Professor Russ Vince

Systems Psychodynamics and

Organizational Paradox

seminar

with Professor Russ Vince

📆 6.00 – 8.00 pm Wednesday 2 July 2025 (Melbourne time)

Systems Psychodynamics and Organizational Paradox

Professor Russ Vince

Organizational paradox involves ‘contradictory yet interdependent elements that exist simultaneously and persist over time’ (Smith and Lewis, 2022). Contradictory ideas, assumptions, ways of working, policy decisions often exist in parallel within organizations. Organizational paradox theory suggests that we adopt a ‘Both/And’ rather than an ‘Either/Or’ perspective on the inevitable contradictions that are integral to organizing.

In this seminar, Professor Russ Vince will briefly introduce organizational paradox theory and show how systems psychodynamic thinking can help us to better understand the interplay between emotion and paradox in organizations. This is important in complex organizational settings where underlying emotions influence both individual behaviour and organizing, as well as affecting the potential for change.

Russ argues that systems psychodynamic thinking helps to develop insights into emotion and paradox that can be applied to learning, teaching and research. Systems psychodynamics provides a frame through which to engage with unconscious emotions and dynamics that underpin the lived experience of organizational paradox, particularly tensions between known and unknown, conscious and unconscious, and conformity and difference.

The practical purpose of these ideas is to help shift the focus from defending against emotions in organizations, to propose ways in which leaders and managers can learn how and why the emotions mobilised by contradictions are integral to their work.

Professor Russ Vince

Professor Emeritus University of Bath, Honorary Professor University of St Andrews, and NIODA PhD Staff member.

Russ Vince is Professor Emeritus of Leadership and Change at the School of Management, University of Bath, UK and Honorary Professor of Management at the University of St Andrews Business School, UK. He is an Academic Staff Member at NIODA and teaches the Research Design and Methods module on NIODA’s PhD programme. In his research, Russ uses systems psychodynamic theory to study emotions and power relations in organizations, and their impact on learning, leading and change. His papers have been published in Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Learning and Education, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Studies, Human Relations, British Journal of Management, and Management Learning. Russ is a former Editor-in-Chief of Management Learning, and a former Associate Editor of the Academy of Management Learning and Education (AMLE) journal. He has led
developments in the application of psychodynamic experiential learning in Business and Management Schools.

Design of the seminar

The seminar will:

Introduce seminar participants to the main ideas that inform both organizational paradox theory and systems psychodynamics.
Provide a framework for thinking about emotion and paradox that helps to change how leaders and managers engage with contradictions.
Offer the opportunity for discussion that focuses on the relevance of these ideas andtheir application in situations of interest to participants.

The seminar is live interactive online via Zoom and the presentation may be recorded.

Readings will be emailed to participants one week prior to the seminar.

Systems Psychodynamics and Organizational Paradox

seminar with Professor Russ Vince

📆 Dates

6.00 – 8.00 pm Wednesday 2 July Melbourne 🇨🇰
4.00 – 6.00 am New York Wednesday 2 July (eek!) 🇺🇸
9.00 – 11.00 am Wednesday 2 July London 🇬🇧
4.00 – 6.00 pm Wednesday 2 July Singapore 🇸🇬
1:30 – 3:30 pm Wednesday 2 July New Delhi 🇮🇳

⏰ Timezones

Calendar invites will be sent to enable a digital calender to calculate your timezone.

💷 For only

AUD $35

👩🏻‍💻 Location

Live interactive online via zoom