Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries is a Dutch management scholar and psychoanalyst, consultant, and professor of

leadership development Leadership development is the process which helps expand the capacity of individuals to perform in leadership roles within organizations. Leadership roles are those that facilitate execution of an organization's strategy through building alignmen ...

and

organizational change Organizational behavior (OB) or organisational behaviour is the: "study of human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the organization, and the organization itself".Moorhead, G., & Griffin, R. W. (1995) ...

INSEAD INSEAD, a contraction of "Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires" () is a non-profit business school that maintains campuses in Europe (Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE), and North America (San ...

. His research focuses on leadership and the dynamics of individual and organizational change, exploring the interface between management theory,

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

, psychotherapy,

evolutionary psychology Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in psychology that examines cognition and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify human psychological adaptations with regards to the ancestral problems they evol ...

, and executive coaching. He created a group coaching intervention method which is used in business schools and consulting firms. He has written more than 50 books, 400 articles and book chapters on leadership, and organizational and personal change. Kets de Vries has also won awards for his work in the leadership field, including the Harry and Miriam Levinson Award from the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

in 2001. In 2010, he was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Academy of Management The Academy of Management is a professional association for scholars of management and organizations that was established in 1936. It publishes several academic journals, organizes conferences, and provides others forums for management professors ...

Early life and education

Kets de Vries was born in

Huizen Huizen () is a municipality and a village in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. The name "Huizen" is Dutch for "houses" and this usage has been linked to the belief that the first stone houses, instead of the more common sod houses ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Economics from the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

in 1966 and went on to attend Harvard Business School, receiving an International Teachers Program certificate in 1967, a

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as account ...

in Business Administration in 1969, and a D.B.A. in 1970 in the same subject. He also received clinical training from the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society, where he has been a member since 1982.

Career

In addition to writing, he has held professorships at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

, the '' École des Hautes Études Commerciales'', Montreal, and Harvard Business School, and has lectured at management institutions around the world. His writings explore the interface between management theory, psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, evolutionary psychology, and executive coaching. He is the professor of

and

and also works as a business consultant and executive coach. He founded INSEAD's Global Leadership Centre. He is also the founder of INSEAD's "Executive Master’s Program in Change." Kets de Vries is also a founding member of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations, of which he became a Lifetime Distinguished Member in 2009. He was made a Fellow of the

American Management Association The American Management Association (AMA) is an American non-profit educational membership organization for the promotion of management, based in New York City. Besides its headquarters there, it has local head offices throughout the world. It ...

, is a member of the International Psychoanalytic Association, and a corresponding member of the Paris Psychoanalytical Society. Kets de Vries is also the founder of the Kets de Vries Institute, a human resource consulting firm. He is a distinguished visiting professor at

European School of Management and Technology The European School of Management and Technology, also known as ESMT Berlin, is a private non-profit business school based in Berlin, Germany. The business school was founded in 2002 by 25 global companies and institutions including McKinsey & Co ...

in Berlin.

Research

Kets de Vries' research focuses on integrating management science and psychodynamic-systemic analysis. His purpose has been to educate management scholars on applied research-stems for improving performance of organizations and the quality of life for their employees. His research has led to changes in how business schools teach topics related to human behavior in organizations. He incorporates universal factors that motivate human beings ideas from family system theory, attachment behavior, development theory, strategic psychotherapy, neuroscience, dynamic psychiatry, cognitive theory, evolutionary psychology, social psychology, anthropology, and ethology. Kets de Vries is known for introducing the idea of the clinical paradigm based on four premises: 1) There is a logical explanation for the way people act—even for actions that seem irrational. 2) A great deal of mental life—feelings, fears, and motives—lies outside conscious awareness. 3) Nothing is more central to whom a person is than the way he or she regulates and expresses emotions. 4) Human development is a complex inter- and intrapersonal process. 5) The past is the lens through which people can understand the present and shape the future. In his research has also described the dangers of narcissistic behavior of people in leadership positions, including the psychological dynamics that contribute to such behavior. He also advocates for team coaching, of which he created a intervention method used in business schools and consulting firms.

Bibliography

Kets de Vries has written more than 50 books, 400 articles and book chapters on leadership, and organizational and personal change.

Awards and recognition

Kets de Vries has won awards for his work in the leadership field. The

awarded him the Harry and Miriam Levinson Award in 2001 for his contributions to the field of consultation. In 2005, he was the first non-American to receive the International Leadership Award for "his contributions to the classroom and the board room". In 2008, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award (the Leadership Legacy Project) of the International Leadership Association, being viewed as one of the world’s founding professionals in the development of leadership as a field and discipline. The following year he was rated amongst the Top 50 Thinkers in Management. In 2016, he received the Life Achievement Award given by the German education industry. In 2010 the Dutch Psychoanalytic Institute in the Netherlands presented him with the Freud Memorial Award, in acknowledgement of his work on the interface between psychoanalysis and organizations. In October 2011, Kets de Vries was awarded the ''Doctor Honoris Causa'' title from IEDC Bled School of Management for his "outstanding contribution to creation and integration of knowledge and leadership development for a better world". In October 2012, Kets de Vries received an Honorary Doctorate from the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) at IBS-Moscow. In 2013, Kets de Vries gave a TEDx Talk on the subject of leadership dysfunction. In 2016, Kets de Vries was the first beneficiary of the INSEAD Dominique Héau Award for “Inspiring Educational Excellence.” Kets de Vries also received two honorary doctorate degrees in 2022, one from the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

and one from the

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...

References

External links

The Kets de Vries Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kets De Vries, Manfred F.R. Dutch psychoanalysts Living people INSEAD faculty People from Fontainebleau Dutch expatriates in France Recipients of the Order of Orange-Nassau Leadership scholars Harvard Business School alumni University of Amsterdam alumni European School of Management and Technology faculty 1942 births