What Went Wrong? Lessons Learned from a Failed Group Intervention at a Family Company

Abstract

This article analyses the failure of an intervention made by a group in the management team of a family company to improve its workplace relations. The concepts discussed in this article include regression and paranoia genesis, fantasies of personality dissolution, imbalance between constructive and destructive forces, an illusory sense of equality and the anti-group. For the analysis, the author considers ideology, bureaucratization and characteristics of the setting, as well as the conductors’ focus and verbal interventions. The analysis reveals that the conductors failed to create a safe atmosphere that could contain destructive emotions and impulses. The conductors did not sufficiently stimulate or reinforce connections among the participants, positively connote the processes observed or formulate appropriate interpretations.