Top Business Psychology Models: 50 Transforming Ideas for Leaders, Consultants and Coaches

Citation

Palethorpe, R. (2013), "Top Business Psychology Models: 50 Transforming Ideas for Leaders, Consultants and Coaches", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 45 No. 2, pp. 127-128. https://doi.org/10.1108/00197851311309589

Trainers love models. Whether it's an established classic or an up‐and‐coming idea, a model provides a simple, reductionist framework to help us explain concepts to our delegates. At worst, models give us something to talk about; at best, they can lead to fresh understanding and provide a real basis for change.

The academic world is constantly refining existing models and developing new ones, so it can be tricky to keep up with the latest research. This is where Top Business Psychology Models comes in. In this book, Stefan Cantore, a consultant and academic, and Jonathan Passmore, a professor of Leadership and Coaching, present a rigorous and contemporary examination of 50 business‐related ideas. As these cover a wide range of perspectives, the authors expect that the book will also be useful to leaders, change managers and students.

The text is split into three sections, broadly categorising models according to whether they relate to individuals, teams or organisations. However, these distinctions are largely unnecessary, as each model is presented as a short, self‐contained chapter, which can be read without reference to the rest of the book. Each idea is discussed in a well‐referenced treatment of around 1,000 words, making this a pithy, informative book in a format that can easily be digested by busy professionals.

Each chapter starts with a section covering “the big idea”, a 500‐word summary of a particular model's background, derivation and concepts. Over the course of the book, topics range from “pure” psychology (including, amongst others: the concept of Flow; attractiveness theory; learned optimism; resilience; the theory of mind; Myers‐Briggs; obedience to authority) to more obviously business‐oriented concepts (for example: critical incident technique; Belbin; force field analysis; behavioural interviewing; the BATNA negotiation technique). Throughout, these opening sections are clearly written and well explained, and they provide practitioners with just enough information to form a reasonable working knowledge of the model in question.

The second section of each chapter is entitled “so what?”, and is used for a wider discussion of each model's context. Typically, these sections are used to introduce related research or to apply the idea to a business setting.

The third section – “what else?” – presents summaries of criticisms and counter‐arguments for each model. While these sections are not extensive, they do provide useful balance and will be of particular interest to critically‐minded readers.

Finally, each chapter concludes with a “leadership challenge” related to the model under discussion. This is perhaps the least well‐developed part of the book, as a typical challenge consists of one or two reflective questions, with only occasional use of short exercises or online questionnaires.

The wide‐ranging nature of the text means that, somewhat inevitably, this is a work that is more suited to a general reader than anyone who wants to focus on a specific area of interest. This is not to say that each chapter lacks depth; on the contrary, the authors have provided a balanced literature review for each model covered. However, curious readers will need to use the supplied references (and a specialist library) to deepen their understanding, particularly if they want to uncover more detail about alternative approaches.

Overall, however, this is a very useful and enjoyable book. The authors' commendable depth of analysis casts new light on older, more familiar concepts, while the wide scope means that most trainers should find something new to explore. For this reason, Top Business Psychology Models comes highly recommended.