Psychoanalytic Approach to Diagnosing Teams Effectiveness

The master's thesis focuses on the study of the psychoanalytic approach to diagnosing team effectiveness. The main goal is to explore how the psychodynamic approach can complement the "classic" business tools of team effectiveness diagnostics, to get better results and draw more accurate conclusions based on diagnostic data. This approach allows us to identify the underlying causes affecting team effectiveness and take appropriate actions to address them. The work includes both theoretical and empirical components. The research objectives are as follows: within the theoretical framework, the study aims to analyze scientific literature on the psychoanalytic approach to team functioning, analyze psychoanalytic concepts and approaches to assessing team effectiveness, explore team effectiveness concepts and a psychoanalytic perspective on factors influencing group formation, study unconscious psychodynamic processes such as the leader's unconscious dynamics and team members' perception of their role, as well as unconscious processes within the group. Based on psychoanalytic theory, the study will also examine an effective team model proposed by P. Lencioni and the formulation of a list of psychoanalytic aspects that impact the effectiveness of a team in order to guide possible diagnostic conclusions and search for solutions. Within the framework of the theoretical objectives of the study, the following aspects are highlighted in this work: a study of the dysfunctions of two different teams using P. Lencioni’s test and a discussion of the results from a psychoanalytic perspective; conducting research on two management teams using a methodology of psychoanalytic observation of teamwork in the process of discussing test results obtained through interventional group work; discussing the results; conducting psychoanalytic interviews with team members, and drawing conclusions based on the findings. The subject of the study - the use of a team performance diagnostic tool developed by P. Lencioni "Five dysfunctions of the team" to enhance its application from a psychoanalytic perspective. We analyzed the unconscious aspects of the manager's influence on team performance, as well as the dynamics of team members' interaction. The structure of the master's thesis is as follows: an introduction, two theoretical chapters, an empirical chapter, conclusions based on the results of the theoretical and empirical research, and a conclusion that discusses the results obtained. The thesis is presented in 119 pages of text, and there are 67 literary sources, including 34 domestic and 33 foreign sources. The results of the study confirm the hypotheses that the psychoanalytic approach provides a deep and multi-dimensional understanding of the processes occurring in teams, making it possible to effectively diagnose and solve problems related to team dynamics. The integration of psychoanalytic methods with Patrick Lencioni's effective team model offers new opportunities to improve team performance by becoming more aware of and managing unconscious psychodynamic processes. The psychoanalytic approach, when combined with Lencioni's method, is effective for diagnosing and enhancing the efficiency of management teams.