The collapse of leaders

It was a pleasure to read the thought-provoking articles on the emotional aspects of the workplace in your recent issue (December 2023). I was particularly struck by the article by Laura McHale on corporate gaslighting, absentee leaders and the emotions of work.

I agree with McHale that the 'costs' of organisational transformation are often underestimated by those driving change. In my work with humanitarian organisations, I have noted the ways that clumsily organised change undermines the high conscientiousness of workers, often going against the very vision and values that the organisations profess.

McHale helpfully describes the concept of absentee leadership as a form of neglect by those in managerial positions, pointing out how this leaves workers angry, demotivated and ashamed (emotions often underpinning moral distress in health workers or moral injury in sectors like the military and humanitarian work). I would also very much support her conclusion that we need 'not to ignore psychological injuries of work'.

While McHale is spot on in calling this out, I was left wondering about the many burnt-out organisational leaders that I come across, whose absenteeism is less about gaslighting junior staff and shirking of responsibility and more reflects a collapse under their own excessive workloads and demands.

As Gemma Houldey (2021) has argued, the ability to remain open to vulnerability and burnout in all staff, at all levels of the hierarchy, is crucial in building psychological safety at work (Edmonson, 2018) and ensuring that every worker is able to thrive.

Dr Kate Thompson
Editor: Psychological Support for Workers on the Move, Improving Global Staff Care

References

Edmonson, A.C. (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Houldey, G. (2021). The Vulnerable Humanitarian, Ending Burnout Culture in the Aid Sector. London: Routledge.