Leaders on the Couch

Abstract

This article explores the psychobiographical/psychohistorical approach to the study of leadership. Such an approach differs from traditional history in that the life of a subject is reconstructed and evaluated in terms of clinical methods and theories. Freud's study of Leonard da Vinci was the prototype for such work. Those using this approach have been criticized for not being sufficiently rigorous about facts and validation, and for practicing psychological reductionism and monocausality. Psychoanalytic theory has advanced since its inception with the development of the interpsychic model, self-psychology, character analysis, and personality assessment. Improved understanding of the role of transference and countertransference in the relationship between the researcher and subject has been particularly important. Influential psychobiographical studies of leaders by Lasswell, the Georges, and Erikson are discussed.