Episode 42: Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness with Nassir Ghaemi

It takes a special person to be a leader. One thing historians have questioned for years, is the apparent mental instability of both great and terrible leaders alike.

Do the qualities that mark those with mood disorders also make for a strong leader? What traits are common among them? 

Nassir Ghaemi looks at this very topic in his book, A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness.

Ghaemi is an academic psychiatrist, author, and Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. He’s written a number of books on mental illness and mood disorders, and has contributed to many other published works.

Host Karla Stephens-Tolstoy talks with Nassir today, and we’ll hear specifically about 3 leaders and their struggles with mental health: Dr. Martin Luther King, Ghandi, and John F Kennedy. Not only are the stories interesting, but also inspiring, and serve as a reminder to those suffering from mental illness that there’s no limit to what they can achieve in life. 

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