Phantoms in Organizations

Abstract

Eric Berne used the term phantom to refer to the continuing presence of someone in the group imago after he or she has left the group (Berne, 1963/2005). This concept can be useful in consultancy work with organizations as a tool for managing employee terminations and/or other interruptions in collaboration. This article explains the concepts of the formal aims (either social or manifest) and real aims (either psychological or hidden) of organizations, factors that must be considered if organizational work is to have a positive outcome and if it is to avoid creating phantoms that damage effective functioning. The more the formal and real aims are the same, the less likely it is that phantoms will be created. If they diverge, there is a greater risk that destabilizing phantoms will appear. This article considers the role of organizational leaders in preventing or creating phantoms and some procedures for managing such phenomena.

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Notes on contributors

Marco Mazzetti

Marco Mazzetti, M.D., is a psychiatrist, a Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (psychotherapy), and a member of EATA and the ITAA. Marco works in private practice as a trainer, psychotherapist, counselor, and organizational consultant in Milan, Italy. Marco can be reached at [email protected]. Note: Most of the content of this article was previously published in Italian in Quaderni di Psicologia, Analisi Transazionale e Scienze Umane, Vol. 53, pp. 113–128, 2010. This is an updated version of that paper.