Kinds of Power - Hardcover

Hillman, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385469640 ISBN 13: 9780385469647

Publisher: Doubleday Business, 1995

Synopsis

In the boldest expose on the nature of power since  Machiavelli, celebrated Jungian therapist James  Hillman shows how the artful leader uses each of two  dozen kinds of power with finesse and subtlety.  Power, we often forget, has many faces, many  different expressions. "Empowerment," writes  best-selling Jungian analyst James Hillman,  "comes from understanding the widest spectrum of  possibilities for embracing power." If food  means only meat and potatoes, your body suffers from  your ignorance. When your idea of food expands, so  does your strength. So it is with power.  "James Hillman," says Robert Bly, "is the  most lively and original psychologist we have had  in America since William James." In  Kinds Of Power, Hillman addresses  himself for the first time to a subject of great  interest to business people. He gives much needed  substance to the subject by showing us a broad  experience of power, rooted in the body, the rnind, and the  emotions, rather than the customary narrow  interpretation that simply equates power with strength.  Hillman's "anatomy" of power explores  two dozen expressions of power every artful leader  must understand and use, including: the language of  power, control, influence, resistance, leadership,  prestige, authority, exhibitionism, charisma,  ambition, reputation, fearsomeness, tyranny, purism,  subtle power, growth, and efficiency.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

st expose on the nature of power since  Machiavelli, celebrated Jungian therapist James  Hillman shows how the artful leader uses each of two  dozen kinds of power with finesse and subtlety.  Power, we often forget, has many faces, many  different expressions. "Empowerment," writes  best-selling Jungian analyst James Hillman,  "comes from understanding the widest spectrum of  possibilities for embracing power." If food  means only meat and potatoes, your body suffers from  your ignorance. When your idea of food expands, so  does your strength. So it is with power.  "James Hillman," says Robert Bly, "is the  most lively and original psychologist we have had  in America since William James." In  <i>Kinds Of Power</i>, Hillman addresses  himself for the first time to a subject of great  inter

Reviews

Power in business, politics and the world of work, to most people, implies competition, domination, control and reward. Rejecting this conventional notion of power as limited and stultifying, Jungian psychoanalyst and prolific author Hillman reconceptualizes power in terms of sustaining continuity, conserving, teaching, caring, bringing out the innate potential in each person or task. Growth, to corporations, means bottom-line results, bigger equals better. But to Hillman, growth is a process of shedding worn-out identities, cleaning up messes, pondering the implications of one's actions for the wider world and for future generations. The core of this highly reflective inquiry consists of short explorations?mythological, philosophical, etymological, psychological?of concepts like influence, tyranny, ambition, office and decision. Readers seeking immediate practical guidance will be disappointed; others may find in this humane essay more subtle and long-lasting keys to empowerment.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Power has been credited with being an aphrodisiac and blamed for being a corrupting force. Psychoanalyst Hillman points out that there are many different kinds of power and that the execution of power has many styles and nuances. Hillman has written 20 books in the fields of Jungian psychology, depth psychology, and psychotherapy, but here he targets business and organizational leaders with his analysis of 20 different kinds of power, including tyranny, charisma, veto, and prestige, among others. He considers the nature of each and suggests when, how, and why to wield each in turn. In the past, power has been used to increase growth and efficiency, but now, so Hillman explains, it should be used to accomplish the goals of service and maintenance. In contrast to the often simplistic managerial-advice books that are currently popular, this one, at times, is difficult to read, for it is filled with theoretical observations, mythical allusions, and complex ideas; it is also always thoughtful and thought provoking. David Rouse

Edition details

• Publisher: Doubleday Business
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385469640
• ISBN 13: 9780385469647
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 260