Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

Career

In addition to writing, he has held professorships at McGill University, 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 leadership development and organizational change at INSEAD 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, 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 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.

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 an intervention method used in business schools and consulting firms.