Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps: How to Thrive in Complexity 1st Edition

This was our first book for our 2020 leadership book club, and I really like it. It is clear, concise, to the point, and gives an overview of what these mindtraps are. There is a bit of a storyline in between, which I enjoyed, as it ties it all together, and shows a creative and real-life scenario on how these mindtraps can happen and situations where they do come out and we just do not notice them, or we are not realizing that we are exhibiting these in the moment as we are doing them.. It ultimately makes us more aware of what we think or say, and this awareness leads us to recognize how to change and develop into more mindful and stronger leaders. I recommend this to a lot of our leaders, and anyone in particular, who have the desire to have better personal and professional relationships with others, to have more compassion towards oneself and others, to free oneself from the selfish ways of the ego and the burdensome weight of shame, and to experience the freedom and openness of awareness, mindfulness, and the gift of becoming an overall better person.

While I would recommend anything Jennifer has written to anyone, her newest book takes it to a new level. Jennifer conveys big and powerful ideas in a way that is simple but not simplistic--and does so on just about every page of this short and highly readable book. She explores five "Mindtraps" that we get caught in because we are born human--and these Mindtraps are part of the human condition. They serve us when things are simple--and can become liabilities as life become more complex.Learning to notice the Mindtraps and having an alternative way of responding so that we can gain more choice and open up new possibilities is what this book is all about. Some of the content will be familiar if you know Jennifer's work--and still there's lot of new material and a new lens that makes this a great read. Reading about the Mindtrap of Agreement made me think deeply about the ways I both adopt and even encourage this Mindtrap--and the cost we pay for doing that. Each Mindtrap is illustrated both story and description, and each contains an "antidote" question and practice. Jennifer also shares a set of strategies or practices at the end of the book that can support us more broadly as we navigate in an increasingly complex context.I've given copies of Jennifer's book to my kids and spouse, and am asking my clients to read it as part of our work together. I believe that if we can each do more to understand and work with these Mindtraps we can live more compassionate (and self-compassionate) lives and make the world just a little bit better.

Overall good book, with solid tips to pursue one’s purpose in a VUCA world.I didn’t like the short story examples that began each chapter. They were contrived to fit the content, hard to follow the story line, and consequently I lost interest. You can skip those segments without losing any of the academic content.I also have mixed opinions on “the traps”, but you know, I don’t think that’s necessarily that central idea in this book, rather, the pursuit of one’s purpose in a VUCA world (the author failed to attribute that by the way)—and this thesis was revealed in the last 2 chapters.On the traps: overall I think the were new terms for old concepts. Simple stories/rightness = biases; agreement = groupthink; etc. Still useful tips and tricks to confront these problems though.I thought the last couple chapters on pursuing one’s purpose were pure gold though. If you take anything from this book, screen shot the two tables she’s included here.3.5 stars

So many leadership books are inexcusably long as if the authors have something to prove through their exhaustive knowledge. Not so with this book - it uses a mix of storytelling, leadership theory and practices in pithy and well-written 150 pages. I read one of her previous books and she struggled to break free of Kegan and Lahey but this time their work is presented in context not as the main course which is a definite positive. This book captures Garvey Berger’s compassion as well as empathy for what leaders go through in their private lives and thoughts which in and of itself is valuable - more leaders need to know that they aren’t alone and it’s okay to have insecurities and doubts. Key to the author’s work is being self-reflective but also having a mentor or coach to challenge embedded and unseen assumptions. A helpful scaffold of key insights and questions as well as simple but effective practices pepper the book and make it a delight. I will suggest this as a “book study” for my leadership development clients.

I'm in the process of getting my master's degree in public affairs with an emphasis on leadership. Jennifer's book was assigned for one of my courses, and from the moment I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. We live and work in a complex world, and in order to successfully navigate complexity, we have to understand how our brains work and why we think the way we do. Jennifer's book clearly and concisely lays out the most common mindtraps we fall into, how they affect us and our relationships, and how we can not only identify but free ourselves from those traps. This book is not just for executive level leaders, it's for anyone who interacts with another person in any capacity. I highly recommend this book. It's a game-changer.

This is an excellent read. Different from many “fast answer” business books, the author connects to the reader and both teaches and demonstrates how to use the tools in this book. I found it to be very helpful, and I implemented several of the tools immediately in a professional context with success. It can help change the conversations with your colleagues and yourself to be more effective, collaborative, less judgmental and move forward more productively. Thank you for writing this book!

This book helped me make a bit more sense and mentally organize what I’ve learned about being a good person amongst others. It was easy to read and digest.