Publisher Description

Why do our organizations so often seem to be less than the sum of their parts? What undermines effectiveness and morale, and gets in the way of achieving what we set out to do?The Unconscious at Work, Second Edition draws on a body of thinking and practice which has developed over the past 70 years, often referred to as 'the Tavistock approach' or 'systems-psychodynamics'. All the contributors are practising consultants who draw on this framework, bringing it alive and making it useful to any reader – manager, leader or consultant, regardless of whether they have any prior familiarity with the underlying concepts – who is curious about what might be driving the puzzling or stressful situations they find in their workplace. The First Edition was addressed to people working in 'the human services': health, social care and education. Since it was published in 1994, there has been growing interest in the business world, and in understanding more about the 'irrational' side of organizational life. Therefore, this Second Edition includes an entirely new section where the key ideas are revisited and illustrated with case studies from a wide range of business organizations, from large corporations to start-ups and family businesses. The aim, however remains the same: to enlarge readers' existing sense-making 'tool-kits' so that they can look at themselves and their organizations with fresh eyes, deepening the emotional intelligence they bring to bear on the challenges they face and providing new possibilities for action. The Unconscious at Work, Second Edition is for managers, leaders, consultants, and anyone working in organizations who has been puzzled, disturbed or challenged by their experiences at work.

Author Biography

Anton Obholzer, BSc, MB, ChB, DPM, FRCPsych is a psychoanalyst, organizational consultant, and former CEO of the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. He is a senior member of faculty of the Advanced Management Programme of the INSEAD Global Leadership Centre in Paris.Vega Zagier Roberts, MD is an independent consultant and coach, an associate consultant at Tavistock Consulting, and a faculty member on the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust master's programme Consulting and Leading in Organisations and doctoral programme Consultation and the Organisation.

Table of Contents

List of figuresAbout the authorsForeword by Jonathan GoslingPreface to the Second EditionAcknowledgementsA note on confidentialityA note about 'a Tavistock approach'Introduction: Making sense of organizations – the institutional roots of the Tavistock approachJames MossePART IConceptual framework1 Some unconscious aspects of organizational life: contributions from psychoanalysisWilliam Halton2 The dangers of contagionDeirdre Moylan3 The unconscious at work in groups and teams: contributions from the work of Wilfred BionJon Stokes4 The organization of work: contributions from open systems theoryVega Zagier Roberts5 Authority, power and leadership: contributions from group relations trainingAnton Obholzer6 Changing the stories we are 'in': power, purpose and organization-in-the-mindVega Zagier RobertsPART IIThe unconscious at work in human service organizationsPart IIa Working with people in distress7 Attending to emotional issues on a special care baby unitNancy Cohn8 Containing anxiety in work with damaged childrenChris Mawson9 Fragmentation and integration in a school for children with physical disabilitiesAnton Obholzer10 Where angels fear to tread: idealism, despondency and inhibition of thought in hospital nursingAnna Dartington11 Till death us do part: caring and uncaring in work with older peopleVega Zagier Roberts12 Working with dying people: on being good enoughPeter SpeckPart IIb Challenges, crises and change13 The self-assigned impossible taskVega Zagier Roberts14 Institutional chaos and personal stressJon Stokes15 The troublesome individual and the troubled institutionAnton Obholzer and Vega Zagier Roberts16 Finding a voice: differentiation, representation and empowerment in organizations under threatJames Mosse and Vega Zagier Roberts17 Confl ict and collaboration: managing intergroup relationsVega Zagier Roberts18 Managing social anxieties in public sector organizationsAnton ObholzerPART IIIThe unconscious at work in business organizationsKay Trainor (guest editor)19 Family patterns at work: how casting light on the shadows of the past can enhance leadership in the presentFrancesca Cardona and Sheila Damon20 Feelings as dataKay Trainor21 The myth of rationality: why change efforts so often failJames Krantz and Kay Trainor22 Navigating roles in complex systemsVega Zagier Roberts23 Beyond the individual: reframing blame and responsibility for 'rogue' behaviour in the fi nancial services industryAjit Menon24 From managing to leading organizations in their contextsMatthieu DaumAfterword: Consulting to oneself Appendix: The genealogy of systems psychodynamicsBibliographyIndex

