Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Developing Leaders in Multicultural Organisational Contexts Within a Positive Psychology Framework: Jung’s Active Imagination Intervention

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Positive Psychological Intervention Design and Protocols for Multi-Cultural Contexts

Abstract

The aim of the chapter is to introduce positive psychology intervention, which is useful and constructive in contributing to the development of leaders in terms of multicultural cooperation and team development, as well as conflict management skills within a multicultural organisational leadership context. By applying this intervention, team members are guided to improve the collaboration, conflict management and creative potential within the multicultural setting of the organisation. The chapter is based on a critical review of the relevant literature on positive psychology wave one (PP1.0) and positive psychology wave two (PP2.0), and provides insights into the selected applied intervention. This intervention refers to Jung’s active imagination and transfers it into the multicultural leadership context. The intervention is presented within a case study scenario in which it was used to strengthen individual and organisational cooperation, conflict management and problem solving competences, as well as the mental health and well-being of the diverse team members. The intervention of active imagination is explained and it is shown how team members could work with their images within the team management context to improve mutual comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. Finally, conclusions are drawn and recommendations for future theory and practice are given.

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.

Albert Einstein

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Amos, T. L. (2012). The dynamics of leadership. In D. Hellriegel, J. Slocum, S. E. Jackson, L. Louw, G. Staude, T. L. Amos, H. B. Klopper, M. J. Louw, T. F. J. Oosthuizen, S. Perks, & S. Zindiye, Management (Eds.), (pp. 370–401), 4th South African edition. Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antonovsky, A. (1979). Health, stress, and coping: New perspectives on mental and physical well-being. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F., Heatherton, T. F., & Tice, D. M. (1994). Losing control: How and why people fail at self-regulation. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, M. J. (2017). Online debate—Has multiculuralism in the West reached its limit? Culture. Email communication, April 30, 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolier, L., Haverman, M., Westerhof, G. J., Riper, H., Smit, F., & Bohlmeijer, E. (2013). Positive psychology interventions: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. BMC Public Health, 13, 83. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosnak, R. (2003). Embodied imagination. Journal of Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 39(4).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosnak, R. (2007). Embodiment: Creative imagination in medicine, art and travel. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. L., McDonald, S., & Smith, F. (2013). Jungian archetypes and dreams of social enterprise. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 26(4), 670–688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chodorow, J. (1997). Jung on active imagination. NJ, Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chodorow, J. (2006). Active imagination. In R. K. Papadopouluos (Ed.), The handbook of Jungian psychology. Theory, practice and applications (pp. 215–240). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cruz, J. (2017). Pilgrimage in leadership. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 5(2), Article 10. https://arrow.dit.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1190&context=ijrtp.

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2009). The promise of positive psychology. Psychological Topics, 18, 203–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fava, G. A., Rafanelli, C., Cazzaro, M., Conti, S., & Grandi, S. (1998). Well-being therapy. A novel psychotherapeutic approach for residual symptoms of affective disorders. Psychological Medicine, 28, 475–480. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291797006363.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fava, G. A., Ruini, C., Rafanelli, C., Fnios, L., Salmaso, L., Mangelli, L & Sirigatti, S. (2005). Well-being therapy of generalized anxiety disorder. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 74(1), 25–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gorlin, E. I., Lee, J., & Otto, M. W. (2018). A topographical map approach to representing treatment efficacy: A focus on positive psychology interventions. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 47(1), 34–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2017.1342173.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gruman, J. A., Lumley, M. N., & González-Morales, M. G. (2018). Incorporating balance: Challenges and opportunities for positive psychology. Canadian Psychology, 59(1), 54–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvie, D., & Milburn, K. (2017). Can a knife shadow cut real flesh from a living tree? The organisation of imaginal commons. Ph.D. thesis at the University of Leicester. https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/39923/1/2017BROWNGSPhD.pdf.

  • Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D., & Platow, M. J. (2011). The new psychology of leadership: Identity, influence and power. New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, S. W. (1990). The imagination and psychological healing. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 26(4), 345–358.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, L., & Rothmann, S. (2006). Occupational stress, organisational commitment, and ill-health of educators in the North West Province. South African Journal of Education, 26(1), 75–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jung, C. G. (1953; 1928). The technique of differentiation between the ego and the figures of the unconscious. Collective works, 7, 341–373. Princton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jung, C. G. (1961). Memories, dreams and reflections. New York: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jung, C. G. (1970). The archetypes and the collective unconscious. In The collected works of CG Jung (R. F. C. Hull, trans.) (Vol. 9, 2nd ed., Bollingen Series 20). Princeton: Princeton UP 490.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jung, C. G. (2009). The red book. In Liber Novus: A reader’s edition. Edited and with an introduction by Sonu Shamdasani. London: W.W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kekes, J. (2006). The enlargement of life: Moral imagination at work. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kriger, M., & Seng, Y. (2005). Leadership with inner meaning A contingency theory of leadership based on the worldview of five religions. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(5), 771–806.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuopalla, J., Lamminpaa, A., Liira, J., & Vainio, H. (2008). Leadership. Job well-being and health effects—a systematic review and a meta-anaysis. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 50(8), 904–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linley, P. A., Joseph, S., Harrington, S., & Wood, A. M. (2006). Positive psychology: Past, present and (possible) future. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1, 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760500372796.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luthans, F. (2002a). The need for and meaning of positive organisation behavior. Journal of Organisational Behavior, 23, 695–706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luthans, F. (2002b). Positive organisational behavior: Developing and managing psychological strengths. Academy of Management Executive, 16, 57–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyubomirsky, S. (2013). The myth of happiness: What should make you happy but doesn’t, what shouldn’t make you happy but does, what happiness really is—and isn’t. New York: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, C.-H. (2005). Artificial walls. South African narratives on conflict, difference and identity. An exploratory study in post-apartheid South Africa. Stuttgart: Ibidem Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, C.-H. (2008). Managing conflict across cultures, values and identities. A case study in the South African automotive industry. Wissenschaftliche Beiträge aus dem Tectum Verlag, Reihe: Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Band 20 Ph.D., Department of Management Faculty of Commerce Rhodes University. Marburg: Tectum Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, C.-H. (2011). The meaning of sense of coherence in transcultural management. Internationale Hochschulschriften Series. Münster: Waxmann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, C.-H. (2018). Unemployed and high achiever? Working with active imagination and symbols to transform shame. In C.-H. Mayer & E. Vanderheiden (Ed.), (2019 in press). The bright side of shame. Cham, CH: Springer International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, C.-H., & Van Zyl L. (2013). Perspectives of female leaders on sense of coherence and mental health in an engineering environment. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology/SA Tydskrif vir Bedryfsielkunde, 39(2), Art.#1097, 11 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v39i2.1097, http://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/viewFile/1097/1410.

  • Mayer, C.-H., & Viviers, A. M. (2016). Systemic thinking and transcultural approaches in coaching psychology. In L. Van Zyl (Ed.), Coaching psychology: Meta-theoretical perspectives and application in multi-cultural contexts. Cham, CH: Springer Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, C.-H., & Tonelli, L. (2017). Dream on – there is no salvation! Transforming shame in the workplace through personal and organisational strategies. In E. Vanderheiden & C.-H. Mayer (Eds). The value of shame – exploring a health resource in cultural contexts (pp. 135–156). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, C.-H., & Geldenhuys, D. J. (2018). Workplace spirituality and wellness. An organizational neuroscientific perspective. The Routledge Companion to Management and Workplace Spirituality: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, C.-H., & Walach, H. (2018). Workplace spirituality in contemporary South Africa. Handbook of Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, C.-H., & Vanderheiden, E. (2019). Transforming and growing through practical applications in cultural contexts. In The bright side of shame. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peacock, E. J., & Wong, P. T. P. (1990). The stress appraisal measure (SAM): A multidimensional approach to cognitive appraisal. Stress Medicine, 6, 227–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raskin, J. D., & Bridges, S. K. (Eds.). (2004). Studies in meaning 2: Bridging the personal and social in constructivist psychology. New York: Pace University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rozuel, C. (2012). Moral imagination and active imagination: Searching in the depth of the psyche. Journal of Management Development, 31(5), 488–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samani, H. A., Koh, J. T. K. V., Saadatian, E., & Polydorou, D. (2012). Towards robotics leadership: An analysis of leadership characteristics and the roles robots will inherit in future human society. In J. S. Pan, S. M. Chen, N. T. Nguyen (Eds.), ACIIDS Part II, LNAI 7197 (pp 158–165).

    Google Scholar 

  • Seabright, M. A., & Schminke, M. (2002). Immoral imagination and revenge in organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 38(12), 19–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. (1998a). The president’s address. American Psychologist, 54, 559–562.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. (1998b). Positive psychology network concept paper. Retrieved from http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/ppgrant.htm.

