Mark Stein, 'Leader's revenge and the loss of autonomy'

The taking of revenge by leaders is an enduring theme in biblical stories, ancient mythology and Shakespearean tragedies, but has received limited attention in organization studies and contemporary debates on leadership. Using psychoanalytic concepts, I set out a theoretical framework that identifies the key components of the leader’s revenge. I draw on the example of Dick Fuld at Lehman Brothers to illustrate these themes. 

    The contribution of this paper is fivefold. First, the central place of the leader’s revenge in classical literature indicates a gap in the organization studies and leadership literature, which I address. Second, where on occasion references to revenge do occur in the literature in the psychoanalytic study of organizations, I call into question the underlying assumption that revenge is a retaliation towards the ‘other’ who has caused one hurt, and argue that revenge can also involve the retaliation towards the ‘unwanted self’ projected into the other. Third, against the assumption that the autonomy of leaders to act ethically is constrained by organizational and financial factors, I argue that emotions – especially those involved in revenge – play a key role. Fourth, in exploring revenge, I call into question implicit assumptions of leader autonomy and control in emotional intelligence. Fifth, the paper contributes to thinking about ways for dealing with the impulse among leaders to exact revenge.