Leaders, teams and organisational consultants are faced with a situation of permanent transitions. The current world of organisations is full of beginnings and incomplete endings. The author assumes that the endless re-structuring of living networks of relationships in organisations generates, over time, post-traumatic stress disorder in individuals, groups and the whole system. The book deals with the paradox that continuity is the most important factor in change and that leadership alone solves very little. Even the most heroic figure flounders without the help of the various groups in the organisation, which make things work. The author reflects on his practice of developing teams, professionals and organisations with an approach rooted in group analysis and social anthropology. The dominant way of looking at performance, motivation and leadership focuses on individuals and fails to take into account how we work together, how we fail to co-operate and how inter-dependent we are. The author wants to shift the attention of the professional consultant and organisational leader away from the individual to the group and whole networks of inter-dependent groups. This book spells out what practical use a group analytic consultant can be for an organisation in transition or in need of adaptation. Description: 'Gerhard Wilke’s book is a study of conscious and unconscious organizational dynamics and organizational consultancy during transitions and turbulent times. From a group analytic and anthropological paradigm the author explores topics such as styles of leadership, staff perceiving new leaders as “step-parents,” mourning over losses, and the appearance of Oedipal and sibling issues in large groups. He emphasizes that without taking time and investigating the history of an organization no comprehensive guide for the future can be found. I consider this book a textbook on organizational consultancy and strongly recommend it to a wide range of readers including organizational, societal and political authorities and their consultants, group analysts, anthropologists, psychoanalysts, and those in search of knowledge about human nature and the need for “others” in accomplishing our goals.' - Vamik D. Volkan, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, University of Virginia 'In a time where everything seems to be about the individual, it is refreshing and thought-provoking to read Wilke's insights into the group-dynamic at play in any organisation. The book challenges ideas we take for granted, and by drawing on fundamental human experiences such as being part of a family, and by demonstrating that concepts we often think of as contradictory – change and continuity, for instance – are in fact closely interconnected, it inspired me to take a fresh and critical look at my own leadership style and the group dynamic at play in my own organisation.' - Kasper Holten, Director of Opera, Royal Opera House, London 'Finally a book about working with organisations that demonstrates the value of Group Analytic thinking from an experienced, theoretically agile practitioner. The direct, almost confrontational discussions in the book interlink the minds of the author and reader so that it becomes a master class in how to weave the constant experience of change today, together with perspectives that hold the moment so that we can act. An essential and refreshing read for clinicians and managers who can be overwhelmed by finance and context and who will find confidence in the author’s pleasure in taking on great odds.' - Sue Einhorn, Institute of Group Analysis, London 'Gerhard Wilke has, with his tremendous experience and great professional insight a rare ability to describe the human relationships and the social communities we are all a part of but tend to ignore, at considerable cost, when we manage our organisations. He offers us a perspective which “you can´t live without” when you try to lead complex and unstable systems.' - Kim Bohr, Director of Music, Danish Radio 'Reading this book is a real pleasure. In so many different ways it illuminates the importance of small and large groups. The interaction in and between groups in private and public organizations as the foundation of creative and innovative work. The founder of Group Analysis, S.H. Foulkes, wished to see group analysis applied in diverse areas outside psychotherapy. This wish is really fulfilled with this book. Gerhard Wilke integrates Anthropology and Group Analysis, which gives his work a multidimensional aspect that is rare. He demonstrates how the first group, our family of origin impacts on the way we unconsciously perceive and react to the organization we are part of in areas like competition and authority. In many ways he goes against the prevailing Zeitgeist of individualism and shows, by putting groups first, what is lost in terms of real effectiveness and playfulness in working.' - Gerda Winther, Ex-President, Group Analytic Society 'In a time where New Public Management and Change management seems to be the mantra for organising the public sector - be it health, education or science - there are great demands made on its leaders. They have to be able to contain the emotional turmoil which is created, to preserve the sense of continuation by respecting the history of the organisation and to understand the group dynamics within the organisation. Wilke combines his professionalism as a social anthropologist and group analyst with a lifelong experience as a consultant in organisations. He gives value to intuition and dares to confront the realities of human life at work, which includes human imperfection, grief and death.' - Dr Anne Lindhardt, Head of Mental Health Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark 'People thrive on continuity and stability - both provide the boundaries for growth, innovation and the formation of sustainable relationships. So whilst these two factors are important for human life, it is hardly surprising that the absence of both creates anxiety, turmoil and fear. Our NHS is in constant flux as politicians from all ends of the spectrum use it as their play - thing - in their belief that only they can make it work - 'work' being defined according to their political ideology. No sooner has one set of 'reforms' been implemented that our political leaders pull up the shoots of change to check they are growing. This inspiring book by Gerhard Wilkes brings a combined group psychoanalytical and anthropological approach to help us, caught in the cross fire of constant change, understand what it does to us, and through us, the patients we serve. Gerhard presents his reflections, built up over decades of working with front line NHS staff, on work inside changing, thriving and struggling organisations and helps us make sense of the what this means. This book should be a 'must-read' not just for all of us who work in the health service, but also for those policy makers who expose us to the constant turmoil of change.' - Dr Clare Gerada, CEO, Royal College of General Practitioners, London 'In line with today’s widespread use of interdisciplinary scientific techniques, Gerhard Wilke’s new book offers deep insights into the effectiveness of discursive methods to enhance our epistemological engagement with reality. In assuming that the perception of knowledge in groups always changes with their individual psychological mindsets, Gerhard Wilke convincingly formulates a new scenario of consciousness, in which reality invariably is a mix of inner and outer perceptions of mind. Earlier, such methods were interestingly coined “confused, unscientific and inapplicable” by philosophers of science like Karl Popper. The book offers a good explanation, why the exertion of such strict practices of inquiry were an absolute intellectual neccessity for an influential group that exclusively believed in “ a pure world of natural sciences” and why it is time to move beyond quantification and objectified research results as a guide to action in the real and subjective world.' - Prof. Alfred Jacoby, Director, Dessau Institute of Architecture 'This book gives the reader a brilliant insight into applied group analytic and anthropological thinking and praxis because Gerhard Wilke is an excellent thinker, writer and consultant.' - Henning Green, Chair of the Institute of Group Analysis and OPU Copenhagen Notes about the author(s): Gerhard Wilke is an Associate of Ashridge Business School and an independent organisational consultant. He is co-author of Living Leadership: a Practical Guide for Ordinary Heroes, published by the Financial Times. In 2001 he published How to be a Good Enough GP: Surviving and Thriving in the New Primary Care Organisations. His consultancy work with client organisations is rooted in practical anthropological inquiry and in group analysis. Gerhard is a member of the IGA London, GASI and a Fellow of the IAGP. He works with the Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary of the state government of Saxony in Germany and the NIHR to develop the leadership skills of the Bio-Medical Research Community in England. |