Members of the organization become disillusioned with the leader and seek to get rid of him because the person he really is doesn’t fit very well with the highly distorted (and unacknowledged) image that is being held collectively in the organization. When this occurs then we often observe the “auditioning” of someone from inside the organization who will take on the role assigned to the former archetypically-saturated leader. The new leader must fit into the role occupied by the old leader. The impostership will be renewed. Nothing is acknowledged, appreciated or learned about the role suction or about the underlying archetypical image. Nothing is learned in this profound important dimension of organizational life. As a result, little in the organization will change.
To return specifically to Joshua, we find not only that he is facing many psychic dynamics operating in himself and in his organization, but also that these dynamics are escalated when Joshua experiences a specific emotion: anger. Anger, along with anxiety is often a companion of Hard Irony. As in the case of Kristen, Joshua’s various psychic ironies tend to constellate when he experiences a specific emotion associated with either his own actions or the actions being taken by other people in his organization. Part of the problem is that Joshua can’t openly express his anger in many settings. There is so much tension operating in his organization—related to the treatment of very difficult clients—that he doesn’t want to add to the tension by expressing his anger regarding the performance of other people working in Fairhills.
Joshua also has to restrain his considerable anger regarding the past and current performance of his client’s parent(s). As a therapist he must understand the emotions experienced and expressed by these stressed-out parents. As a social worker, he also must appreciate the complex and challenging environments in which these parents live and the ways in which public institutions and policies contribute to the mess in which Joshua’s clients and parents find themselves. He must appreciate the Soft Irony and be contingent in his own work with the parents—even though they are ‘unfamiliar people” (Rorty). Joshua also knows that it is counterproductive to vent his anger and frustration regarding the public school administrators with whom he must work. He knows that ultimately it is not their fault and that he won’t get any cooperation if he expressed his anger about their decisions and actions.
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