A Theory Of

The inception of this work originated in 2002 when I was first invited to work as a trainee group executive coach at INSEAD with executives on the advanced management program. I worked with a practicing psychoanalyst as an understudy and then subsequently with a clinical psychologist. Both interventions were disastrous. In the first case, the psychoanalyst ranged around making loose interpretations and using concepts that were to the participants (and I have to admit to me too,) way over our heads. In the second, my own intervention was implausibly poor, ill timed, ill intentioned and nearly catastrophic. That notwithstanding, the intervention was generally well received and seemed to be having positive effects. I was, however, cautiously skeptical.