Whether you are an executive coach, a human-resources professional, a manager, or an employee with a difficult boss, Managing Brilliant Jerks provides resources to help you work more effectively with difficult leaders. As you listen, you’ll find detailed information on the flow of coaching sessions, sample correspondence to use with key stakeholders, and questions that encourage you to reflect on the issues presented in each chapter. The story of Peter, a brilliant but abrasive leader who rescued his company’s ailing Asia division but wreaked havoc on his colleagues and employees, will clarify for you the complex processes at work in the mind of an abrasive leader—and empower you to forge a productive and cooperative relationship with the brilliant jerks you encounter in your own professional life.

Dr. Katrina Burrus, MCC, has a proven track record in coaching numerous international leaders, including Nestlé, Novartis, United Bank of Switzerland, CERN, UNAIDS, United Nations, the International Labor Organization, the World Health Organization, and the World Trade Organization. She is the founder of MKB Excellent Executive Coaching, which specializes in coaching international and highly mobile leaders to be more productive and quicker in a new position, as well as helping brilliant but abrasive leaders to develop an engaged followership. Dr. Burrus is the first ICF master-certified coach in Switzerland, is a founder and past board member of ICF Switzerland, and served on the editorial board of the International Journal of Coaching in Organizations.