2.2.7.4 The Fish Rots from the Head Down
The strategy, structure and culture of an organization depend on the man or woman
at the top, and not only on their conscious decisions and actions. A manager’s
unconscious and neurotic behavior can affect the entire organization. According to
Kets de Vries, “in strongly centralized businesses – in which the decisions lay in the
hands of one person or in the hands of a small but homogeneous group, the space
between people and the organization is so narrow that every twitch quickly spreads
downward. In organizations with decentralized structures, several different managers
influence strategies and culture, as there is only a loose connection between
leadership style and organization pathology” (de Vries 2002, p. 128).
Pathological organization styles often reflect the weakness of an individual and
his or her neurotic behavior. Kets de Vries has distinguished between five types of
organizations and personalities: the dramatic, the suspicious, the detached, the
depressive and the compulsive.
- Dramatic personalities and organizations
Some managers behave like dramatists, wanting to impress others and receive
maximum attention. These managers exaggerate their own achievements and
capacities, and tend to be overly reactive. The costs of such strong narcissism are
the loss of concentration and discipline. Superficially these managers can appear
sincere, but they lack true empathy and attention for others. They exploit
employees for their own purposes and bind them into relations of dependency.
Conversely, dependent people feel magically drawn to dramatic bosses. They
lionize their boss, ignore his or her faults, do not criticize – even if they should –
and bask in his or her glory.
Dramatic organizations are characterized by impulsiveness, hyperactivity,
audacity, lack of restraint, diversification and centralization. At the same time
they are often structured too simply, have no feedback structure and communi-
cate in only one direction, from the top down. Instead of responding to the
demands of the external market, the dramatic organization creates its own
demand, which rarely leads to success. - Suspicious personalities and organizations
Suspicious (in the sense of distrustful) personalities and organizations exhibit are
marked by their paranoia, anxiety and extreme caution, a climate of suspicion,
secrecy, envy and hostility. Suspicious managers are easily provoked and tend to
make a mountain out of a molehill. They are narrow and callous, overly rational
and hyper-vigilant.
Organizations led by such managers are dominated by a hostile atmosphere.
Most of the organization’s energy is invested in uncovering enemies, and in
preparing for anticipated attacks by those it believes to be enemies. Instead of
open communication, backstabbing and espionage, including the trading of
“secret” information and rumors, flourish. The personnel are supervised as
closely as possible, and any subordinate who freely expresses his or her opinion
is threatened with draconian punishment; the organization becomes a police
74 2 Occupation or Calling: What Makes for Good Leadership?