The Conscious Leader

Shelley Reciniello

LID Publishing Incorporated, Apr 22, 2014 - Business & Economics - 185 pages

Why do things go wrong in companies that shouldn’t?
The answer, according to Dr. Shelley Reciniello, often lies deep beneath the surface in the unconscious processes of
leaders and their employees.
Working as a sort of psychological detective, her job has been to consult with organizations and individuals to figure out what the real problem is when a poised-for-success corporate initiative fails, when a promising individual or
team can’t perform, or when a wellconceived departmental project doesn’t deliver. When what has gone wrong doesn’t make sense, she looks for the unrecognized, underlying psychological issues that caused the problem.
What’s going on unconsciously, out of awareness, is often more important than what is happening on the surface.
How can you wake-up and become conscious of secret motivations, unrecognized Achilles heels, and hidden agendas in yourself and your employees?

What people are saying

User Review -

Reviewed by Nandita Keshavan for Readers' Favorite
The Conscious Leader: Nine Principles and Practices to Create a Wide-Awake and Productive Workplace by Shelley Reciniello is an excellent and eye opening guide that takes leaders through a journey of self evaluation and self reckoning. Many cases are cited of unconscious and harmful habits that leaders have which suppress happiness and productivity in many ways. I initially expected the book to be very generalised and idealised, but I found it was the opposite. Refreshingly, it was detailed, intense, insightful, encouraging, and uncovered many toxic behaviours in the workplace. In the discussion of the 9 principles, the author attempts to demonstrate the impact of the unconscious mind on the workplace and expose other counter productive effects of a troubled mind, such as delusions, conflict and unresolved family issues.
I found that the book was very insightful, intuitive and people centred, and made a very strong case for ethical and conscious leadership. The author is by no means didactic; rather she describes many compelling situations from which the reader can easily appreciate how important being a conscious leader is. The content of the book is very apt, given the troubled cultures of many corporate companies and the need for good leadership in a time of change and uncertainty. The book would also appeal to people who work with leaders, since there are key concepts presented which are useful for recognising conscious team culture if given the choice of where to work. Given the practical experience and insight which comprises the book, I would argue that this book is a must-read for any leader who would like to pursue a more conscious and productive leadership style. 

About the author

Dr. Shelley Reciniello has spent her 34 year career as a psychologist determined “to give psychology away,” by demystifying psychological and psychoanalytic principles, and providing people and organizations with thoughtful, practical information and methods to change their lives. She has provided employee assistance programs, executive coaching, and organizational consultation to leading corporations, including Avon, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, and divisions of Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and General Electric, nationally and globally. She offers her expertise in leadership through coaching and development programs to such diverse industries as finance, fashion, education, technology, entertainment, and the arts. Dr. Reciniello has a Clinical/Social Psychology Doctorate from the Graduate Faculty of the New School For Social Research and is a member of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations. She has appeared on television, radio, and been quoted in varied publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Glamour, Elle, and the Reuters international publications network. A popular speaker, her presentation goals are to inform, assist, entertain, and inspire.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Conscious Leader; LID Publishing
• Author: Shelley Reciniello
• Publisher: LID Publishing Incorporated, 2014
• ISBN: 098528644X, 9780985286446
• Length: 185 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Leadership