Book Review
Administrative Psychiatry 
Effective Leadership. Len Sperry. New York: Brunner-Routledge; 2003. 237 p. US$34.95
Reviewer
rating*: Good
Review by: Mary Pearson, MA
Toronto, Ontario
The health and well-being of individuals is greatly influenced by their physical work environment, by the organization that employs them, and most important, by the leadership in those organizations. Dr Len Sperry’s book provides an overview of leadership styles and the impact these styles have on the effectiveness, well-being, and health of both organizations and the executives who run them.
Dr Sperry is an MD with considerable experience as a management and organization consultant to various organizations. His major interest is executive leadership, effectiveness, and health.
His premise is that effective leadership is a function of the productivity and health of the individual leader and that effective leaders can significantly influence corporate productivity. Recognizing this correlation has led many corporations to search for strategies to increase leader effectiveness and maximize corporate productivity and health.
The book is presented in 2 parts. The first 5 chapters give readers a conceptual framework of leadership styles, theories, and determinants, together with the interaction of these with productivity, health, and organization effectiveness. The author provides comprehensive information on personality types and emotional factors and on their interplay with organization success.
The second part of the book consists of 6 chapters that offer readers various strategies for improving executive and corporate effectiveness. These include assessment strategies and techniques for coaching and counselling leaders.
Chapter 11, “ Maximizing Executive Health,” concentrates on health issues for executives. The author contends that, as a group, executives tend to value their physical health and are more energetic than the general population. Executives recognize that health is an essential factor influencing their performance and effectiveness. Here, the author presents interesting research correlating the health of the CEO with the financial value of company stock. He also presents some fascinating research on women executives, indicating that the higher they are in the organization, the healthier they tend to be. He attributes this to greater freedom in decision making that leads to an overall positive sense of well-being.
Chapter 11 also presents a model for executive health that is based on the research of Quick and colleagues. This model defines executive health as physical, psychological, spiritual, and ethical well-being. Common health concerns for executives include weight, sleep problems, and symptoms of chronic disease (such as heart arrhythmias, insulin-resistance and type 2 diabetes). Balancing job and family responsibilities, substance abuse, and similar stress-related problems are other common health concerns. The author advises tailored health prescriptions for executives that include diet, exercise, and stress management. He divides executives into categories based on energy level and temperament and suggests strategies tailored to each type.
This book will interest executives and leaders as well as those who advise them. Hospital Administrators and other leaders in the health care field will enjoy it as a manual for their own leadership success. However, it is Chapter 11 that is most relevant to psychiatrists or general practitioners advising and consulting to executives on issues of their physical and mental health.
*Reviewer
Rating Scale/ Échelle d’évaluation du réviseur
Excellent / Excellent
Very Good / Très bon
Good / Bon
Fair / Passable
Not recommended / Pas recommandé
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