The historically black and historically white universities in South Africa were shaped by apartheid policies. Within this socio-political context the project started when I, who was a lecturer at a historically black university (HBU), was confronted by violent interactions between lecturers and students, and a perceived passivity on the part of management when lecturers were threatened by students with violence in social and academic settings. Based on socio-historical factors and my personal experiences, I explored the experiences of lecturers at an HBU, i.e. their relationship with students and management, to form an understanding about how the lecturers’ experiences influenced the unconscious dynamic processes of the intergroup transactions between themselves and the students and management. A qualitative research method was chosen because it allowed for the in-depth analysis and interpretation of the lecturers’ experiences in a particular HBU. Hermeneutic phenomenology, using the systems psychodynamic perspective, allowed for the description and interpretation of the lecturers’ experiences. Data collection entailed hermeneutic conversations with the nine lecturers from an HBU. In the analysis, interpretation and reporting of the findings, the interpretive stance proposed by Shapiro and Carr (1991) was used. This analysis and interpretation entailed a collaborative dimension – the analysed data was sent to the lecturers to ascertain whether the analysis was a reflection of their experiences, as well as to experts in the systems psychodynamic perspective to ascertain whether the interpretations were plausible. The relationship between students, lecturers and management was contradictory, because it was marked by hope for an effective working relationship and by continuing conflict and violence – resulting in the (k)not of relationship based on the (k)not of achievement apparent in the lecturers’ relationship with students, and the (k)not of performance evident in their relationship with management. The intergroup transactions between students, lecturers and management were marked by a reign of terror as threats of violence, or actual physical violence, were directed at lecturers by students with little or no intervention by management. By integrating the findings with systems psychodynamic literature, several working hypotheses and two research hypotheses regarding the (k)not of relationship between the three stakeholders were generated. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

The post-modern economy has altered the career landscape – career trajectories are now far more fluid and unpredictable, punctuated by multiple occupational changes, increased job mobility and more frequent and increasingly difficult job transitions. Leaders are frequently ill-prepared for the changing world of work that is progressively dominated by self-managed careers. Taking on a new role is fraught with complexity - for the “chosen one” and for organisations. The implications of successful, failed or derailed job transitions can have strategic and other ramifications for organisations and individuals alike. This study explores the career transition experiences of and the usefulness of career transition executive coaching for eleven individual leaders from various South African organisations. It is a descriptive, explanatory and exploratory qualitative study, employing the systems psychodynamic paradigm, chosen because it focuses on depth psychology and is a developmentally oriented, psycho-educational organisational theory. The study adopted an interpretive stance for understanding leaders’ systemic conscious and unconscious behaviour. The ACIBART model helped to interpret the experiences of leaders in transition. These transitions involve the taking and making of a role, implying the loss which attends leaving a previous role, and adjustment to and being authorised in a new, unfamiliar role, including a liminal period of being “in between”. This inevitably produces an inner drama in which internalised past figures, possibly related to the new role, are brought back to life, and perhaps even amplified in the present. These “unconscious echoes” explain the powerful emotions that frequently attend transitions, especially at the so-called mid-life, and which in turn activate various defence mechanisms. The systems psychodynamic approach to career transition coaching was particularly useful in helping the participants identify personal patterns and link these to their past and thereby develop personal awareness and insight. The “coaching space” thus became a containing, “transitional space” where the participants could safely do the work required to make the adjustment to their new roles. Finally, recommendations to various stakeholders regarding the provision of systems psychodynamic coaching for leaders in career transition are made. / Psychology / D. Phil. (Psychology)

This study investigated the relationship between leadership style and group processes and dynamics with due consideration of the role of related systems in the context of organisational change. The theoretical assumptions and practical implications of the full range model of leadership were discussed. This model emphasises the transactional-transformational paradigm. In addition, approaches to studying and working with groups were covered, focusing specifically on group processes and group dynamics. In the case of the latter, the systems psychodynamic perspective was emphasised. The present study was conducted in a plant of a South African production organisation that had been experiencing transformation. An intervention was done at management level to identify behavioural and operational issues and to sensitise the members of the management team in terms of individual and group functioning. The conceptualisation of leadership styles in terms of the full range model of leadership was largely supported by means of associations with certain personality traits and behaviours. The latter also provided a profile of desired characteristics, especially in terms of interpersonal styles and work and social ethics. The theory on group processes and dynamics was used to explore group and organisational functioning. The context of change and the related insecurity resulted in efforts to deal with anxiety by means of excessive reliance on structure. Centralised leadership and a dynamic of control and dependency characterised all levels of the organisation. Cooperation in an interdependent manner was therefore problematic and there was also a struggle in terms of interrelatedness in and between systems. The unconscious defence strategy was related to the general reliance on transactional behaviours and the lack of authorisation of leadership in terms of transformational behaviours. Despite the successful application of theory in the present study and the contribution made by the results, it was concluded that the uniqueness and the realities of each situation need to be explored and provided for, and a system should be allowed to determine the progression in the system. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

