A leader's destiny : why psychology, personality, and character make all the difference / Elias Aboujaoude.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Prologue
Part I: The leadership production line. How an industrial complex fuels an inferiority complex
Bring me your toxic leaders and fast-trackers: therapists, coaches, and impostors
Nature or nurture: The ABCs of leadership, deconstructed
Introvert or social animal: Knowing who you are
Part II: Why leadership is so damn difficult. Out of the wild and into the social media swamp: Equality, democracy, and paleo leaders
Magical thinking: Leading in a post-privacy age
Leaders and the unconscious: The challenge of ingrained bias
Part III: The way forward. The leadership character stress test: Ace it, don't fake it
The cure (if you can afford it): An ode to followers

"Elias Aboujaoude explores how simplistic and hollow our concept of leadership has become, how divorced from the actual qualities and circumstances that make a truly great leader. The result: Everywhere we look, from corporate boardrooms to elected officials, we see failures of leadership. Dr. Aboujaoude begins with a takedown of the foibles of so-called leadership experts he dubs the "leadership industrial complex." an unholy alliance of gurus, coaches, business professors, TED-talkers seemingly united in a modern form of alchemy to create leadership gold. Rather, he vividly illustrates, leaders emerge from a combination of personal, psychological, and situational factors that vary from person to person. Personality, he shows, is sticky, not malleable, resisting attempts at manipulating it into something it is not. To a large degree, great leaders are born, or happen, with the help of innate temperament, talent, opportunity, timing, and circumstance, in ways that we do not fully understand. How Leaders Happen is a refreshing take on a classic subject. Frank and unflinching, it empowers readers to break free from the simplistic and hollow cult of leadership. Step up to lead if you are willing and capable, Dr. Aboujaoude urges, but if you decide otherwise, there are equally, often superior ways to make your contribution in the world"-- Provided by publisher.