Leadership as a Container of Anxiety
The fifth way in which metabolism takes place in an organization can be traced directly to the leadership of the organization. This fifth type of container begins to move us into the realm of metabolism—for the leader (like the parent), according to Bion, often plays a key role in the metabolism of anxiety. It is the leader who must personally hold onto the organizations anxiety and not allow it to leak out and infect the entire organization. This often means that the leader holds back information about what is happening outside the organization (especially potential or impending threats or shifts in the marketplace). A very careful discernment must take place at this point: the leader must not be in the business of lying or spend too much time in denial.
Obviously, no member of the organization will appreciate being left out in the dark about the fate of their organization – or their job. Even if it means being anxious for a while, the news must be delivered—but the leader can pause for a moment (or a short period of time) to not only determine how best to deliver the troubling news, but also determine the most appropriate time and the best setting in which to communicate the critical information. This is critical metabolism.
The challenge of containment for the leader of an organization is either reduced or amplified by the way in which the organization’s anxiety is addressed through the culture of the organization. It is to this final, critical, mode of containment that I now turn.
Organizational Culture as a Container of Anxiety
There is this one other type of container that I wish to identify. It is particularly important when considering the role played by leaders in the containment and metabolization of anxiety. This container is the culture of an organization. It is through the culture of an organization that anxiety can be either accentuated or contained. It is through the culture of an organization, that the bonding of its members can be engaged in the constructive reframing and redirecting of anxiety (the metabolism) or in the fearful destruction of the organization’s capacity to better understand, overcome or adapt to the real (or imagined) threats inherent in the anxiety. In other words, metabolism occurs when members of an organization collectively (culturally) create a narrative about the source of the anxiety, the current impact of the anxiety on the organization, and the way(s) in which the anxiety will be reduced and/or the sources of the anxiety will be addressed.
