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Manfred Kets de Vries, one of the pioneers in the field of global leadership, was interviewed on the topic of global leadership development. He described various intervention techniques he utilizes in his Challenge of Leadership program at INSEAD – a year-long seminar aimed at CEOs – that include exercises, life case studies, 720-degree feedback instrumentation, and the use of the group coaching intervention technique to create a “transitional space” or safe environment where senior executives can be both vulnerable and honest; a place where they can experiment with new ways of dealing with their world. Kets De Vries’s reliance on psychodynamic-systemic concepts, given his background as a psychoanalyst and management professor, was also explored. In addition, he discussed the future of global leadership development and the role business schools can play in producing global leaders.

In the global world we live in, organizations have become progressively complex. “C” organizations have been replaced by “I” organizations, implying that we have moved from organizations permeated by a command, control, and compartmentalization orientation, to organizations distinguished by cultural signifiers such as interaction, information, and innovation. Effective teamwork will be essential to make these complex, highly diverse, increasingly virtual structures work.

Given the complexity of teamwork, this chapter discusses some of its benefits and drawbacks. Particular attention is given to possible team killers. Given the darker side of teams, a group coaching intervention technique is presented to resolve this daunting challenge. Taking this approach will help the members of a team to take control of their key team functions: setting direction, creating alignment throughout the organization, and building the commitment of everyone needed to accomplish organizational objectives.

To explore this intervention technique, the notion of the clinical paradigm is introduced, meaning using a psychodynamic-systemic lens that focuses not only on what is directly observable, but also on out-of-awareness behavior. The five premises that characterize the paradigm are described. It is suggested that applying the clinical paradigm within group coaching setting helps to tease out the central interpersonal role in which executives consciously and unconsciously cast themselves. It also helps explore the complementary roles they take on in an executive role constellation, creating tipping points for change. In addition, a number of other intervention techniques are introduced that help foster change.