This descriptive research addressed the challenges of working with the conscious and unconscious aspects of diversity in order to enhance insights into covert and deeper diversity dynamics in organisations. The research supported the evolving trend of shifting the systems psychodynamic orientation from the group to the individual context. The general aim was to describe a systems psychodynamic coaching model, and to determine its trustworthiness in assisting executives to work effectively with conscious and unconscious diversity dynamics. Literature was reviewed to provide a theoretical foundation of diversity challenges which executives face in South African organisations. This was augmented by systems psychodynamic literature, which provided a theoretical basis upon which to understand the intrapsychic aspects of the executives and their interplay with systemic dynamics. The empirical study was conducted over ten months to determine the trustworthiness of executive coaching in diversity from a systems psychodynamic perspective. Data was gathered using the organisational role analysis approach, and analysed by means of the systems psychodynamic discourse analysis method. Nine major themes and their related sub-themes were identified, namely, gender, race, ethnicity, authority, disability, language, age, de-authorisation of diversity work, and the coaching process. Through the coaching, the executives gained insights into their intrapsychic environment and the complex, multifaceted and intersecting nature of diversity in their organisations. They were assisted to take up their leadership roles more effectively and to take action on behalf of their organisations. The research hypothesis formulated and the conclusion made was that executive coaching from a systems psychodynamic perspective displays trustworthiness. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Consulting Psychology)

The historically black and historically white universities in South Africa were shaped by apartheid policies. Within this socio-political context the project started when I, who was a lecturer at a historically black university (HBU), was confronted by violent interactions between lecturers and students, and a perceived passivity on the part of management when lecturers were threatened by students with violence in social and academic settings. Based on socio-historical factors and my personal experiences, I explored the experiences of lecturers at an HBU, i.e. their relationship with students and management, to form an understanding about how the lecturers’ experiences influenced the unconscious dynamic processes of the intergroup transactions between themselves and the students and management. A qualitative research method was chosen because it allowed for the in-depth analysis and interpretation of the lecturers’ experiences in a particular HBU. Hermeneutic phenomenology, using the systems psychodynamic perspective, allowed for the description and interpretation of the lecturers’ experiences. Data collection entailed hermeneutic conversations with the nine lecturers from an HBU. In the analysis, interpretation and reporting of the findings, the interpretive stance proposed by Shapiro and Carr (1991) was used. This analysis and interpretation entailed a collaborative dimension – the analysed data was sent to the lecturers to ascertain whether the analysis was a reflection of their experiences, as well as to experts in the systems psychodynamic perspective to ascertain whether the interpretations were plausible. The relationship between students, lecturers and management was contradictory, because it was marked by hope for an effective working relationship and by continuing conflict and violence – resulting in the (k)not of relationship based on the (k)not of achievement apparent in the lecturers’ relationship with students, and the (k)not of performance evident in their relationship with management. The intergroup transactions between students, lecturers and management were marked by a reign of terror as threats of violence, or actual physical violence, were directed at lecturers by students with little or no intervention by management. By integrating the findings with systems psychodynamic literature, several working hypotheses and two research hypotheses regarding the (k)not of relationship between the three stakeholders were generated. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Group relations events are intended to enable transformation through learning, but such collective experiential events are not explicitly focused on enabling individual group members to derive meaning from them. This research aims to explicate individual learning from the experiences of a group relations event, in order to formulate a process for meaning-making post an intensive experiential event. Literature reviewed provides construct definitions of systems psychodynamic aspects, as well as insight, meaning-making, coaching methods and other approaches to facilitating meaning-making. Systems psychodynamics is the theoretical paradigm that informs a qualitative phenomenological research approach. Data analysis adopted hermeneutic phenomenology to allow for the interpretation of the rich data collected. Multiple case studies were adopted using multi-pronged data collection methods, including semi-structured interviews conducted before the event, as well as both a focus group and Free Association Narrative Interviews (FANI) conducted after the event. The results are reported by case, and this is followed with an interpretation of results by various systems psychodynamic themes. Furthermore, the relationship between personality types and defences mechanisms, with the associative techniques to use for each, have been set forth as additional findings in the thesis. The research hypothesis produced by the study is a meaning-making model to facilitate post-group relations event reflections and debriefing, with the aim of enabling insight formation, learning and adaption by individuals who have participated in such events. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)