My guest this episode is Dr. Will Sparks, who currently serves as the Dennis Thompson Chair and Professor of Leadership at the McCall's School of Business at Queen's University in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is a best-selling author and consultant in the area of leadership and organization development.
We discuss his newest book, entitled Actualized Leadership: Meeting your Shadow and Maximizing your Potential, that was published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in June of 2019. The book is based upon the work of Carl Jung and his concept of the shadow. Will describes how each of three needs identified by David McClelland, the need for achievement, the need for affiliation, and the need for power, and how each of these translates into different leadership styles and how each has an accompanying shadow.
In a similar manner, Will discusses Viktor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning, and his concept of “paradoxical intent”. That the more you fear something the more likely you are to experience it, when you let fear drive your behavior. For more on his work on actualized leadership, you can check out Dr. Sparks’ free leadership profile assessment at https://alpfree.com/
Be sure and check out some of the artists and songs we discuss near the end of the podcast!