There are many types of leaders in this world and one of the most influential leaders in some people’s life is often their religious leader. Ministers are a great example of people that generally will have great deal of followers when they exhibit strong leadership skills. Many of the approaches discussed with the psychodynamic approach can be related when examining the leadership of ministers.
According to Northouse (2013), there is one fundamental concept behind the psychodynamic approach and that is personality. The personality of a leader is what often determines if they are leadership material. If a person doesn’t have many of the personality traits that a leader possesses, they may not be able to be a good leader. In examining the leadership qualities of one of my favorite leaders, I can look at his personality and determine part of what makes him a great leader. He is the minister at a local church and although it is a medium church in size, he is greatly respected and followed by not only most everyone in the church, but a great deal of people in the community.
In the process of getting to know this minister, I have learned a great deal about him including his childhood and how he became a minister. I am able to apply transactional analysis to him and see that it applies. The transactional analysis (TA) approach was created by Berne and is said to be “a unified system of individual and social psychiatry” (Northouse, 2015, p.322). Transactional analysis consists of three states: parent, adult, and child. Depending on what state the leader is in can determine the relationship that is developed between the leader and the follower. With the transactional analysis approach, it is often comparing the relationship between a leader and a follower, to that of a parent and child. (PSU, n.d.) With TA the relationship is determined according to the state of the leader and follower.
Ministers are often warm and comforting people. My local minister is one that people look up to and go to in times of need. His leaderships skills are determined and developed based on how he reacts in situations he is presented with. The relationship a minister has with his followers can often be compared to that of a parent and child. A minister’s followers generally look up to him and value his thoughts and opinions.
Why the psychodynamic approach is not a popular approach in today’s society, it still has a great deal of value behind it. While a leader should possess many traits, analyzing their personality and often their background is a valuable way to determine if they would be a successful leader.
Pennsylvania State University. (n. d.). Leadership in Work Settings—PSYCH 485. Online course lesson, Penn State World Campus, The Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved August, 2014 from: https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa14/psych485/001/content/03_lesson/10_page.html
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Ashley Ann Wilson says
I certainly agree that the psychodynamic approach is an interesting way to look at a minister and the way that he must exchange and interact with others. The difficult part about using the psychodynamic approach with a minster is that while a minister might have the time to learn about their own psychological make up, it might be difficult for him or her to know all of those around him since they may not all be taking personality questionnaires. As we learned from Northouse, we know that to know oneself, you can be a better leader, but to know others can make you an even better leader. Really being able to relate to others and putting yourself into the follower’s shoes relates more to the trait of empathy. Using the trait perspective described in Northouse as well would also be a very good way to look at the leadership style of a minister since empathy is a really important trait in the minister as a leader. I personally think of the trait perspective as what makes a leader and the psychodynamic approach as what made the leader.
References:
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Ashley Rotell says
I believe the psychodynamic approach works well with a minister. Not only through preaching and talking does he/she tell you about their life, but also lets you in to know that you can feel comfortable in telling them about your life as well. With this approach you can learn someone inside and out and therefore get a better understanding of what might be going through that persons head. A minister has to see people through the greatest joys in life (marriage, birth of child) and the lowest lows in life (death, financial hardship). In order for them to walk through these issues in someone’s life, they must be able to relate to the issues. The psychodynamic approach would allow for a minister to gain the trust of his/her congregation, thus letting them into his/her life and a spiritual and emotional level.