Tell any senior leader that you are a psychoanalyst to corporations, and the floodgates open.
No matter how high up they are in the food chain, no matter how profitable the corporation, they will regale you with tales of organizational dysfunction.
A hot-tempered chief executive officer with a serious drinking problem is legendary for his vituperative tirades.
A successful senior financial executive is notorious for sexual harassment.
The vice president of a nonprofit fails to back his manager even when this leaves the nonprofit vulnerable to a lawsuit.
A senior partner, a rainmaker, is renowned for hemorrhaging associates.
Ask when the problems began, and you will discover they existed in the culture for as long as anyone can remember. In fact, these behaviors often do not get recognized as problems until they pose a significant financial or legal threat.
What prevents us from stopping behaviors that are costly, obnoxious or even illegal? And what can be done about it?
The answer is as complex as the people within the companies.
A first step is to describe the organizational difficulty in detail.Continued on the Washington Business Journal website
This column was previously published at the Washington Business Journal. "Corporations on the Couch", is nationally-syndicated. If you'd like for it to appear in your local business paper please contact the editor. Dr. Lynn Friedman is a clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst and executive coach. She is on the adjunct faculty at Johns Hopkins University. If you'd like to consult her, she can be reached at: 5480 Wisconsin Avenue, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815, (301) 656-9650, drlynnfriedman@comcast.net. Website: <http://www.drlynnfriedman.com/worklife.html>