Reflections on La Sorbonne

Feb 4, 2025 | Leadership & culture, Leadership transitions, Thought leadership

By Oriane Kets de Vries, 2025

As CEO of KDVI and an INSEAD alumna, I had the privilege of introducing my father, Manfred Kets de Vries, at this week’s event at La Sorbonne organised by the French INSEAD Alumni Association. The gathering brought together Manfred, Professor Roger Lehman, and many of their former students and colleagues for a discussion on leadership and change.

Drawing from five decades of working at the intersection of economics and psychoanalysis, researching, writing, coaching, and consulting, Manfred reminded us that soft issues are often the harder issues in leadership. He stated that leadership transformation starts within, beginning with the courage to examine ourselves, understand our behavioural and relationship patterns, and embrace feedback for continuous learning. Understanding the dynamics of leadership, teams, and culture is essential to create effective organisations.

In today’s workplace, where only 23% of employees are engaged and two-thirds experience anxiety and depression (costing the global economy $8.8 trillion annually), traditional management approaches fall short.

A lack of self-awareness and emotional intelligence among senior executives can impede organisational success. EQ is the ability to understand and manage one’s emotions while recognising others’ emotions and managing relationships effectively. Successful leaders require awareness of both their own motivators and those of others. Leaders with low EQ may exhibit several problematic behaviours:

  • Narcissistic tendencies that compromise decision-making
  • Excessive focus on public image while neglecting core management duties
  • Difficulty prioritising and making tough decisions
  • Conflict avoidance or decision paralysis
  • Micromanagement and inability to delegate
  • Struggle to inspire and motivate teams effectively

Manfred spoke about the Clinical Paradigm, which puts forward five key guiding concepts for working with leaders:

  • Human behaviour is complex, with much occurring beyond conscious awareness. We need to look deeper than what’s immediately visible.
  • Seemingly irrational behaviour often follows a hidden logic. Underlying motivations may require careful investigation to uncover.
  • Our behaviour is driven by interconnected motivational systems that link our thoughts, emotions, and actions. Particularly in leadership, understanding and managing emotions (emotional intelligence) is crucial for effectiveness.
  • Everyone, including leaders, has imperfections and blind spots in their personality. These “dark sides” can cause significant problems if left unacknowledged or unaddressed.
  • Our past experiences, especially early developmental experiences, significantly shape our present behaviour. We often unconsciously repeat patterns established earlier in life.

Manfred also introduced the concept of “authentizotic” organisations (from Greek authenteekos – true to values, and zoteekos – vital to life), which provides a model for modern workplaces. These organisations are characterised by:

  • A compelling mission beyond profit
  • Genuine alignment between values and practices
  • Strong trust and respect between leadership and employees
  • Collaborative rather than competitive culture
  • High-quality workplace relationships
  • Fair treatment and compensation
  • Open communication without fear of reprisal
  • Active recognition of employee contributions
  • Continuous learning opportunities
  • Transparent information flow
  • Support for work-life balance

Organisations embracing these principles typically see lower employee turnover, better talent attraction, better customer service, stronger financial performance, higher employee engagement and fulfilment and overall organisational effectiveness. Coaching and fostering trust within leadership teams lead to better collaboration and accountability, which are essential for overcoming silos and advancing collective goals.

Manfred’s ideas and approaches help KDVI move beyond superficial quick fixes to create lasting behavioural change in leaders and organisations through top team interventions, leadership development, and culture transformation work. Our mission remains clear: helping leaders develop self-awareness and emotional intelligence and to help them create workplaces where people feel truly alive and perform at their best.

Oriane Kets de Vries:

Oriane Kets de Vries is CEO and owner of the Kets de Vries Institute. She leads a global team of coaches, consultants and educators dedicated to developing reflective, emotionally intelligent leaders and cultivating workplaces where people can thrive. In her faculty role, she draws on extensive experience designing and directing leadership programmes for senior executives, contributing her expertise in psychodynamic coaching, organisational culture, and transformational leadership development.

Oriane has served as consultant, coach, and programme director for clients including Pictet, Deutsche Bank, Merck, UBS, Mishcon de Reya, and Engie, and she has taught on open-enrolment programmes with leading institutions such as Cambridge Judge Business School, Oxford Saïd, INSEAD, ESCP, ESMT and CEDEP. Her interests centre on the human side of leadership, particularly identity, creativity, entrepreneurship and gender dynamics. She holds an MBA and Executive MA in Coaching and Consulting for Change from INSEAD, has trained at the Harvard Kennedy School, and brings more than a decade of professional experience in creative and entrepreneurial industries into her work with leaders.

Manfred Kets de Vries:

Manfred Kets de Vries is a pioneering authority in leadership development, coaching, and organisational change. He is a founder and director of the Kets de Vries Institute (KDVI) and served as Distinguished Clinical Professor of Leadership Development and Organisational Change at INSEAD. With academic credentials in economics (University of Amsterdam), management (MBA and DBA, Harvard Business School), and psychoanalysis (trained in Canada), he brings a uniquely interdisciplinary perspective to leadership. His work bridges management theory and clinical insight, establishing him as a global thought leader in executive coaching and transformation. At INSEAD, he founded the Global Leadership Centre and led the flagship programme The Challenge of Leadership for 31 years. He also served as scientific director of Coaching and Consulting for Change, an 18-month Executive Master’s programme that has shaped over 3,000 senior leaders and executive coaches worldwide. He has advised and coached senior executives at global firms including Goldman Sachs, BP, Shell, Unilever, McKinsey, and Volvo. A prolific author of over 60 books and 400 articles, his work appears regularly in The Financial Times, The Economist, and Harvard Business Review. Recognised by Le Capital, Wirtschaftswoche, and The Financial Times as one of the world’s top 50 management thinkers, he is widely regarded for advancing more human-centred approaches to leadership.

Yulia Chupina:

Senior Adviser (Luminary) at Accenture and executive coach with over 12 years of board experience. Formerly a banker and McKinsey consultant, Yulia has led banking transformations in digital, agile, organisational change, and talent development. Her coaching spans the finance, tech, and consumer goods sectors, blending technological insight with emotional intelligence to guide leaders through transformation. Recently, she advised BBVA on agile methodologies and senior talent development. Influenced by thought leaders such as Manfred Kets de Vries and Gabor Maté, Yulia brings an analytical, reflective approach to leadership. She has lived and worked across the UK, Spain, the US, and Russia.

Elizabeth Florent:

Elizabeth has worked closely with Manfred Kets de Vries for many years and has served as a Senior Lecturer and Research Fellow at INSEAD. Her extensive background in leadership development spans organisational consulting, executive coaching, and academic research. She holds advanced degrees in Organisational Development and Clinical Organisational Psychology and is a certified Coaching Supervisor through the Tavistock Institute. Her doctoral research explored experiential domains in executive education, and she has authored or co-authored numerous academic articles, case studies, and books on leadership and organisational dynamics. Elizabeth led the development teams behind KDVI’s diagnostic instruments, including the GELM, OCA™, and ITI. Drawing on her diverse training and global experience, she brings deep cross-cultural insight to her work with leaders worldwide. Originally from California, Elizabeth has made France her home for over 30 years.