E-Book Overview
In this insightful book, Microsoft consulting psychologist Anna Rowley draws on fascinating case studies from her twelve years of working with the top levels of Microsoft management, revealing the skills that have helped the company's top executives to maintain market dominance. Rowley's tools have helped her powerhouse clients, who are passionately devoted to their jobs, attain their maximum potential while faced with constant pressure to innovate and excel. In Leadership Therapy, she explains how leaders can develop the characteristics they need to succeed in a demanding environment, including belief, objectivity, insight, connectivity, and ambition.
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Leadership Therapy Inside the Mind of Microsoft
Anna Rowley
Leadership Therapy
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Leadership Therapy Inside the Mind of Microsoft
Anna Rowley, Ph.D.
LEADERSHIP THERAPY
Copyright © Anna Rowley, 2007. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2007 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN-13: 978–1–4039–8403–6 ISBN-10: 1–4039–8403–4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rowley, Anna. Leadership therapy: inside the mind of Microsoft / Anna Rowley. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–4039–8403–4 1. Leadership. 2. Success in business. 3. Executive ability. I. Title. HD57.7.R69 2007 658.4⬘092—dc22 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: December 2007 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America.
2007016213
This book is dedicated to Stan and Dorothy, my parents, who always believed.
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Contents
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ix
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
P R E F A C E
A N D
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
1
From Couch to Corporate The Origins of Short Term Corporate Therapy . . . . . . . . . . .
7
2
Belief The Cornerstone of Your Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
39
3
Confidence Why We Need It, How We Lose It, How to Get It Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
81
4
Self-Awareness and Your Behavioral Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 5
Trust The Glue That Holds Us Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
147
Contents 6
Power and Ambition Do You Want to Be Feared or Loved? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
171
7
Be Your Own Therapist
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Appendix The Leadership Circumplex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
207
N O T E S
....................................................
223
I N D E X
.....................................................
235
viii
Preface and Acknowledgments
I first started writing this book in Paris, France, and finished it on a train from Agra to New Delhi in India. For the past 1