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Leaders are vulnerable, too. That is, they can be led astray just as their followers can--actually, by their followers. Sometimes, good leaders end up making poor decisions because well-meaning followers are united and persuasive about a course of action. This is a particular problem for leaders who attract and empower strong followers. These executives need to become more skeptical of the majority view and push followers to examine their opinions more closely. At other times, leaders get into trouble because they are surrounded by followers who fool them with flattery and isolate them from uncomfortable realities. Charismatic leaders, who are most susceptible to this problem, need to make an extra effort to unearth disagreement and to find followers who are not afraid to pose hard questions. Organizational mechanisms like 360-degree feedback and executive coaching can help these leaders get at the truth within their companies. Finally, unscrupulous and ambitious followers may end up encroaching on the authority of the leader to such an extent that the leader becomes little more than a figurehead who has responsibility but no power. There's not much leaders can do to guard completely against a determined corporate Iago, but those who communicate and live by a positive set of values will find themselves better protected. And because followers tend to model themselves after their leaders, the straightforward leader is less likely to have manipulative followers. In this article, George Washington University Professor Lynn Offermann explores each of these dynamics in depth, arguing that leaders need to stir debate, look for friends who can deliver bad news, and communicate and act on a solid set of values.

Although a number of business scholars have explored the psychology of executives, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries has made the analysis of CEOs his life's work. In this article, Kets de Vries, a psychoanalyst, author, and Insead professor, draws on three decades of study to describe the psychological profile of successful CEOs. He explores senior executives' vulnerabilities, which are often intensified by followers' attempts to manipulate their leaders. Leaders, he says, have an uncanny ability to awaken transferential processes--in which people transfer the dynamics of past relationships onto present interactions--among their employees and even in themselves. These processes can present themselves in a number of ways, sometimes negatively. What's more, many top executives, being middle-aged, suffer from depression. Midlife prompts a reappraisal of career identity, and by the time a leader is a CEO, an existential crisis is often imminent. Not all CEOs are psychologically unhealthy, of course. Healthy leaders are talented in self-observation and self-analysis, Kets de Vries says. The best are highly motivated to spend time on self-reflection. Their lives are in balance, they can play, they are creative and inventive, and they have the capacity to be nonconformist. "Those who accept the madness in themselves may be the healthiest leaders of all," he concludes.

In the winter of 2000, at the height of the dot-com boom, business leaders posed for the covers of Time, BusinessWeek, and the Economist with the aplomb and confidence of rock stars. These were a different breed from their counterparts of just 10 or 20 years before, who shunned the press and whose comments were carefully crafted by corporate PR departments. Such love of the limelight often stems from what Freud called a narcissistic personality, says psychoanalyst and anthropologist Michael Maccoby in this HBR classic, first published in the January-February 2000 issue. Narcissists are good for companies in extraordinary times--those that need people with the passion and daring to take them in new directions. But narcissists can also lead companies into disaster by refusing to listen to the advice and warnings of their managers. It's not always true, as Andy Grove famously put it, that only the paranoid survive. Most business advice is focused on the more analytic personality that Freud labeled obsessive. But recommendations about creating teamwork and being more receptive to subordinates will not resonate with narcissists. Narcissists who want to overcome the limits of their personalities must work as hard at that as they do at business success. One solution is to find a trusted sidekick who can point out the operational requirements of the narcissistic leader's often overly grandiose vision and keep him or her rooted in reality. Another is to take a leap of faith and go into psychoanalysis, which can give these leaders the tools to overcome their sometimes fatal character flaws.

Businesspeople tend to be extroverts, taking a lively interest in others and preferring action to introspection. But to be fully effective as leaders, they must learn to navigate the twists and turns of their emotions and those of the people around them.

Ed Davidson is on top of the world, literally and figuratively, at the beginning of this fictional case study. He's in the Swiss Alps, headed for Davos and his first experience as a delegate to the World Economic Forum's annual conference. And he has reason to believe he is about to be made president of his company, Carston Waite--and, therefore, heir apparent to the CEO position. Then his phone rings. It's his mentor, Frank Maugham, the CFO and a board member at Carston Waite, calling to inform him of a major setback. "David asked me to let you know you are not going to be named president," he says. "At least not yet. He wants to stay close to the business." But Frank has a plan to change the CEO's mind. Meanwhile, Ed feels betrayed and humiliated--and his desire for revenge against the CEO mounts. When the news comes that Frank's plan has failed and has cost Frank his job, Ed is already deep in a plot of his own. He's in Davos because David had to back out; Ed is supposed to deliver the CEO's remarks in his stead. But why not use this opportunity on the world stage instead to deal a parting blow? In R0401A and R0401Z,a psychoanalyst, a psychiatrist, an executive coach, and a governance expert comment on Ed's state of mind and his best course of action. They are Kenneth Eisold, the president of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations; Dee Soder, the founder and managing partner of the CEO Perspective Group; Jeffrey P. Kahn, the CEO of WorkPsych Associates; and Charles M. Elson, the Edgar S. Woolard, Jr., Chair of Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware.

