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 or organisational behaviour (see spelling differences) is the "study of human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the organization, and the organization itself".Moorhead, G., & ...

INSEAD INSEAD ( ; French: ''Institut européen d'administration des affaires'') is a non-profit business school with locations in Europe (Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE) and North America (San Francisco, USA ...

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

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

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 regard to the ancestral problems they evolved ...

, 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. Professor Kets de Vries is the founder of th
Kets de Vries Institute
KDVI Ltd.), a global leadership development and organisational culture transformation consultancy. 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 main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

in 2001. In 2010, he was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Academy of Management An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the g ...

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 in the region, instead of the more commo ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate 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 prac ...

in Economics from the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

in 1966 and went on to attend

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, receiving an International Teachers Program certificate in 1967, a M.B.A. 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: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, the ''

École des Hautes Études Commerciales HEC Paris () is a business school and ''grande école'' located in Jouy-en-Josas, a southwestern outer suburb of Paris, France. It offers Bachelor, MiM, MSc in International Finance, MBA, EMBA, executive education, professional developm ...

'', Montreal, and

, 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, 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 companies and institutions and offers a range of Master o ...

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 an 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 (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

and one from the

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

References

External links

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