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Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps: How to Thrive in Complexity 1st Edition

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 411 ratings
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Author and consultant Jennifer Garvey Berger has worked with all types of leaders―from top executives at Google to nonprofit directors who are trying to make a dent in social change. She hears a version of the same plea from every client in nearly every sector around the world: "I know that complexity and uncertainty are testing my instincts, but I don't know which to trust. Is there some way to know what to do when I can't know what's next?"

Her newest work is an answer to this plea. Using her background in adult development, complexity theories, and leadership consultancy, Garvey Berger discerns five pernicious and pervasive "mind traps" to frame the book. These are: the desire for simple stories, our sense that we are right, our desire to get along with others in our group, our fixation with control, and our constant quest to protect and defend our egos. In addition to understanding why these natural impulses steer us wrong in a fast-moving world, leaders will get powerful questions and approaches that help them escape these patterns.

Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    1503609014
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1503609013
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publication date
    January 29, 2019
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    5 x 0.42 x 8 inches
  7. Print length
    88 pages
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The greatest journey a leader can take is into a world of self-awareness, mindfulness, and curiosity. Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps is a pioneering handbook that I believe will help a new generation of leaders navigate complexity and find fulfillment." -- Vas Narasimhan, Chief Executive Officer ― Novartis

"In this book, Jennifer explains key skills: listening to learn, disagreeing to expand, resolution to deepen relationships. I wish that every leader, and every person, would read this in today's increasingly interconnected yet polarized world!" -- Diane Tang, Vice President ― Google

"This book is deceptively brilliant. It offers a host of very accessible practices that will result in creating the agile, innovative, engaged organizational conversations and cultures that can thrive amid complexity." -- Bob Anderson, Founder and Chairman ― The Leadership Circle

"I don't know how Garvey Berger has managed to capture so much wisdom in such a small compass, but I do know we are all the beneficiaries!" -- Robert Kegan ― Harvard University

"Thought-provoking, insightful, and empowering. This book opens up academic research to a broader audience, encouraging us all to expand the limits of our thinking. Jennifer's work continues to inspire me." -- Jill Ader, Chairwoman ― Egon Zehnder

About the Author

Jennifer Garvey Berger believes that leadership is one of the most vital renewable resources in the world. At a time when organizations are often forging the path rather than following the path of others, leadership is about creating the conditions for people to be their most creative, connected, intelligent selves. She is a founding partner and CEO of Cultivating Leadership, a consultancy that serves executives and executive teams in the private, non-profit, and government sectors around the world. Her clients include Google, Microsoft, Novartis, Wikipedia, and Oxfam International. Jennifer designs and teaches leadership programs, coaches senior teams, and supports new ways of thinking about strategy and people with clients facing these dramatic shifts in complexity, volatility, and change in their workplaces and markets. She blends deep theoretical knowledge with a driving quest for practical ways to make leaders' lives better. Jennifer holds a doctorate in adult development from Harvard University, where she studied under and worked with acclaimed developmental psychologist Robert Kegan. She was an Associate Professor at George Mason University before she left the academy on a mission to connect powerful research and the people doing real work in the world.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stanford Briefs; 1st edition (January 29, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 88 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1503609014
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1503609013
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.42 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 411 ratings

About the author

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Jennifer Garvey Berger

Jennifer Garvey Berger

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Jennifer Garvey Berger believes that leadership is one of the most vital renewable resources in the world. At a time when organisations are often forging the path rather than following the path of others, leadership is about creating the conditions for people to be their most creative, connected, intelligent selves. She is a founding partner and CEO of Cultivating Leadership, a consultancy that serves executives and executive teams in the private, non-profit, and government sectors around the world. Her clients include Google, Microsoft, Novartis, Wikipedia, and Oxfam International. Jennifer designs and teaches leadership programs, coaches senior teams, and supports new ways of thinking about strategy and people with clients facing these dramatic shifts in complexity, volatility, and change in their workplaces and markets. She blends deep theoretical knowledge with a driving quest for practical ways to make leaders’ lives better.

