The psychodynamic approach consists of several different ways of looking at leadership. There is no single model or theory. One fundamental concept underlies the psychodynamic approach: personality. As used here, the term means a consistent pattern of ways of thinking, feeling, and acting with regard to the environment, including other people. A personality is characterized by a list of tendencies or qualities, such that one person might be shy, intelligent, and rigid in behavior, whereas another is creative, independent, and spontaneous. The list of possible personality traits is large, and psychologists have developed numerous questionnaires that can be used to characterize the personality of an individual. One of those questionnaires, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, is described later in this chapter.
This approach is different from the trait approach in Chapter 2 and the style approach in Chapter 4. In the trait approach, certain characteristics of a person are assumed to be important in attaining leadership status or performing leadership tasks. The style approach suggests that a certain leadership style, particularly the team management (9,9) style, is the best (see Figure 4.1).
Situational leadership, discussed in Chapter 5, suggests that the key element is the match between the leader’s style or behaviors and the needs of the subordinates. In the psychodynamic approach, personality types are emphasized and evidence is presented that suggests that various personality types are better suited to particular leadership positions or situations.
There have been several efforts to describe leadership from a psychodynamic perspective (Berens et al., 2001; Gabriel, 2011; Kets de Vries, 2006; Kets de Vries and Balazs, 2011; Maccoby, 1981; Zaleznik, 1977), but all emphasize the importance of leaders becoming aware of their own personality type and the personalities of their followers. The psychodynamic approach begins with an examination of the roots of the individual in the family. Our first experience with leadership occurs the day we are born.
Mom and Dad, or those who are our primary caregivers, become our leaders, at least for a few years. That is the most basic premise of the psychodynamic approach to leadership. Particularly in the early years of childhood, our primary caregivers (parents, grandparents, et al.) create deep-seated feelings about leadership. The parental image is highlighted in business when we refer to a corporation as paternalistic. Hill (1983) wrote on the law of the father, a psychodynamic examination of leadership. Members of the U.S. Air Force sometimes call their service the Big Blue Mother, refer-ring to the color of the uniforms and the wild blue yonder. The familial metaphor is common in organizations that consider themselves one big happy family, with the natural consequence that the leaders are the parents and the employees the children.
Mom and Dad, or those who are our primary caregivers, become our leaders, at least for a few years. That is the most basic premise of the psychodynamic approach to leadership. Particularly in the early years of childhood, our primary caregivers (parents, grandparents, et al.) create deep-seated feelings about leadership. The parental image is highlighted in business when we refer to a corporation as paternalistic. Hill (1983) wrote on the law of the father, a psychodynamic examination of leadership. Members of the U.S. Air Force sometimes call their service the Big Blue Mother, refer-ring to the color of the uniforms and the wild blue yonder. The familial metaphor is common in organizations that consider themselves one big happy family, with the natural consequence that the leaders are the parents and the employees the children.
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