Review

"Setting out the basis for the understanding of work in human service organizations, the publication of the original 'Unconscious at Work' in 1994 was a landmark event in the field. In this excellent, updated volume, Anton Obholzer and Vega Zagier Roberts have extended the scope of the book to the corporate sector and have produced a volume of outstanding quality. Drawing on a range of experts who take a psychoanalytic view, this volume comprises a series of superb chapters on a wide range of topics. I cannot recommend it too highly."-Mark Stein, Chair in Leadership and Management, School of Business, University of Leicester, UK "An invaluable book in developing my leadership of complex organizations and systems. The book really helped me to build my understanding of the impact of the nature of work and context on people's performance. The book also enhanced my understanding of how basic human experience outside of work define people and teams' reactions to leaders and each other. The research and examples across a range of settings and sectors really help you build change and performance improvement programmes which will have a lasting positive impact."-Fiona Edwards, CEO Surrey and Borders NHS Foundation Trust, UK "We have used this classic and exceptional text to inform the design and delivery of our programmes with managers and leaders in health and social care. It is essential that public service leaders recognize powerful emotional states and work with them. A 2ndedition of this book is timely as organizations struggle to cope, adapt and thrive in complex, ambiguous and uncertain contexts. I recommend this book to anyone who is curious about unconscious processes at work and how understanding these can enhance awareness, effectiveness and performance."Ann Mahon, Professor of Health Leadership, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UKReviews for the first edition of The Unconscious at Work:"What makes this book excellent? ...the writing is direct and clear, presenting complex subjects effectively. The abundance of examples is accompanied by intellectual rigor... highly recommended to workers, managers, students and teachers in the human services."-Professional Social Work"As a reminder of the processes that can bring individual work, teams and corporate planning to a grinding halt this book is invaluable."-Probation Journal

Review Quote

"We have used this classic and exceptional text to inform the design and delivery of our programmes with managers and leaders in health and social care. It is essential that public service leaders recognise powerful emotional states and work with them. A 2ndedition of this book is timely as organisations struggle to cope, adapt and thrive in complex, ambiguous and uncertain contexts. I recommend this book to anyone who is curious about unconscious processes at work and how understanding these can enhance awareness, effectiveness and performance."Ann Mahon, Professor of Health Leadership, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK "Setting out the basis for the understanding of work in human service organizations, the publication of the original 'Unconscious at Work' in 1994 was a landmark event in the field. In this excellent, updated volume, Anton Obholzer and Vega Zagier Roberts have extended the scope of the book to the corporate sector, and have produced a volume of outstanding quality. Drawing on a range of experts who take a psychoanalytic view, this volume comprises a series of superb chapters on a wide range of topics. I cannot recommend it too highly."-Mark Stein, Chair in Leadership and Management, School of Business, University of Leicester, UK "An invaluable book in developing my leadership of complex organisations and systems. The book really helped me to build my understanding of the impact of the nature of work and context on people's performance. The book also enhanced my understanding of how basic human experience outside of work define people and teams' reactions to leaders and each other. The research and examples across a range of settings and sector really help you build change and performance improvement programmes which will have a lasting positive impact."-Fiona Edwards, CEO Surrey and Borders NHS Foundation Trust, UK Reviews for the first editon of The Unconscious at Work: "What makes this book excellent? ...the writing is direct and clear, presenting complex subjects effectively. The abundance of examples is accompanied by intellectual rigour... highly recommended to workers, managers, students and teachers in the human services."-Professional Social Work "As a reminder of the processes that can bring individual work, teams and corporate planning to a grinding halt this book is invaluable."-Probation Journal

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