Systems Psychodynamics

Framing the Change Situation

Action research from a perspective of systems psychodynamics tends to start with concerns about organizational culture and persisting difficulties in working well together. Commissioners of such action research may speak to unhelpful attitudes or poor motivation within a section of the social system or, indeed, across two or more parts of a larger organization. Often, leaders link strategic challenges currently under way or anticipated with an out-of-date historical or societal element in employee behaviour. Education, social services, health care, religious organizations and government systems illustrate sectors in which this framing of change originated.

Role of Consultant and Stakeholder in a Typical Change Approach

Scholarly practitioners working predominately from a systems psychodynamic perspective use developmental interventions that create meetings and workshops for people to work through difficult thoughts and feelings about relevant aspects of a challenging change. The role of the consultant tends to emphasize observation, analysis and interpretation. Of particular concern are types of social defences people enact as they avoid anxieties. Those people with a stake in the change process usually take responsibility for making conclusions, planning actions and otherwise identifying outcomes from the process of working through. This type of action research often works well alongside other, more familiar types of change management.

Nature of Intervention and Character of Participation

A central orientation of intervention from a systems psychodynamic perspective can be understood to be process consultation. Many types of intervention can be used: individual coaching or counselling, third party consultation, small groups, inter-groups, medium or large groups. In order to work with the emerging data, scholarly practitioners need to be in a participant observation role. This allows them to discover and then share verbally tentative hypotheses with the people in the room. Alternately, working notes can be written and circulated for a wider population to study. Generally, the consultant retains a specialist role while encouraging employees to increase their competency in sense making and in taking up roles to improve their situation.

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