Leaders play a crucial role in the functioning of society, whether it be a workplace setting or a political setting. They motivate us to go places that we would never otherwise go. Leaders are needed both to change organizations and to produce results. In any business setting, good leadership is the most important advantage a company can have to ensure they are competitive with other businesses.
Sigmund Freud originally developed the concepts of transference and countertransference. Transference describes a situation where the feelings, desires, and expectations of one person are redirected and applied to another person. Transference refers to a therapeutic setting, where a person in therapy may apply certain feelings or emotions toward the therapist. Countertransference occurs when a therapist transfers emotions to a person in therapy and is often a reaction to transference. It is a phenomenon in which the person in treatment redirects feelings for others onto the therapist. It is imperative that therapists learn to master the tendency to participate in unconscious countertransference by developing healthy boundaries. The dynamic between a leader and their team in the workplace plays a role in the effectiveness one one’s leadership skills. Transference and countertransference is a dynamic that can also be seen in the workplace, and can hinder a team’s success.
There are several instances in which the transference dynamic can get out of control in the workplace. The transference dynamic is most likely to get out of control during periods of organizational stress. In times like these, followers tend to be more dominated by irrational feelings and the need for praise and protection from their leaders. At the same time, the leader is preoccupied with handling the crisis at hand and, as a consequence, is probably less alert to the likelihood that his followers are just acting out childhood fears. One example of this occurred during the mid 80’s to a vice president of AT&T. While he was focusing on strategy, his followers felt frustrated that he was not dealing with their anxiety and reassuring them. Even though he was charting a promising new course for his division, employees still complained that he was not leading them. Just as a follower projects their past experiences onto their leader, the same can be said for the leader as well. The leader can respond by projecting their past experiences back onto the follower, which is considered an example of countertransference.
It is important that leaders in the workplace take initiative to ensure that transference is under control in the workplace. Both leaders and their team they oversee bring unconscious and unresolved personal issues into their relationships in the workplace. Leaders have to know how to detect and then respond effectively to transference. However, not all leaders, especially in a workplace setting, are psychotherapists and therefore knowledge about transference should be used with caution. It is a leader’s job to help their team succeed with their work, but not to help them resolve personal problems.
References
https://hbr.org/2004/09/why-people-follow-the-leader-the-power-of-transference
Yaqi Jing says
Hi Qwenada,
I really enjoy reading your post! I agree with the idea that Leaders play a crucial role. I think the reason that people refer to follow a leader is that the pursuit of employees and leaders is different. Leaders are pursuing good results, but employees do not necessarily pursue this. They follow the instructions of higher-level leaders, even if the leader makes the wrong decisions. They cannot blame these employees, but only the leaders who made the decisions. Regardless of whether the results are perfect or not, it has nothing to do with their workload and remuneration. So how to make the employees feel responsible for the decisions?