Systems psychodynamics: the formative years of an interdisciplinary field at the Tavistock Institute

Psychodynamics of imagination failures: Reflections on the 20th anniversary of 9/11

This article aims to advance the psychodynamic understanding of imagination failures by studying lessons learned in the US government’s public inquiry into September 11th, 2001 (9/11). Analyzing the findings of The 9/11 Report, I theorize that two forms of macro-level hubris—America’s “hubris of empire-building” and Al Qaeda’s “hubris-nemesis complex”—amalgamated in a uniquely generative manner leading to events on 9/11. Previous studies of public inquiries often demonstrate that inquiry reports are monological story-telling performances used to create sense-making narratives that function hegemonically to impose a simplified version of reality to assign blame and depoliticize events in order to facilitate closure after shocking events. In contrast, findings here suggest that by constructing a critical narrative, The 9/11 Report may serve as a new type of public inquiry report that invites learning about the complex factors that underpin crisis. The article concludes by identifying fruitful areas of future research and ways to theorize further about the collective psychodynamics of macro-level hubris and the psychodynamic factors that hinder learning and contribute to imagination failures.

A Psychiatric Residency in the Era of COVID-19: A Bionian Perspective

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is currently ravaging health systems across the world. Psychiatric trainees are at risk of exposure to patients with COVID-19 given their clinical roles in emergency and inpatient psychiatric settings. This article represents a case study of group dynamics in which we reflect on our own experience as psychiatric residents at a Boston-area hospital system in the era of COVID-19 and apply Wilfred Bion's concepts of the "work group" and the "basic assumption group" processes of group operation. We assess dynamics between trainees and administrative leadership both at baseline and in the current pandemic. Since navigation through crises is more effective if group leadership recognizes and responds to basic assumption behaviors, we propose suggestions to enable health system administration to successfully lead health care organizations through periods of societal turmoil. We posit that these principles apply across settings, specialties, and provider types. In addition, we use our observations to indicate future directions for expanding Bion's theories in the contemporary context.

Corporate acceleration process: a systems psychodynamics perspective

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the emotional dynamics of the corporate acceleration process, using the systems psychodynamics perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The study applies inductive multiple case study of embedded 10 cases of corporate acceleration, covering both incumbent and startup perspectives, occurring in the context of a corporate accelerator.

Findings

We find that (1) the process of corporate acceleration involves three phases, each of them is dominated by a different emotional state (hope, anxiety and acceptance), triggering different behavioral responses; (2) as a means to deal with negative emotions, entrepreneurs and corporate acceleration program's team members develop different mechanisms of dealing with contradictories in subsequent acceleration phases (defense and copying mechanisms), which are reflected in their behaviors. Coping mechanisms with goal reformulation (i.e. refocus from the officially declared “open innovation” goals toward mainly symbolic ones) is an effective strategy to manage negative emotions in third phase of the acceleration.

Research limitations/implications

Our sample is limited to two relatively similar accelerators established by telecom companies, and therefore, our theoretical and practical conclusions cannot be generalized.

Practical implications

We supplement the studies of corporate accelerators that imply how to design them better and improve decision-making rules with recommendation that in order to improve their effectiveness in terms of learning and innovations, their managers need not only to learn how to manage structural and procedural differences but also how to overcome social defenses triggered by corporate–startups cooperation.

Originality/value

By documenting a multidimensional impact of acceleration process, and especially shedding light on psychodynamic aspects behind such liaisons, this paper contributes to richer understanding of corporate–startup relationships, typically examined through a rationalistic lens of strategy literature. The study contributes to interorganizational research and open innovation literature, by showing that corporate acceleration process is marked by phases based on the type of emotions intertwined with the nature and dynamism of its life cycle. It indicates how these emotions are managed depending on their type.

Of being a container through role definitions

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reflect critically on the roles that women leaders in higher education institutions (HEIs) take on. Therefore, a systems psychodynamic view is used from a theoretical stance, while an autoethnographical methodology is applied to provide an in-depth emic view of, and reflections on, women leaders’ roles in the described context.

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws on the authors’ personal and organisational autoethnographical experiences as women leaders in HEIs in South Africa. Two women of different background reflect on their roles, and on becoming “containers” for certain issues within the described context over a period of time.

Findings

The autoethnographies show the roles women leaders take on within the organisations and how this relates to becoming a container for issues and underlying anxieties and fears that arise within the South African higher education system. The women leaders take on roles which contain fear and insecurities with regard to racial belonging, segregation and inclusion, national belonging, gendered roles, marginalisation and connection through self and others, authority and decision making.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to autoethnographic experience descriptions of two academic women working in post-apartheid South African HEIs.

Practical implications

Presenting the self-described roles of two academics, the paper provides a critical perspective on issues of racialised and gendered roles, marginalisation and inclusion, authority and decision making, workplace stereotyping, gendering and racism, and thereby increases awareness about the impact of roles within the system’s context.

Originality/value

Presenting the self-described roles of two academics, the paper provides a critical perspective on issues of racialised and gendered roles, marginalisation and inclusion, authority and decision making, workplace stereotyping, gendering and racism, and thereby increases awareness about the impact of roles within the system’s context.

Humour as defence against the anxiety manifesting in diversity experiences

Orientation: Using humour in diversity contexts may relieve tension temporarily, but it happens at the expense of someone and indicates a defence against an unconscious anxiety dynamic.Research purpose: The purpose of this research was to describe the manifestation of humour as a defence mechanism against diversity anxiety.Motivation for the research: In working with diversity dynamics in South African organisations, consultants and participants often do not take humour seriously, let alone interpret the accompanying dynamic aspects. Working below the surface with humour may elicit much more and typical diversity dynamics worth investigating.Research design, approach and method: The research design was qualitative and descriptive, using multiple case studies and content analysis.Main findings: Humour is used as a defence against the anxiety experienced in diversity contexts caused by fear of the unknown within the self and the projection of the fear onto another identity group.Practical/managerial application: Diversity consultations interpreting humour as defence mechanism can provide added opportunities for exploring dynamics below the surface.Contribution/value-add: Deeper understanding of the unconscious dynamics of diversity humour could lead to meaningful interventions in organisations.

Group-as-a-whole as a context for studying individual behaviour: A group diagnostic intervention

Orientation: Traditionalists view group interventions from three perspectives: singletons, dyads and whole groups. The focus of this research was on interventions from the third perspective, that of the whole group, using a systems psychodynamic stance. Research purpose: The purpose of the research was to use group-as-a-whole to study individual behaviour in organisations.Motivation for the study: Team research and practice is not on a par with the complexities that teams actually experience. Traditional group interventions use humanistic and functionalistic paradigms that do not consider the unconscious functioning of groups. Interventions that use the system psychodynamic paradigm could address these dynamics because they study behaviour of individual group members in the context of the group-as-a-whole. Research design, approach and method: The researcher conducted action research in a publishing company. He used purposive sampling and analysed the data using qualitative content analysis.Main findings: The researcher found that the group-as-a-whole partly explains the behaviour of team members and that intervening from this perspective could improve negative relationships.Practical/managerial implications: Managers can use interventions that use the groupas- a-whole concept as a diagnostic intervention to study and possibly change the complex behavioural issues that team members experience.Contribution/value-add: The findings give one an understanding of the behaviour of individual group members when one views it from a systems psychodynamic stance. Furthermore, the researcher proposes a group diagnostic intervention that will allow some of the root causes of poor interpersonal behaviour to surface and group members to diagnose and take ownership of their own behaviour.