Bion, Wilfred, and His Organization Change Legacy: “Without Memory or Desire”

Sarah J. Brazaitis ()
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Sarah J. Brazaitis: Columbia University

Chapter 12 in The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers, 2021, pp 199-212 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Wilfred Bion was a change leader who served in and lived through two World Wars and was deeply affected by his experiences on the battlefield and later in treating veterans with shell shock as an army psychiatrist. From his earliest experiences of group life (including bullying) at a British boarding school, to his frustration of enduring the politics and sometimes corrupt aspects of military life, to his satisfaction in developing new, respectful, and successful treatment modalities for veterans, to his innovative efforts at transforming the army’s hiring practices, and finally to being a founding member of group relations and experiential learning in industry – Bion’s contributions to organization change are monumental and long-lasting. His theory of basic assumptions in group life, his development of the therapeutic community, and his groundbreaking leaderless group technique are all innovations that are used today in organization change efforts. More than half a century after Bion formulated his ideas, his contributions continue to reverberate with significant impact. This chapter traces Bion’s life and legacy as a seminal leader in organization change.

Keywords: Basic assumptions; Bion; Group dynamics; Group relations; Leaderless group; Therapeutic community; Psychodynamic theories; Psychoanalysis; Shell shock; Tavistock Institute; Work group mentality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-030-38324-4_3

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-38324-4_3

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