8

The Existential Stance

Existential philosophy offers a great deal to the coach who can effectively pick and choose among the many views subsumed under the title of existentialism. This is no easy task, as the existential literature is varied and often complex, meaning different things to different people. The parable of the blind men comes to mind, as they describe an elephant differently based upon whether they felt the trunk or the ear or the tail or the tusk. More often than not, existential ideas are presented in a fictional form, and authors are unwilling to interpret them for readers. Those who subsequently explain their fiction typically do so in language nearly impossible to decipher. Many of the most influential existential thinkers refused to even embrace the label existential, as there is very little agreement among them and they tended to be independent in the extreme. Most wrote in revolt or rejection of the ideas of those who preceded them. Whereas classical philosophers advocate reason, existentialists call for passion. One can find numerous books and essays with titles such as “What Is Existentialism?” but one would be hard-pressed to come up with a single tome that adequately captures and digests it all. Existentialism is less an -ism than a way of approaching things, a stance or a “posture.” In spite of the fact that existentialism does not lend itself to easy application, existential philosophy has had a powerful impact on psychotherapy theory and practice, and it has enormously useful potential for the executive coach.

The coach’s first challenge is to figure out what existentialism is and just what it recommends. This can be a daunting task. The second step is to choose a discrete number of views or principles and decide how to apply them to the workplace. These two tasks are the goals of this chapter. Such an endeavor necessarily requires (useful) oversimplification.

History and Background

It is fair to say that threads of existential thought run from Socrates through the Bible and on into modern culture. The cubicle philosophies of Dilbert were surely informed by Franz Kafka, and the motion picture Groundhog Day is an illustration of Friedrich Nietzsche’s eternal recurrence, a test to determine whether any given day is being “lived” properly. (The test: How would you feel if you were to relive this day over and over again?) Prominent existentialists have been a varied lot, and most of them could have been called “characters.” Some were Christians, some were atheists, some were Jews, and one or two were Nazis. Most philosophical historians trace the identifiable origins of existentialism to the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, who lived from 1770 until 1831. Among other things, Hegel wrote about the human spirit and asserted that it is the history of our spirit (as expressed in custom, law, and art) that defines us (Barrett, 1964). Subsequent existential thinkers rebelled against this idea, focusing instead on the view that “existence precedes essence,” meaning that each human has no fixed essence, except as it is shown through moment-to-moment behavior, which can always change. Our personality (an example of essence) does not define us; personality is simply a label, and a rather global one at that. Our choices define us after we make them, and then we are free to make new ones in the next moment. We choose ourselves. Our essence (or reputation) is defined by our existence (our moment-to-moment choices), not the other way around. Your reputation does not determine your behavior. Your behavior, as manifested by your choices, defines your reputation, and that can change, based upon new choices. Most existentialists steadfastly resist labeling people. Labels are for things (like a vase, which has permanent and consistent qualities).

People exist only in the present and can make new choices each day, and people exist in social contexts and roles. A teacher is only a teacher in the presence of students. In a casino, that same person becomes a gambler.

Existentialism raises issues most of us would prefer to ignore. Existentialists tend to be preoccupied with themes of death, anxiety, dread, failure, and the absurd. A brief story (circa 1840) from Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) is illustrative. It is about how he became a philosopher while watching his cigar smoke disappear into the air of a Danish café. His friends had all chosen careers and were busy with their work, but he had not.

Kierkegaard realized that he did not have to look far for these difficulties, as they were right there in front of him in his own life, in his own concrete existence. He was aware of his own pain and choices and anxieties, and to focus on these aspects of his existence would require a rejection of Hegel and spirit. He resolved “to create difficulties everywhere.” So, off he went. In the end, he was famous for his epitaph: “That individual” (Kaufmann, 1956).

At about the same time (1844–1849) Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote 10 novels and many short stories before he was thrown into a Russian prison. He wrote of the tragic side of life (a life that he knew all too well), the less attractive qualities of humans (depravity), and the central importance of individual choice and freedom in human existence (Dostoevsky, 1992).