Jennifer also supports leaders one-on-one as a leadership coach. She supports clients to find their current growing edge and then make choices about how they want to grow, and she teaches coaches around the world transformational and developmental coaching approaches in her Growth Edge Coaching certification series. Jennifer speaks at leadership and coaching conferences, and she offers occasional courses for coaches at universities all over the world like Harvard University, the University of Sydney, and Oxford Brookes University.

Jennifer holds a doctorate in adult development from Harvard University, where she studied under and worked with acclaimed developmental psychologist Robert Kegan. She was an Associate Professor at George Mason University before she left the academy on a mission to connect powerful research and the people doing real work in the world. Jennifer is an American by birth, a Kiwi by choice, and finds herself living now in London, far from her beach house on the Tasman Sea. Wherever she might call home, she loves laughing with her two nearly-grown children, rolling on the floor with her dog, and writing about leading, coaching, and living.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
411 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ronni H.
5.0 out of 5 stars Not for formal leaders only--a must-read
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2019
Verified Purchase
While I would recommend anything Jennifer has written to anyone, her newest book takes it to a new level. Jennifer conveys big and powerful ideas in a way that is simple but not simplistic--and does so on just about every page of this short and highly readable book. She explores five "Mindtraps" that we get caught in because we are born human--and these Mindtraps are part of the human condition. They serve us when things are simple--and can become liabilities as life become more complex.
Learning to notice the Mindtraps and having an alternative way of responding so that we can gain more choice and open up new possibilities is what this book is all about. Some of the content will be familiar if you know Jennifer's work--and still there's lot of new material and a new lens that makes this a great read. Reading about the Mindtrap of Agreement made me think deeply about the ways I both adopt and even encourage this Mindtrap--and the cost we pay for doing that. Each Mindtrap is illustrated both story and description, and each contains an "antidote" question and practice. Jennifer also shares a set of strategies or practices at the end of the book that can support us more broadly as we navigate in an increasingly complex context.
I've given copies of Jennifer's book to my kids and spouse, and am asking my clients to read it as part of our work together. I believe that if we can each do more to understand and work with these Mindtraps we can live more compassionate (and self-compassionate) lives and make the world just a little bit better.
6 people found this helpful
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Lexi
5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, Concise, Meaningful Content
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2020
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This was our first book for our 2020 leadership book club, and I really like it. It is clear, concise, to the point, and gives an overview of what these mindtraps are. There is a bit of a storyline in between, which I enjoyed, as it ties it all together, and shows a creative and real-life scenario on how these mindtraps can happen and situations where they do come out and we just do not notice them, or we are not realizing that we are exhibiting these in the moment as we are doing them.. 

It ultimately makes us more aware of what we think or say, and this awareness leads us to recognize how to change and develop into more mindful and stronger leaders. I recommend this to a lot of our leaders, and anyone in particular, who have the desire to have better personal and professional relationships with others, to have more compassion towards oneself and others, to free oneself from the selfish ways of the ego and the burdensome weight of shame, and to experience the freedom and openness of awareness, mindfulness, and the gift of becoming an overall better person.
One person found this helpful
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William
4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to follow ideas to move oneself forward amidst complexity
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2021
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Overall good book, with solid tips to pursue one’s purpose in a VUCA world.

I didn’t like the short story examples that began each chapter. They were contrived to fit the content, hard to follow the story line, and consequently I lost interest. You can skip those segments without losing any of the academic content.

I also have mixed opinions on “the traps”, but you know, I don’t think that’s necessarily that central idea in this book, rather, the pursuit of one’s purpose in a VUCA world (the author failed to attribute that by the way)—and this thesis was revealed in the last 2 chapters.

On the traps: overall I think the were new terms for old concepts. Simple stories/rightness = biases; agreement = groupthink; etc. Still useful tips and tricks to confront these problems though.

I thought the last couple chapters on pursuing one’s purpose were pure gold though. If you take anything from this book, screen shot the two tables she’s included here.

