The Psychodynamics of Leadership

In the field of mental health, there are many chief executive officers and managers who were educated as clinicians and later moved into leadership positions without benefit of training in leadership theory. The editors of this book have chosen the type of material that will appeal to those readers—CEOs, middle managers, educators, and consultants who are grounded in psychoanalytic theory. Many of the authors appear to be writing for that audience as they weave together the psychologies of person and system with organizational realities. Seven of the chapters are theoretical and appear to be written for an academic audience.

This book offers a number of useful ideas for psychodynamically oriented leaders. The idea that successful leaders do not shape their identities, but rather allow themselves to be shaped by aspects of the culture, has relevance for everyone in a leadership role. The leader-follower definition by David Berg calls for followers to redefine themselves and empower the role of followership by developing a collaborative relationship with the leader. W. Gordon Lawrence gives middle managers some useful insights into the anxiety and survival issues faced by CEOs. James Krantz's material, on how teams can become key to the success of the whole system, could prove useful for all members of an organization. This chapter is reader-friendly and offers some practical help in organizing members of the entire work group in ways that promote system goals and enhance top-down and bottom-up communication.

The chapters on women in the workplace have some helpful insights concerning vulnerability and connection. Barbara Winderman and Margeret Sheely provide insight into the workplace struggles of women and the high personal and emotional costs of increased authority. Unfortunately, the reader has to sift through a large amount of material that is interesting from an academic viewpoint but may be of limited practical value to leaders and managers in the workplace. In fact, the editors note that this book invites reflection, and that it may help readers expand visions of the relationship of person, task, and role, but it will not provide answers.

A disappointment is the absence of helpful discussions about difficult issues such as employees who are not motivated, employees who are consistently mistrustful of the system, how to react to merger mania, and how to successfully market one's organization. The field of mental health, particularly, has many employees who are basically mistrustful of the system—and who in fact devote their careers to helping persons cope with oppressive systems, whether encountered in marriage, family, or communities. Downsizing in corporate America over the past decade, along with increased pressures for productivity, has greatly increased worker mistrust, which in turn has brought new challenges for today's leaders. These are the greatest challenges facing today's CEOs in mental health settings, and they are likely to become challenges for all types of organizations as workforces become more disaffected and detached from their organizations.

This book does indeed encourage reflection. I hope it will also prepare people in leadership roles to move beyond reflection and identify the action steps needed to manage organizations successfully when they are confronted with challenging issues, so that their organizations can survive and grow. For those leaders who are able to use reflection as a way to develop answers for the tough day-to-day problems, this will be a useful book.