  • Seligman, M. E. (1990). Learned optimism. New York: Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E., Steen, T., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60, 410–425.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Swan-Foster, N. (2018). Active imagination and art therapy. In N. Swan-Foster (Ed.), Jungian art therapy (pp. 209–229). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanderheiden, E., & Mayer, C.-H. (2017). The value of shame—exploring a health resource in cultural contexts. Cham Switzerland: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Von Franz, M.-L. (2017). Alchemical active imagination. Revised edition. Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala Publications Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wegge, J., & Rosenstiel, L. V. (2004). Führung. In H. Schuler (Ed.), Lehrbuch Organisationspsychologie (pp. 475–512). Bern: Huber S.

    Google Scholar 

  • Werhane, P. H. (2002). Moral imagination and systems thinking. Journal of Business Ethics, 38(1–2), 33–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson Reynolds, M. J. (2015). Imagining and shaping: Exploring creativity in leadership. Doctor of Philosophy (Integrated) thesis. School of Education – Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Wollongong. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/4405.

  • Wolf, S., Huttges, A., Hoch, J. E., & Wegge, J. (2010). Führung und Gesundheit. In D. Windemuth, D. Jung, O. Petermann (Ed.), Praxishandbuch psychische Belastungen im Beruf. Vorbeugen—erkennen—handeln Stuttgart (pp. 220–231).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P. (1998). Implicit theories of meaningful life and the development of the Personal Meaning Profile (PMP). In P. T. P. Wong & P. Fry (Eds.), The human quest for meaning: A handbook of psychological research and clinical applications (pp. 111–140). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P. (2007). Perils and promises in the pursuit of happiness (Review of the book In Search of happiness: Understanding an endangered state of mind). PsycCRITIQUES, 52(49). https://doi.org/10.1037/a0010040.

  • Wong, P. T. P. (2010). What is existential positive psychology? International Journal of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy, 3(1), 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P. (2011). Positive psychology 2.0: Towards a balanced interactive model of the good life. Canadian Psychology, 52(2), 69–81. Retrieved from http://www.drpaulwong.com/positive-psychology-2-0-towards-a-balanced-interactive-model-of-the-good-life/.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P. (2013). Positive psychology. In K. Keith (Ed.), Encyclopedia of cross-cultural psychology (pp. 1021–1026). Oxford, UK: Wiley Blackwell.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P. (2015). What is second wave positive psychology and why is it necessary? http://www.drpaulwong.com/what-is-second-wave-positive-psychology-and-why-is-it-necessary/.

  • Wong, P. T. P., & Weiner, B. (1981). When people ask “Why” questions and the heuristic of attributional search. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40, 650–663.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, Y., & Tsai, J. L. (2007). Cultural models of shame and guilt. In J. Tracy, R. Robins, & J. Tangney (Eds.), Handbook of self-conscious emotions. Guildford: New York, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P., Ivtzan, I., & Lomas, T. (2016). Good work: A meaning-centred approach. In L. G. Oades, M. F. Steger, A. Delle Fave, & J. Passmore (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell and book of the psychology of positivity and strengths-based approaches at work (pp. 231–247). West Sussex, UK: Wiley Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P., Ivtzan, I., & Lomas, T. (2017). Good work: A meaning-centred approach. In L. G. Oades, M. F. Steger, A. Delle Fave, & J. Passmore (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of positivity and strengths-based approaches at work (pp. 233–247). West Sussex, UK: Wiley Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, R. P., & Dziak, J. M. (2016). Storytelling as a primary leadership tool. Aerospace Conference IEEE (pp. 5–12), March 2016. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7500928/.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Claude-Hélène Mayer

  2. Institut für Therapeutische Kommunikation und Sprachgebrauch, Europa Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany

    Claude-Hélène Mayer

  3. Department of Industrial Psychology, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

    Rudolf M. Oosthuizen

Authors
  1. Claude-Hélène Mayer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rudolf M. Oosthuizen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claude-Hélène Mayer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Human Performance Management Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands

    Llewellyn Ellardus Van Zyl

  2. Optentia Research Focus Area, North-West University Vaal Triangle Campus, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

    Sebastiaan Rothmann Sr.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Mayer, CH., Oosthuizen, R.M. (2019). Developing Leaders in Multicultural Organisational Contexts Within a Positive Psychology Framework: Jung’s Active Imagination Intervention. In: Van Zyl, L., Rothmann Sr., S. (eds) Positive Psychological Intervention Design and Protocols for Multi-Cultural Contexts. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20020-6_16

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation