Where do your leadership instincts come from and how can you improve them?
Stretched by heavy workloads and facing ever more complex environments, leaders increasingly find themselves running on automatic and relying on their instincts. But depending on instincts is a bit like gambling, and as a result, stress levels, mistakes and failure rates are all on the up.
Explore 80+ Executive Education programs to help you progress your career.Start your IMD journey
In this ground-breaking book, leadership experts Nik Kinley and Shlomo Ben-Hur reveal how our instincts are the products of childhood experience – lessons learnt that have become written into the structure of our brains. Like the source code at the centre of a computer, they underpin almost every aspect of our functioning as leaders. They affect how we interpret and experience things, how we react to events, the environments we choose, the impact we have on people, and even the responses we trigger in others.
Often these instincts and tendencies are hidden beneath professional poise. But under pressure, when we are deprived of time, they come to the fore. This is why leading under pressure can bring out the best and the worst in us. And it is why – ultimately – leadership is a test of the character of our instinctual code.
Based on decades of research, this book shows how we get to be the leaders we are today. It explains the tendencies and inclinations that past experiences can leave us with and the hidden ways in which they can affect who we are as leaders and how we behave. And crucially, it shows how we can make better use of our instincts and even improve them to become better leaders.
Out Now!
IMD business school is an independent academic institute with close ties to business and a strong focus on impact. Through our world-leading Executive Education, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Executive MBA, and Solutions for Organizations we help leaders and policy-makers navigate complexity and change. Here at IMD, you can develop your strategic thinking skills by learning alongside senior leaders from around the world – set against the inspiring backdrop of the Swiss Alps.
Director and Head of Talent Strategy for the global Talent Management consultancy YSC
Nik Kinley is a Director and Head of Talent Strategy for the global Talent Management consultancy YSC. Prior to YSC Nik was the Global Head of Assessment for the BP Group, and prior to that, Head of Learning for Barclays GRBF. He has specialized in the fields of assessment and behavior change for nearly twenty five years, and in this time has worked with CEOs, factory-floor workers, life-sentence prisoners, government officials and children.
Businesses can showcase their commitments to nature and sustainability by using new voluntary biodiversity credits to invest in conservation actions that can be measured.
Discover how context-aware artificial intelligence helps map where Generative AI creates the highest strategic value for your organization.
Why do you need nonmarket strategy?
Through our research at the Future Readiness Center we have identified key principles that future-ready organizations, like Yamaha, BYD and Nvidia, embrace
Business leaders must master the art of building strategies that take account of partisan divides over net-zero goals while progressing the interests of their company and society.
You've just been promoted to team leader. These tips will help you switch from worker to leader.
On this edition of Mike and Amit Talk Tech, IMD’s Carlos Cordon explores how generative AI is reshaping supply chains with new adaptive solutions.
A guide to help businesses navigate the rapidly evolving voluntary biodiversity credit (VBC) markets.
Crying at work can reveal stress, tension, or needed change. Learn how leaders and teams can respond constructively instead of suppressing emotion.
Have you ever burst into tears at work? If so, you’re not alone. Many of us feel overwhelmed by the pressures of our jobs, projects, and work relationships. Here are eight practical steps to navigate such moments constructively.
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications