Joris Merks-Benjaminsen, Trainer for Managers and Leaders; Author, ‘Managing Without Power’
- Joris Merks-Benjaminsen is a trainer for managers and leaders.
- He is the author of ‘Managing Without Power’.
Podcast
Overview
In this episode of The Brand Called You, Joris Merks-Benjaminsen, former Google leader and author, discusses the concept of managing without positional power and its impact on organizational effectiveness. He explains how true leadership requires balancing human care with accountability, and why excessive internal competition can hinder digital transformation. Joris shares insights from his experience at Google and working with global brands, revealing how unconscious leadership and misaligned KPIs often lead to organizational silos.
00:36- About Joris Merks-Benjaminsen
- Joris Merks-Benjaminsen is a trainer for managers and leaders.
- He is the author of ‘Managing Without Power’.
- He was the Head of Google Digital Academy and became one of Google’s highest-scoring managers of all time.
17:38- Why are you writing books?
- I have a history of 20 years of being competitive in martial arts like judo, Aikido, boxing, and kickboxing, but I got injured very badly.
- When I entered work life, I thought I could apply my sports mindset—work hard, train hard—and people would be happy, but that wasn’t the reality.
- I wrote my first book, Samurai Business, taking principles from martial arts, because I realized nobody likes the political environment in offices, yet they still play along due to all kinds of prisoners’ dilemmas.
27:25- What’s your advice to young managers starting their careers?
- Enjoying team growth, collaboration, and accomplishing more than they could alone is what people love most about being in a formal management leadership position.
- The toughest parts of management range from loads of admin and top-down pressure to defending decisions you don’t agree with.
- The more you invest in the positive aspects early on, like supporting people and fostering growth, the easier it becomes to handle difficult situations.
RESOURCES:
Learn more about Joris Merks-Benjaminsen: LinkedIn
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Profile
- Joris Merks-Benjaminsen is a trainer for managers and leaders.
- He is the author of ‘Managing Without Power’.
- He was the Head of Google Digital Academy and became one of Google’s highest-scoring managers of all time.
