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Stanford psychiatrist says personality and chance limit what leadership training can achieve
Summary
In a Federal Judicial Center podcast, Dr. Elias Abujade argued that personality, character and serendipity matter more than commercial leadership training; he warned that coaching and online dynamics can amplify narcissistic traits and urged organizations — including the judiciary — to prioritize psychological fit over formulaic training.
Doctor Elias Abujade, a clinical professor in the department of psychiatry at Stanford University and director of the impulse control disorders clinic, told a Federal Judicial Center podcast that organizations have overestimated the ability of training and coaching to create leaders.
"We have turned it into a $50,000,000,000 industrial complex," Abujade said, criticizing what he called the commercialization of leadership development and saying it has moved the field away from psychology, personality and character.
Abujade said scientific evidence supports the importance of traits such as emotional intelligence and charisma to leadership emergence and success, but he said those traits are often “sticky” and not easily produced by short courses, acronyms or boot camps. He argued that many coaching programs attempt to teach deep psychological traits they are not equipped to change.
"There’s nothing wrong with coaching to improve nonverbal cues or…
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