Abraham Maslow,Humanistic Psychology,and Organization Leadership

Abstract

Students of organization theory and administration have frequently discovered that psychology and its various subfields can provide valuable insights. This article examines the contributions of Abraham Maslow to our understanding of organizational leadership. It traces the influence of Carl Jung on the development of Maslow's ideas and explores some important parallels between Maslow's notion of selfactualization and Jung's concept of individuation. The author discusses the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a recent extension of Jung's work on personality types, and its contributions to understanding the psychology of organization leadership. Finally, he offers some hypotheses as to why more fully evolved, self-actualizing individuals are not more frequently drawn to the ranks of management.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Corsini, R. (1977). Current personality theories. Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock.

Daniels, M. (1988). The myth of self-actualization. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 28(1), 7-38.

Fordham, F. (1966). An introduction to Jung's psychology. New York: Penguin.

Gardner, H. (1985). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Geller, L. (1982). The failure of self-actualization theory: A critique of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 22(2), 56-73.

Geller, L. (1984). Another look at self-actualization. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 24(2), 93-107.

Ginsburg, C. (1984). Toward a somatic understanding of self: A reply to Leonard Geller. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 24(2), 67-92.

Hergenhahn, B. (1984). An introduction to theories of personality. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Hoffman, E. (1988). The right to be human. Los Angeles: Tarcher.

10.

Horney, K. (1937). The neurotic personality of our time. New York: Norton.

11.

Jung, C. (1961). Psychological types. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

12.

Jung, C. (1969). The archetypes and the collective unconscious. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

13.

Keirsey, D. , & Bates, M. (1984). Please understand me: Character and temperament types. Del Mar, CA: Prometheus.

14.

Kohlberg, L. (1964). Development of moral character and moral ideology. In M. L. Hoffman & L. W. Hoffman (Eds.), Review of child development research (pp. 383-432). New York: Russell Sage.

15.

Levinson, D. (1978). The season's of a man's life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

16.

Likert, R. (1961). New patterns of management. New York: McGraw-Hill.

17.

Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper & Row.

18.

Maslow, A. (1959). New knowledge and human values. New York: Harper Bros.

19.

Maslow, A. (1962). Towards a psychology of being. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostren.

20.

Maslow, A. (1965). Eupsychian management: A journal. Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.

21.

McWhinney, W. (1988). Alternative realities: Their impact on change and leadership. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 24(4), 7-38.

22.

Meyers, I. B. , & McCaulley, M. H. (1985). Manual: A guide to the development and use of the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

23.

Myers, I. (1980). Gifts differing. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

24.

Rogers, C. (1961) On becoming a person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

25.

Schott, R. (1986). The psychological development of adults: Implications for public administration. Public Administration Review, 46, 657-667.

26.

Schott, R. (1991). Administrative and organization behavior: Some insights from cognitive psychology. Administration & Society, 23(1), 54-73.