Leading with Depth: The Impact of Emotions and Relationships on Leadership

Leadership goes well beyond efficient management, and the significance of emotions on the success of organisations is often underestimated. In Leading With Depth: The Impact of Emotions and Relationships, Claudia Nagel guides us through the emotional and relational fallacies of organisational leadership from both the personal and the systemic perspective.

Nagel expertly weaves theory, including attachment, neuroscientific, psychodynamic, psychosocial, and psychoanalytic, with practical advice. She looks at the leader as an individual and leadership as a context within systems such as groups, organisations, and societies. The book is divided into two parts and contains thirty-eight figures to illustrate important aspects of leadership. The first chapter in each part is purely theoretical followed by more method-oriented and practical chapters, which are complemented by pertinent case studies from well-known experts in the field (coaches, consultants, or academics). Contributors include Gilles Amado, Birgitte Bonnerup, Phil Boxterk, Halina Brunning, Annemette Hasselager, Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, Olya Khaleelee, Fiona Martin, Ajit Menon, Rose Mersky, Mal O’Connor, Larissa Philatova, Martin Ringer, Rob Ryan, and Kalina Stamenova. Each chapter concludes with a brief overview of the key learnings for the reader to take away. In this way, Nagel encourages practical learning and application and engagement with the text.

Nagel’s clear language spares the reader of academic jargon and is highly readable. The book successfully bridges the gap from theoretical concepts to real-life application and will be of value to incoming and experienced leaders alike, as well as organisational consultants and executive coaches looking to inform their practice.

CONTENTS

Foreword by Anton Obholzer

Overview

Introduction: Hidden forces

PART I: THE PERSONAL

Setting the tone

Managing and holding

Case study of negative capability – avoiding premature decisions

Larissa Philatova

Effective and dysfunctional leaders

Case study of a narcissistic leader – a star or showman?

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

We are all mammals

Case study of affective states – firefighters in protection mode

Fiona Martin and Claudia Nagel

Repeating experiences

Case study of family dynamics – the hidden brother

Claudia Nagel

Do women lead differently, and do they want to lead?

Case study of a woman in leadership – facing up to socialisation and stereotypes

Rob Ryan

Making leaders

Case study of leadership choice – talent is not everything

Olya Khaleelee

Do you need leadership coaching?

Case study of coaching individuals – losing how to lead

Halina Brunning

PART II: THE SYSTEMIC

Not staying on task: how we take care of our fear and avoid working

Facing difficult decisions: dealing with defences, moral choices, and paradoxes

Case study on decision making – failure is always an option

Mal O’Connor

Being together in the locker room: creativity, conflict, and divergent thinking

Case study on creative thinking – a winning space

Gilles Amado

Thinking together – and how to get there

Case study on shared thinking – a joint venture between failure and hubris

Martin Ringer

Understanding hidden feelings and culture

Case study of social dream drawing – healing generational conflict

Rose Mersky

Leading networks and ecosystems

Case study of living systems – dealing with paradoxes and emotional tensions

Claudia Nagel

Taking over and then?

Case study of a merger – crown jewel or poison chalice

Ajit Menon

Love and loneliness

Case study of a working couple – love, isolation, and survival

Annemette Hasselager and Birgitte Bonnerup

Digitalisation of our world of work

Case study of digitalisation – in pursuit of better connections

Phil Boxterk

Leading by the screen: how to do online and hybrid right

Case study of the effects of hybrid work – leading by the screen

Kalina Stamenova

And now? Some final reflexions with an outlook