ABSTRACT
The similarity between the workplace and experiences from our childhood goes beyond the superficial. Counsellors and psychotherapists spend years in their own therapy discovering their own drivers, hooks, and so on, to better understand when and how our childhood scripts are being triggered, which would be problematic in a therapeutic setting. The workplace is not a therapeutic environment, but developing an awareness of our more obvious hooks and drivers will ensure that our encounters are more satisfying and productive. Conversations in the workplace are sometimes intended, perhaps unconsciously, to deflect, defend, or block someone from engaging in an authentic or congruent manner. One of the most powerful ideas to emerge from transactional analysis is the Drama Triangle, which is particularly useful for understanding and then countering the disorientating and painful experience of emotional manipulation. The three positions of the Drama Triangle namely Rescuer, Persecutor, and Victim, have alternatives that correspond to the Winner’s Triangle.
