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The Tavistock and portman, NHS Foundation Trust
Professor Paul Hoggett and the D10D Course Team

Thinking about organisations: First open lecture takes place

We welcomed Professor Paul Hoggett from the University of the West of England to speak at The Tavistock Centre.

On Thursday 14 November 2024, our Advanced practice and research: consultation and the organisation (D10D) team hosted the first in a new series of open lectures by distinguished guest speakers – exploring some of the latest ideas and developments in organisational and social dynamics.

Paul Hoggett Open Lecture - Cropped

Entitled Dilemmas, Predicaments and Tragedy: The Art of Failing Better, the first lecture was delivered by Emeritus Professor Paul Hoggett of The University of the West of England. Recently retired as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, Professor Hoggett was a founding editor of the OPUS journal Organisational and Social Dynamics and a founder and chair of the Climate Psychology Alliance (CPA).

In his lecture, Professor Hoggett critiqued “management speak”, with its language of empowerment, mission and deliverables, as a somewhat hubristic view that has little connection with the reality of organisational life. He suggested that, while comforting, it may lead to highly problematic consequences, and instead proposed that “a healthy sense of tragedy” – in which we acknowledge the inevitable challenges and struggles of organisational life – might nurture a different kind of creativity.

Dr Nick Waggett and Professor Mark Stein have been responsible for arranging the new lecture series, and were delighted to see it get off to such a strong start, commenting: “Paul Hoggett is a creative and engaging speaker and writer, whose work on psychosocial issues has been influential on our own professional doctorate in consultation and the organisation. This was a thought-provoking lecture, which stimulated a great deal of discussion. The other speakers in this series will contribute further thinking about organisations, which we anticipate will also be of interest to a wide audience.”

Upcoming open lectures

Our Advanced practice and research: consultation and the organisation (D10D) team look forward to welcoming three more eminent speakers to present at The Tavistock Centre over the coming months. Current students and members of staff are invited to attend these lectures in-person, while others are welcome to join our free livestream via Zoom. Upcoming lectures include:

Intrigued? Learn more

If you are a leader, manager or consultant looking to take your professional and academic development to the next level, our professional doctorate in Advanced practice and research: consultation and the organisation (D10D) may be for you. Over five years, it will equip you to explore the most complex organisational issues, contribute to the discipline knowledge base, and develop others in this area.

Learn more and start your application
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