Today, we are honored to welcome Professor George Kohlrieser to our show.
George is an American clinical and organizational psychologist who served for years as a police psychologist and hostage negotiator before becoming Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at IMD in Lausanne. He founded IMD’s High Performance Leadership programs and sits on the advisory board of the Neuroleadership Institute. Kohlrieser is the bestselling author of Hostage at the Table (2006) and Care to Dare (2012), which apply negotiation and “secure base” principles to leadership.
In this episode, John and Konsti, who recently completed the High Performance Leadership course, sat down with George to explore how the high-stakes art of negotiation informs exceptional leadership.
Key takeaways and highlights from the show:
Reframe How You View People. Shifting from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” reframes emotional triggers as rooted in past experiences rather than personal failings.
Dreams as Lifelines. “Never live without a dream,” George urges. Pursue it with full joy, then, when it ends, grieve and chase a new one.
100% Caring & 100% Daring. Secure-base leaders combine unconditional positive regard (“caring”) with bold challenge (“daring”), holding people accountable without rescuing them.
Vulnerability as Trust Capital. Strong team bonds require leaders to show vulnerability, sharing uncertainties or past struggles, which paradoxically builds respect and psychological safety.
The Myth of the “Born Leader”. “Talent is essentially learned, 95% of it, so anyone can become a leader.” Ask “What kind of leader do I want to become?” and then develop those skills through deliberate practice, drawing on foundations laid by Carl Rogers and John Bowlby.
Empowerment Through Choice. In both negotiation and leadership, offering real options gives people power. Every time someone makes a choice, they feel agency. Instead of issuing commands, hostage negotiators use a three-step process to achieve a 95% success rate: build a bond, uncover pain points, and then frame alternative choices.
Enjoy the show!
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