Emotional Leadership

It sounds soft, but it isnt.

Dear readers,

today, transformation, ambiguity, and increasing performance pressure have long become part of our working world. Leadership can no longer be managed solely through tools, KPIs, and change plans. What is often underestimated but truly crucial is this: change is not just a matter of strategy, but primarily of individual and collective processing.

This is exactly where containment comes into play. It refers to the ability to recognize, absorb, and process emotional processes in oneself and others. The person doing the processing takes on the function of a  „psychic container“ .

Originally stemming from psychoanalytic developmental theory, containment is increasingly finding its way into leadership practice. In my research on leadership and in working with leaders, it becomes clear time and again that the ability to handle uncertainty, fear, and resistance within a team is a fundamental prerequisite for effective leadership.

What does containment mean?

The British psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion originally described containment as a process playing a central role in early childhood. When a toddler is overwhelmed, for example, due to hunger, fear, or discomfort, they are not yet able to cope with these feelings meaningfully. They cry, kick, and are „out of themselves“.

In such moments, the child needs a caregiver who turns toward their inner chaos, takes it in, organizes it, and reflects back a comprehensible, calming version of their feelings. For example: „Yes, you are very hungry. That feels uncomfortable in your tummy. I see it’s hard to bear. You will get something to eat soon, and then you’ll feel better.“

As you read this sentence, you might have automatically imagined a gentle tone. Young children don’t understand the words’ meaning yet, but they hear the calmness and security in their caregiver’s voice.

What happens here is more than just comforting. The caregiver becomes a container for what the child cannot yet hold themselves.

That is why stuffed animals often play an important role in early childhood: „As long as the teddy bear is here, I am safe“ psychoanalytically translates to “As long as my symbolic substitute for mom or dad is here, I am not helplessly at the mercy of my feelings.“

Over time, external aids like this are needed less because the internalized counterpart becomes a stable part of the child’s psyche. We call this the internal object representing the relationship to the caregiver.

What does this have to do with leadership?

One might think this has little to do with leadership. But that is not the case.

People frequently experience overwhelm at work, for example, due to pressure, conflict, uncertainty, or change. Frustration, anger, and fear are normal in such phases, yet often remain unspoken.

Leaders who practice containment take responsibility for the emotional dynamics within their teams. They perceive tensions, name them, contextualize them, and thereby promote psychological safety.

How does containment work in leadership?

Here is an example of how this can look in practice:
Department head Hannah sits with her team in a crisis meeting. The atmosphere is tense, pressure is high, and an important client has rescheduled at short notice. The first accusations fly around the room, some remain silent, others seem irritated.

Hannah senses the uncertainty. But instead of immediately presenting solutions or trying to appease, she says: „I notice there is a lot of frustration and maybe some uncertainty in the room right now. That’s understandable, and we will look together at the next steps.”

A moment of relief arises. The tension remains but is named, held, and thus becomes manageable. This is exactly where containment takes effect: It enables a dialogue where otherwise withdrawal or sarcasm might spread.

How can containment be developed?

Containment is not an innate ability but an attitude that can be developed through experience, reflection, and guidance. Three approaches have proven particularly effective:

• Reflection in everyday life
  After challenging situations, pause consciously: What was emotionally felt? What touched me and why? Was it about me and my story, or about a dynamic in the system? What went well and what do I want to do differently next time?

• External guidance
  Supervision and coaching create space to recognize one’s own patterns and sharpen the handling of tensions. Especially in everyday leadership, time often lacks to process one’s own experiences. A coach trained in systemic-psychodynamic methods can enable crucial perspective shifts.

• Peer case consultation
  Through guided exchange with other leaders, blind spots can be uncovered and addressed. What other perspectives and solution approaches exist? Do I want to use them, and if not, why?

My conclusion

Containment is not a „nice-to-have“ but core to effective leadership.

Whoever can contextualize emotions creates psychological safety.
Whoever creates psychological safety enables constructive work.
And whoever enables constructive work ultimately achieves better results.

Until the next article, when we will again explore psychodynamic topics in leadership practice.

Yours sincerely,
Theo Zichel

Sources

• Armstrong, D. (2004). Emotions in organizations: Disturbance or intelligence?
• Bion, W. R. (1962). Learning from experience.
• Giernalczyk, T., & Möller, H. (2018). Entwicklungsraum. Psychodynamische Beratung in Organisationen.
• Kahn, W. A. (2001). Holding environments at work.
• Kahn, W. A. (2012). The functions of dysfunction: Implications for organizational diagnosis and change.
• Lohmer, M., & Möller, H. (2019). Psychoanalyse in Organisationen. Einführung in die psychodynamische Organisationsberatung.
• Petriglieri, G., & Petriglieri, J. L. (2020). The return of the oppressed: A systems psychodynamic approach to organization studies.

Image source: Photo by Freepik