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John Stokes explores the styles of leadership found in organizations and puts forward the idea that leadership is an emergent property in any social system. 2022 This book provides an overview of the existing leadership literature and introduces its readers to an evidence-based approach to leaders, their character and followers. In the same book we pointed out something important that is missing from the book under review: in a context of permanent transition in organizations, leadership is almost impossible, due to the obsessive defence against the chaos - micro-management and controlling. [Extracted from the article]

The UK Primary Health Care Reforms dating from 1990 have resulted in traumatic stress for General Practitioners (GPs) within the UK National Health Service (NHS). Previously, their first task had always been to provide care. Now the objectives are purely economic, focusing on cost-effectiveness and meeting Government targets. This article compares the Balint Model, set out by Michael and Edna Balint in the 1950s, to what is required in the current situation, and shows how group analysis can help GPs come to terms with their new professional identity and how they see their future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational groups are not often used for continuing professional development by general practitioners (GPs). The setting up and evaluation of a weekly educational group for mid-career GPs in South London are described. A feature was a regular 90-minute session facilitated by a group analyst, utilizing a combination of psychodynamic interpretation and practical problem solving by group members. The remainder of the time was spent on audit based education. Evaluation methods used at the beginning and end of the group were individual interviews with group members, together with job satisfaction and stress questionnaires, and data on practice services and health promotion activities. The results showed changes in practice activity and health care delivery with new and improved services. Perceived job stresses reduced for the majority of members and satisfaction increased. Facilitated educational groups where time is divided between task and support should be further evaluated as a model for GP continuing professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a context of rapid change, outbreaks of sibling rivalry in organizations act as a defence against the inability to mourn and feel remorse. When changes are imposed on work-teams, sibling preoccupations surface to prevent the working through of the breakdown of relations between the institutional parents and their dependants. Siblings also adopt envy-preventing strategies, engaging in collective self-idealization by forming sisterhoods or brotherhoods to protect themselves from disillusionment and individuation. Each succeeding generation has to face the fact that a primus inter pares will have to be chosen to inherit the mantle of power from the parental generation and restore the world to its 'normal' state of inequality. In the context of recent structural changes in organizations the new managers have acted like borderline parents and fostered sibling rivalry. This dynamic has functioned to deny the guilt and the fear of retaliation associated with fratricide and matricide committed during the 're-engineering' process, when the youngsters sent their parents into early retirement. I want to explore the central importance of authority, disillusionment and mourning and show that the outbreak and suppression of sibling rivalry is connected with the problem of transition and succession in organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]