Kierkegaard’s work was eventually translated into German, and Karl Theodor Jaspers (1883–1969) and Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) built upon it in the period following World War I. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was born in Germany in 1844, wrote until the late 1800s, and died in 1900. His work was profoundly influential in his time, is still controversial, and is largely misunderstood. Some of Nietzsche’s ideas can be offensive and objectionable. Of importance to this chapter, however, is his emphasis on independent morality, on making the most of who you are, and of excellence over mediocrity. It was his view that humans have a moral obligation to become “excellent” rather than give in to the inclination to inertia and the herd mentality. Nietzsche exhorts us to get up off the couch, get going, and to take life seriously (Solomon, 1995). He tells us to stop preparing for life and start living it, even to live dangerously (Kaufmann, 1956). He also described something he called “the will to power” (Nietzsche, 1968), advocating that each of us do what it takes to have a major say in our own lives, and that we develop, nurture, and use our willpower (King & Citrenbaum, 1993).

German work was translated into French in the 1930s and was met with great enthusiasm by French intellectuals who were turned off by bourgeois culture, and were facing Nazi occupation and another absurd world war. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) fought against the German army and helped lead French underground resistance during World War II. His essays and fiction put existentialism on the American literary map, and he shocked and confused many readers in the 1950s with themes of authenticity (vs. self-deception), absolute personal responsibility, the inherent conflict in human relationships, and his notion that the existence or nonexistence of God was irrelevant to the human condition.

At about the same time in France, the Algerian author Albert Camus (1913–1960) produced strange fiction about the absurdity and pointlessness of life. He concluded, somewhat paradoxically, that absurdity opens the door to happiness. “One does not discover the absurd without being tempted to write a manual of happiness. … Happiness and the absurd are two sons of the same earth” (Camus, 1955, p. 122). In an ending too perfect even for fiction, Camus died in an automobile crash at the age of 47. He was not driving the car and had a train ticket and an unpublished manuscript in his pocket.

Key Ideas

This practical summary of essential existential concepts is presented (at great risk of trivializing complex points of view) so that a coach can grasp the basics and choose and use valuable aspects. The interested reader is referred to Olson’s An Introduction to Existentialism (1962) for a more complete (and still accessible) background and explanation.

Traditional philosophers typically assert that the values of the “ordinary man” (or ordinary person) are bound to frustrate and disappoint. The pursuit of money, physical pleasure, and fame or social approval will not suffice. These values, which most of us seek to some extent in real life, are inadequate on several levels. First, success in attaining these goals is substantially outside of the personal control of most people. The essential determining factors are capricious, beginning with factors having to do with birth and ending with vagaries of luck. Second, even if you do achieve a certain amount of success in finance, physical pleasure, and fame, this can be swept away in an instant, sometimes by factors over which you have no control. Physical satisfaction is guaranteed to dissipate with age. Third, the satisfaction yielded by these values is transient, and they tend to generate a wish for “more.” The small number of people who have achieved financial wealth, physical pleasure, and social approval (and are satisfied with these things) might view these observations as “sour grapes,” but existential philosophy asserts that this simplistic assessment is unwise.

Philosophers have recommended several ways to emancipate oneself from the pitfalls of traditional values. Stoics and cognitive psychologists advocate that you should “wish for things to be as they are,” rather than wishing life to be different (Olson, 1962). We cannot make life deliver what we want, but we can control what we think and desire. Rigorous, self-disciplined thought is key. Enlightenment philosophers advocate the opposite: We should relentlessly strive to change our environment so that we get what we want. A hard look at the world and the history of human happiness quickly negates the likelihood that ordinary people can ever hope that society can be counted on to deliver consistent happiness. For others the secret is in “enlarging our perspective” (Olson, 1962, p. 11) and focusing all of our attention on some object of greater good, such as beauty or nature or love or God. In this way, we are liberated from the problems of unreliable sources of happiness. This was where Hegel entered the picture with his advocacy of the “Absolute Spirit.”

Existentialists typically mock and denounce the idea that there is any way for humans to live a completely happy or satisfying life. Life is characterized by frustration, disappointment, and loss. These things are an undeniable and central aspect of everyone’s life. They cannot be made to go away, neither by extreme real-world efforts nor by mental denial. They assert that “the only life worth living is one in which this fact is squarely faced” (Olson, 1962, p. 14). To be totally happy is not human. The values and perspectives that derive from this acceptance are the ones worth living for. It is through the acceptance of pain and the ever-present possibility of loss that we become fully alive. We cannot really love without exposing ourselves to the possibility of great loss. Love without such possibility is more like habit or routine. It is a going-through-the-motions way to love. It is likely to be numb. To have a satisfying career is to take risk. Without the risk, work becomes tedium. Existentialism urges us to take the risk (with eyes wide open) and avoid the tedium. Life is to be lived intensely, not tediously.

