initial impulse to do something for another person. This act of denial is labelled self-betrayal. In order to continue seeing ourselves as good people, even though we didn’t follow through on our own impulse to help another, we have to rationalize our inaction. The other person’s character and behaviour is vilified, while our own deeds and needs are elevated in our perception. Both are distortions of reality. At the fictional company where the book is set, this place of distorted reality is given the label “being in the box”. Simple...

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Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within by Robert S. Quinn

Jul 29, 13 Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within by Robert S. Quinn

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To large organizations, the basic premise in Deep Change could be radical and even threatening.  In fact, Quinn himself uses the term “heretical” to describe his approach.  As early as the first chapter, he makes it clear that deep change involves risk, potential for suffering, getting lost, re-inventing one’s self and breaking the rules. “Excellence never lies within the boxes drawn in the past”, the reader is advised. “To be excellent, the leaders have to step outside the safety net of the company’s regulations.”  Towards the end of the book, Quinn states that true leaders “are willing to accept the necessary risk because it is the right thing to do. They care enough to risk dying for the organization, which would kill them for caring.” Death, here, is metaphorical. But it is certainly a bold metaphor for a business book. Quinn is an academic, and his book does not spoon-feed the reader. There is no overarching, cute ‘hook’: an animal fable, fictitious company, or cozy relationship between curious/challenged business owner and affable/wise mentor. He is not afraid to talk theory or present his information as a diagram or chart. His writing is not witty. His anecdotes are matter-of-fact. Something I found particularly valuable was his careful description of the differences between three organizational paradigms: the ‘technical’, or individual paradigm; the ‘transactional’, or managerial paradigm; and the ‘transformational’ or leadership paradigm. I also appreciated that Quinn spends a considerable amount of time describing the role of middle managers as transformational leaders, thus emphasizing that transformation is not the sole purview of the CEO but can be accomplished by anyone, regardless of their place in the pecking order. Following each chapter, Quinn poses at least one full page of questions to the reader, divided into two categories: ‘personal steps to change’ and ‘organizational steps to change’. I found it difficult to respond meaningfully to many of the questions and, as a result, my ability to learn from the book was compromised. Why didn’t this format work...

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