Managing with Sense and Sensitivity Professionalism in Leadership

Managers wrestle daily with emotional leadership challenges because emotions and relationships influence organizational energy, commitment, and financial results. This book helps managers strike a balance between feeling and reason in a professional and ethical manner with attention to the manager’s position in the hierarchy of the organization. The authors argue that all managers need to develop their own leadership style based on who they are as persons, their convictions and the circumstances in which they find themselves. This book shows managers how to use judgement, experience, reflection and general knowledge to be better leaders. The book also describes managerial responsibility for the conditions that create a compassionate and effective work environment where emotions can be expressed in ways that constructively benefit the entire organization

Introduction.- Emotional challenges.- Leadership, power, and authority.- Emotions in the workplace.- Why do we want to work?.- Group dynamics.- Leading as a manager.- How to act professionally in the manager role.- Developing as a manager with sense and sensitivity.

Christer Sandahl, Psychologist, and Professor Emeritus of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden), has extensive experience as a business consultant. In 1985, he and his wife Patricia Tudor Sandahl, founded Sandahl Partners, a consulting company specializing in organizational psychology which continues to flourish with a new generation of owners. For the past 25 years, as a full-time researcher, Christer has studied group- and organisational psychology and its implications for leadership and team development. He initiated and led the research group Leadership, Evaluation and Organizational Development (LEAD) at the Medical Management Centre, Karolinska Institutet. In addition, he is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences.

Mia von Knorring is Psychologist and Associate Professor in Healthcare Organization at Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden) and has a background in journalism.For more than 20 years she has taught managerial leadership at post-graduate level and has been counselling managers on leadership. Her research focus is on professionalism in the managerial role. Currently, she leads the research group Leadership in Healthcare and Academia at the Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics (LIME), Karolinska Institutet. In 2014 she was awarded the distinction “Leadership promotor of the year” by the Swedish Leadership Academy in Healthcare for her strong commitment to the promotion of research-oriented leadership development.