The values that derive from this point of view include free choice, individual self-assertion, authentic love, and creative endeavor. The practical implications of these and several other existential values will be outlined for the coach in the rest of this chapter.

Six Core Concepts for the Executive Coach

Individuality and Context

Existentialism points out that no one is a fixed person. Things are fixed. A pencil is a pencil in every context, but a person is different in different contexts and different relationships. You think and behave differently when you are with your friends than you do when you are at an important meeting with bosses or potential clients. This is not simple phoniness; it is a function of “background,” of role and relationship. Spinelli and Horner (2008) see this notion as a foundational condition of existential life, that of “inter-relation” or “the inter-relatedness of being.” Human behavior is best understood in context, and social psychology has highlighted the fundamental attribution error, the tendency to overestimate internal (personal) factors and underestimate situational factors. Even though you may have excellent data from a 360-degree evaluation, as well as an earful from key people in the organization, be prepared to encounter your executive clients in a fresh and original way yourself. Clear out your preconceptions before you begin to work with them. Find out what makes them tick and find out what they are like when they are with you. Then compare the “data” you get with those impressions and figure out why they might be different. Understand your clients in the context of their work relationship world.

Choice

To live is to choose, to make endless choices from moment to moment, each and every day. Existential writers call attention to the anguish of freedom, freedom made difficult because we have so much choice, with no guarantee that the choices we make will ever work out. Things could turn into disasters, and when we choose one thing, we forgo something else. What if the thing we do not choose would have been much better? This decision-making function of life is central to the existential view of things, and it is the cause of much of the anxiety we all feel. Existence is the process of choosing, and in this view existence (the things that we do) precedes essence (the “way” we are). We create ourselves by our choices from moment to moment. We are not a certain “way” and must therefore choose a certain way. We are free to choose in each present moment, thereby defining our selves. The way we were in the past does not constrain us (except in the form of restrictive thinking), and the future is just in front of us, waiting to be chosen in this way or that.

The ultimate choice is in our choice of meanings. We even choose what things mean. It is human nature to try to figure out what things “mean.” In the existential view, meanings are not given or fixed; we choose them for ourselves. One must not accept the common explanations. Each of us must figure them out for ourself and assign our own meanings. No one is locked in a previous identity or habit pattern. We are free to learn new ways, to make new kinds of choices. Even when we cannot choose what is happening—or the circumstances—we can still choose how to react and respond to those circumstances. This is a philosophy of independence.

Coaches can observe their clients and notice the ways that they restrict themselves, the ways that they decline to choose, and then encourage clients to notice those things, too. Effective choosing requires constant self-examination, and coaches can teach their executive clients how to do that. As coaches they can serve as a constant reminder for self-awareness and deliberate self-consciousness. Help clients make wise, well-considered choices. Help them notice when they have stopped choosing or when they let others choose for them, or when they move along thoughtlessly from day to day, just to go with the flow.

Intensity

In existential thought, death is the great motivator. Death ends everything, and, since we cannot predict when we will die, it is ever-present in life. Each of us could die today, and some of us will. Death is a possibility at every moment. Therefore, we must make every moment count.

Since death is frightening to most humans, we tend to create ways to avoid thinking about it, to avoid noticing its presence, in spite of the absolute fact that each of us will die. We distract ourselves, make ourselves numb, we become detached. But this does not work. It does not indemnify against death and it makes life less worth living. The existential view is to reject mediocrity and tedium and to become fully engaged in life, as if each day were our last (as it very well might be). This means that we take risks, we get involved, and we become actors rather than spectators. We cannot wait, because we have no assurance that we have much time. We just do it, as Nike seems to have noticed.

Death’s presence also serves as a values clarifier. If you are aware that your life is time limited, does that influence what you do today? Do you choose A or B? The importance of one thing over another changes when you factor your own death into the picture. You might just make more “authentic” choices, choices that reflect the more “real” values that you possess, the things that you (yourself) really care about. You might make choices based upon the things that are more important to you, instead of the ones that are easier to choose, or the ones that others prefer, or the ones you made yesterday.

As Olson (1962, p. 196) put it, “Death releases human energies only by revealing the insignificance of ordinary pursuits.” When we realize that we are going to die, we commit to things, we create things, we connect to people, and we focus. We refuse to fritter time and relationships and consciousness. In this way, death is our ally. It sharpens living. It demands focus.

