A Leader's Destiny

In his new book 'A Leader's Destiny: Why Psychology, Personality, and Character Make All the Difference' Prof Aboujaoude puts leadership “on the couch,” with a provocative exploration of its crucial, but often ignored, psychological and personal character foundations. His talk introduced the assembled audience of researchers, clinicians and other mental health practitioners, and members of the public to some of the books key themes and questions. These include: Are leaders born or made, what makes for a good leader and how do circumstances shape what type of leader emerge?

His distinctive and entertaining exploration of these questions offered those attending important insights on the nature of effective leadership - what it is (consenual, respectful, nurturing, accountable) and what it is not (high-handed, distanced, self-serving, unaccountable), the qualities that good leaders exhibit (humility, compassion, impartiality, dedication, integrity) and how this translates into who should and should not be striving for leadership positions. He made a compelling case based on his own and others' research plus his personal experience as an eminent psychiatrist that good leaders are 'born' rather than 'made' and that positive leadership requires certain innate qualities and aptitudes that cannot necessarily just be acquired through training and experience.

For this reason Prof Aboujaoude is highly skeptical of what he labels the "leadership industrial complex" - that is individual coaches, social media promoters, and even certain business school courses, that promise to teach anyone to be a leader.  His concluding remarks were perhaps the most powerful - that there is no special magic or privilege about being a leader. Being a good lead is hard and often frustrating work that can require personal sacrifice and may make you unpopular at times with certain groups and individuals. Neither is not being a leader a second-class role or indicative of any personal inadequacy, leaders can only achieve all they do through the loyalty, diligence and talents of those who work for them (in an employment situation) or through the participation and backing of the citizenry (in a national context). The time has therefore arrived for an end to the current 'cult-like' obsession with leadership which only helps attract and benefit narcissists while threatening to give those who don't make it to the top an irrational inferiority complex that can stop them pursuing their full potential along other equally valuable paths.

The talk was warmly received by the highly engaged audience with a number of very insightful and probing questions that were answered honestly and with a keen wit by Prof Aboujaoude. Afterwards there was a drinks reception and the opportunity to buy a signed copy of the book from local bookseller Fox Lane Books who had kindly set up a pop-up stall outside.

About the speaker, Professor Elias Aboujaoude

Elias Aboujaoude, MD, MA, is a psychiatry professor, writer and scholar based at Stanford University, where is the director of the Impulse Control Disorders Clinic and the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Clinic. He has also held academic positions at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco, and an Honorary Professorship at the University of York. His research interests and peer-reviewed publications have focused on OCD, behavioral addictions and the intersection of technology and psychology. His previous books include Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the E-Personality, Impulse Control Disorders and Mental Health in the Digital Age: Grave Dangers, Great Promise. His work has been widely covered, including by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC and PBS. 

Author: Philip Kerrigan