ABSTRACT
Humans are complex social and emotional beings. Relationships forged in the earliest stages of our existence are continually recast and recreated as we bring these interpersonal elements of our humanity into new relationships in all realms of life, including the workplace. Most of us interact with day-to-day managers who try to anticipate and respond to a multitude of economic, social, and behavioral challenges in order to accomplish the goals of a company or other organization. In transposing ideas about good enough parenting to “good enough managing” in organizations, several important themes and implications begin to emerge. The concept of “good enough” is based on the psychological theories of Donald Winnicott, a British pediatrician and psychoanalyst who observed and developed ideas about humans’ earliest interpersonal encounters. The essential components of the conceptual orientation are very consistent with Winnicott’s “good enough” human development process that emphasizes the importance of empathy, play, and the mutual creation of meaning in the primary mother–child relationship.
