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The increasing popularity of experiential learning in management education raises a number of new opportunities and challenges for instructors, particularly with regard to shifting instructor roles and attention to learning through one's emotions. In this article, we draw on psychodynamics--in particular D. W. Winnicott's notions of "transitional space" and "holding"--to delineate what a "safe space" might look like in a management education context. We propose that experiential learning can result in deeper learning when conducted in such a space, which consists of appropriate physical aspects, trust, respect, suspension of judgment and censorship, a willingness to share, and high-quality listening. We further propose that a safe space can be developed and maintained by creating a strong container early on, establishing ground rules, providing lessons in listening and witnessing, teaching by example, and developing a reflexive attitude.

Abstract The survival and continuing prosperity of an organization depends on its ability to remain flexible and responsive to changes in its own performance levels as well as in its [...]

Institutional entrepreneurship is important for creating and transforming institutions, yet little is known about the individuals who conceive, initiate, and champion institutional projects. Extant research emphasizes factors contributing to institutional entrepreneurs’ success at championing change rather than their conception and initiation of change. A large stream of entrepreneurship research, however, focuses squarely on entrepreneurs as individuals and the psychological forces driving them. In this theory-building article, we adopt a psychodynamic approach to explore institutional entrepreneurs as individuals. Drawing upon an in-depth biographical case study of one of the most celebrated institutional entrepreneurs of the 20th century, Rachel Carson, our findings illustrate that the projects of institutional entrepreneurs can be understood as expressions of vision and passion rooted deeply in life issues and of three aspects of character forged in formative experience: independence and comfort with marginality, desire to perform, and a sense of agency and duty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]