An Exploration of the Uncanny and Mystical Influences Developing Leadership Thinking, in the Context of Rising Technological Complexity and Declining Organisational Certainty.

This thesis is based on a research study conducted into understanding the uncanny and mystical influences developing leadership thinking. Using biographical interviews, the study examines how leaders use such alternative perspectives during periods of rupture and uncertainty in their professional careers. I will also consider how personal and professional biography is convergent in participants' understanding of the need for irrational thinking in response to the increasing logic of work. The thesis will go on to explore how the formation of superordinate objects may provide containment when other complex systems appear unable to do so. Key words: the uncanny, mystical, death instinct, establishment, superordinate object, containment, mourning.