Jaki wpływ mają "style przywiązania" na środowisko pracy? (wersja angielska)

The way leaders behave toward their teams can be driven by the huge numbers of factors starting from the current working culture and environment, through the experience they got during their professional lifetime, up to the individual awareness. I remember my entry to the corporate world. I thought that the managers I met were tough, confident and knew what to do in every situation. Growing in an organizational hierarchy and getting to know my peer colleagues, I understood how much work on ‘self’ it takes to create such an image of control.

Apart from the simple need to perform, there must be at least a second layer determining leaders’ behaviour which potentially can be grounded in the attachment theory. It implies that every individual has an innate desire to seek proximity with caregiver from the early childhood. If the needs of children to build the relationship with caregivers are met, they develop the sense of security, which determines their future relations with others throughout their lives (Bowlby, 1969). Further essential research led to the identification of adult attachment schemes, known as attachment styles, which define individuals’ dependability of others and their ‘lovableness’ of self. There are the following attachment styles distinguished (Ainsworth et al, 1978):

Avoidant (fearful, dismissing) - individuals scoring high on this dimension have a negative image of others, and that is why they dismiss the intimate relationship. (Brennan, Clark & Shaver, 1998).

Anxious - individuals tend to create the negative image of themselves and are anxious about others' readiness to respond (Boccato & Capozza, 2011).

Secure - refers to the situation when it is easy for individual to become close to others. The feeling of being dependent on others and have others dependent is found equally comfortable (Ainsworth et al, 1978).

The leaders’ attachment styles may play an important role in the way the teams are led in the organization. The specific attachment gained in the childhood significantly impacts the approach that leaders have toward their team members. The insecure types of attachment require the special attention as they can adversely affect the workplace. The avoidance can result in creating the disrespectful, and stressful environment, whereas the anxiety dimension may deprive discipline. Consequently, the work efficiency is reduced, teams stay demotivated and morale is low. It may seem an over-simplified finding, however, it reflects certain directions where the leaders’ behaviours corresponding to the attachment styles can expand. On the contrary, the secure attachment style enables to create a safe and respectful work environment where individuals are listened, encouraged, motivated and supported. They can experiment and learn by their mistakes.

My standpoint is that the key outcome of this paper reveals how crucial self-awareness is. Not only does it allow us to realize what our behaviour patterns are, but most significantly it encourages us to understand what is driving these patterns. Respectively, lack of understanding of our attachment style forces us to keep repeating the same mistakes which can cause the irreversible damage to the team. The underlying finding is that, as soon as we discover our personal attachment style, by raising our own awareness, we can take an attempt to control our behaviours effectively.

REFERENCES:

Ainsworth, M., Blehar, M., Waters, E. & Wall, S. (1978), 'Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of strange situations.', Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
Boccat, G. and Capozza, D. (2011), 'Attachment styles and social groups: A review of a decade'. TPM, 18(1): 19-30
Bowlby, J. (1969), 'Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment', New York, Basic Books
Brennan, K. A., Clark, C. L. & Shaver, P. R. (1998), 'Self-report of adult romantic attachment: An integrative overview. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), 'Attachment theory and close relationship.', pp. 47-76. New York: Guilford Press