Ed Davidson is on top of the world, literally and figuratively, at the beginning of this fictional case study. He's in the Swiss Alps, headed for Davos and his first experience as a delegate to the World Economic Forum's annual conference. And he has reason to believe he is about to be made president of his company, Carston Waite--and, therefore, heir apparent to the CEO position. Then his phone rings. It's his mentor, Frank Maugham, the CFO and a board member at Carston Waite, calling to inform him of a major setback. "David asked me to let you know you are not going to be named president," he says. "At least not yet. He wants to stay close to the business." But Frank has a plan to change the CEO's mind. Meanwhile, Ed feels betrayed and humiliated--and his desire for revenge against the CEO mounts. When the news comes that Frank's plan has failed and has cost Frank his job, Ed is already deep in a plot of his own. He's in Davos because David had to back out; Ed is supposed to deliver the CEO's remarks in his stead. But why not use this opportunity on the world stage instead to deal a parting blow? In R0401A and R0401Z, a psychoanalyst, a psychiatrist, an executive coach, and a governance expert comment on Ed's state of mind and his best course of action. They are Kenneth Eisold, the president of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations; Dee Soder, the founder and managing partner of the CEO Perspective Group; Jeffrey P. Kahn, the CEO of WorkPsych Associates; and Charles M. Elson, the Edgar S. Woolard, Jr., Chair of Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware.

Supplements the (A) case.

Shows how a regional family company threatened by national competition must make changes to its structure and way of doing business or face extinction or sale.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

A successful five-generation family business group in India separates its ownership role from its operational management role to meet the needs of a more global economy. This includes hiring professional nonfamily business unit managers as well as including nonfamily directors on the corporate board.

Presents the options available for a successful transition of leadership from one generation to the next, based on a family's and company's unique history, structures, and players.

Supplements the (A) case.

A large family business in banking and ranching is shifting leadership to the next generation and has developed a protocol to select board members by consensus. However, when the selection occurs, it is not made in accordance with the protocol, and a third-generation family member questions why the selection rules were changed by second-generation members without input or vote. Highlights the growing pains of developing fair processes and guidelines for nominating and selecting board members, meeting family expectations, communicating with constituents, and encouraging active roles in governance at the cousin-stage of a family business.

Supplements the (A) case.

CEO Aaron Feuerstein of Malden Mills decided to pay idled workers after a massive fire at his mill in 1995. Focuses on the decisions made post-fire and the rebuilding process and eventual bankruptcy of the company. Also outlines creditors' struggle to decide whether to lend Feuerstein additional funds to enable him to regain control of the company after emerging from bankruptcy.

When Shirley Franklin took over as mayor of Atlanta in 2001, city hall was flat broke, employee morale was in the basement, and the public had lost faith. In her own words, Franklin describes how she's managing the city's recovery.

The past three decades have been a time of increasing informality in the American workplace. It's easy to characterize this growing comfort with the casual as a positive step for workplace culture, an outgrowth of the American democratic belief in workers' equality. Informal environments are said to be more trusting and open, and workers who are free to express their personalities are more comfortable and, thus, more creative--right? According to etiquette guru Judith Martin--known far and wide as Miss Manners--informality in the workplace may do more harm than good. Without some formality in social intercourse, Miss Manners argues, human interactions end up being governed by laws, which are too heavy-handed to serve as a guide through the nuances of personal--or professional--behavior. On the whole, Miss Manners argues, informality in the workplace leads to a host of problems, from making employees feel pressured to "socialize" with coworkers during weekends and evenings to sexual harassment. Despite the shortcomings of informality in the American workplace, though, Miss Manners believes that we have the best code of manners the world has ever seen--in theory. In practice, American etiquette is undoubtedly still a work in progress.

Answer true or false: "I am an ethical manager." If you answered "true," here's an uncomfortable fact: You're probably wrong. Most of us believe we can objectively size up a job candidate or a venture deal and reach a fair and rational conclusion that's in our, and our organization's, best interests. But more than two decades of psychological research indicates that most of us harbor unconscious biases that are often at odds with our consciously held beliefs. The flawed judgments arising from these biases are ethically problematic and undermine managers' fundamental work--to recruit and retain superior talent, boost individual and team performance, and collaborate effectively with partners. This article explores four related sources of unintentional unethical decision making: implicit bias--judging according to unconscious stereotypes rather than merit; in-group bias--favoring people in their own circles; a tendency to overclaim credit; and conflicts of interest. To counter these unconscious biases, traditional ethics training is not enough. You should gather better data, rid the work environment of stereotypical cues, and broaden your mind-set when making decisions.

Among all the companies that were touched by scandal in 2002, Tyco was uniquely positioned to serve as a laboratory for governance reform. It had solid manufacturing businesses and, unlike Enron or WorldCom, it was not the victim of massive, systemic accounting fraud. Yes, there was serious malfeasance at the top, but undergirding the company was a foundation of profitable basic businesses. In this article, Tyco's first-ever senior vice-president for corporate governance describes the steps the company is taking to wipe the slate clean and restore shareholders' and employees' trust in its operations. The company began by bringing in a new CEO, Ed Breen; hiring some 60 new senior executives; swapping out the entire board of directors with individuals who boast strong backgrounds in operations as well as in finance; and meticulously, systematically scrubbing all the books. Tyco's new board is clear about who has authority over which transactions and, with three executives within the company reporting directly to it, has a window into day-to-day affairs. Most important, Tyco is creating the conditions for good governance below the senior executive level, including a stronger boundary between finance and operations management.