3.5 stars
2 people found this helpful
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SirReadsAlot
5.0 out of 5 stars More books need to be written this way
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2019
Verified Purchase
So many leadership books are inexcusably long as if the authors have something to prove through their exhaustive knowledge. Not so with this book - it uses a mix of storytelling, leadership theory and practices in pithy and well-written 150 pages. I read one of her previous books and she struggled to break free of Kegan and Lahey but this time their work is presented in context not as the main course which is a definite positive. This book captures Garvey Berger’s compassion as well as empathy for what leaders go through in their private lives and thoughts which in and of itself is valuable - more leaders need to know that they aren’t alone and it’s okay to have insecurities and doubts. Key to the author’s work is being self-reflective but also having a mentor or coach to challenge embedded and unseen assumptions. A helpful scaffold of key insights and questions as well as simple but effective practices pepper the book and make it a delight. I will suggest this as a “book study” for my leadership development clients.
4 people found this helpful
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B
5.0 out of 5 stars Understandable, valuable, actionable
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2019
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Is complexity too complex to understand? “Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps” helps us recognize why we struggle with concepts like complexity – as humans, we are not ‘hardwired’ for a complex world. While this book won’t change our wiring, it does provide practical, valuable, and actionable ways to recognize and temporarily escape these Mindtraps. For those who aspire to more effectively exercise leadership in a complex world, read this book. As a bonus for first-time readers of Jennifer Garvey Berger’s work: you have two more treasures awaiting you in “Changing on the Job” and “Simple Habits for Complex Times.” Enjoy!
One person found this helpful
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Anyana Banerjee
5.0 out of 5 stars It you want to thrive in complexity as a human/leader get this and don’t waste any more time!
Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2019
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This book is cutting edge, practical, and a quick read which makes it super impactful. Usually, great leadership books come out and it takes forever to read them so the knowledge never gets out to practical use. You can read this book in one sitting and immediately begin to apply it because the Mind Traps framework that Jennifer Garvey Berger lays out is so memorable. I have used the Mind Traps framework to bring more awareness to how I get trapped, my family gets trapped, and the leaders in my profession get trapped. It is a framework that is intuitive and real, but most importantly actually helpful in a world that is so complex. Highly recommend buying it now!
One person found this helpful
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Antony
4.0 out of 5 stars Important lessons in an easy to read manner.
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2020
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This book helped me make a bit more sense and mentally organize what I’ve learned about being a good person amongst others. It was easy to read and digest.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Paulo Peres
5.0 out of 5 stars amplie sua visão
Reviewed in Brazil on February 12, 2024
Verified Purchase
Excelente leitura! Recheada de bons insights para liderança em tempos complexos e ambíguos.
Viver a complexidade é um desafio para todo gestor, no entanto o tempo atual nos traz armadilhas mentais que desfocam, desviam e deixam nebulosas nossas visões diminuindo a qualidade da tomada de decisão.

Jennifer nos dá ótimas palavras para conviver com a complexidade. Adiciono como leitura complementar
o livro Perseverança, de Margaret Wheatley.
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SERGIO DR
5.0 out of 5 stars know your mindtraps
Reviewed in Italy on July 5, 2023
Verified Purchase
A journey through the essence of some of our human traits, that in other eras of evolution were our competitive advantage, whilst in our era they can be the worst hurdle towards the full enjoyment of life. Know yourself, find the Spirit that God, the Universe or whatever you call it, has given to you, genuinely be guided by love of yourself and the world around you, break legacies… and you will become the man or woman that you are.
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Rogier
5.0 out of 5 stars Wat are your mindtraps .
Reviewed in the Netherlands on December 24, 2021
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A must read for every leader, verry reconisable materi.
Wil help me hope of does the same for you aswel
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Vikram
3.0 out of 5 stars Poor print quality..is it prirate copy?
Reviewed in India on August 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
Havent read the book yet.

But this rating is for poor print quality. Font on one page is different and on another page is different. I have paid extra to get paperback to get feel the feel of book in my hand. I am feeling bit disappointed basis print quality.

Will probably come back to write detail book review
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Andrea Swanson
5.0 out of 5 stars Warmth, insight and leadership wisdom packed into a short consice book
Reviewed in Canada on May 2, 2019
Verified Purchase
Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps: How to Thrive in Complexity is the kind of book that is so true it feels instinctive and yet it's also the kind of book you recommend to everyone because you know we all need to hear it. The key to leading in complexity is we all need to keep growing and developing into ever better people, Jennifer shows the traps and offers solutions to the very issues that help us do so.
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