The Herd Instinct

One of the most misunderstood philosophers of the genre is Nietzsche, and some of what he wrote was clearly objectionable. But one of his key ideas is of great value to the coach. He observed that humans are inclined to be lazy, to be fearful, to seek comfort, and to hide behind habits that keep us safe and the same and distract us from our appointment with death. He also observed that humans in society do not tend to think much for themselves. Instead, they tend to take the mentally easy way and to let others think for them. They accept the prevailing wisdom rather than come up with their own point of view. They take the path of least resistance. He observed that most of us live with a “slave morality.” Nietzsche advocated that we instead “live dangerously,” that we avoid becoming the “organization man,” that we resist being caught up in the corporate shuffle, or in the prevailing attitudes of the times. He would have shouted, “Think for yourself!”

Coaches can take the same point of view, can root out this trend in a client’s behavior, and confront clients about the ways they are simply acting out values that are not their own, or taking viewpoints that they have not themselves chosen. Coaches are in a perfect position, as an outsider, to stand outside of the force of the organizational trance state and to help an executive cut through unexamined premises and conclusions. Coaches can be advocates for thoughtfulness and for individual decision making.

Conflict and Confrontation

Sartre’s view was that confrontation is the basis for all authentic human relationships. Conflict is not to be avoided—indeed, it is through conflict that we forge real relationships and relationships of trust. He makes this point most dramatically in his play No Exit, which takes place in Hell. Three characters are stuck with each other and are constantly in disagreement and disapproval, but, surprisingly, they find that they cannot exist without one another. There is no exit from human conflict and confrontation. The available exits, such as accommodation, denial, placation, and withdrawal, are inauthentic and they result in a numbing tediousness. We need the very people who drive us crazy. Conflict is not only essential to human relationships; it is the very foundation of authentic living. There is no benefit, to the existentialist, in getting along. We must challenge, confront, and be real with others.

Authentic relationships encourage the other person to be free, to make whatever choices they find appealing to become their individual selves. Sidney Jourard observed that “manipulation begets counter-manipulation” (1971, p. 142), and this is wonderful advice for a manager or leader, especially as the American worker continues to evolve toward greater autonomy (in good economic times, at least). Manipulation and control of others simply does not work in the long run, and in the short run, when it does seem to work, it creates unacceptable negative side effects. This makes leadership challenging. Other people are not to be used, and we are not to be used by them. We are not objects or “personnel,” none of us.

The Absurd

Several existential writers deal explicitly with the idea that fundamental aspects of life are simply absurd, and there is no escaping this fact, no matter how hard we try, no matter how much we pretend that things make sense. In Kafka’s The Metamorphosis (1966), the main character is surprised to wake up one morning to discover that he is a cockroach. In The Trial (Kafka, 1956), a man is arrested, tried, and convicted without ever finding out what he was accused of. In Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus (1955), a man is sentenced to roll a huge rock up a steep hill (eternally), only to have it roll right back down again once it reaches the top. In The Stranger (Camus, 1942) a man is convicted of murder, mostly because a jury felt disgusted that he had not properly grieved over his mother’s natural death.

Existentialism highlights the utter unpredictability of things (including the fact that we could die at any moment) and celebrates it. The fact that the universe is inexplicable to us—especially when we so desire to make sense of it all—is the ultimate evidence of the absurd (Thody, 1957). We are wired to make meaning, yet we cannot. We wish to understand, but we consistently fail to do so. Life is full of brutal contradictions that we cannot possibly control.

Most of us are tempted to ignore this reality, to deny it, or to pretend it is not true. We create order in things and we insist that our order be honored. But even though it is important to establish order as best we can, it is a mistake to insist that our order prevail. The very nature of life shatters our orderly illusion. The roof can cave in at any moment, and sometimes it does.

This fact is not depressing to the existential thinker, however. In fact, the absurd opens the door to happiness. It is in total acceptance of the uncertainty of life’s contradictions that we become free enough to engage ourselves in the regular day-to-day events and pleasures and to really appreciate them. They are our life. They are where we live. Life is crazy, and it is a joy that way. When life turns in a strange direction, we smile. There is a classic anecdote that makes this point:

Ten Existential Guidelines for the Executive Coach

1. Honor Individuality—First, approach each new coaching client with a freshness and willingness to see him or her as unique. Reinforce your clients’ points of view. Help them figure out what those views are, what they really think and feel, and then support that point of view. Help them learn about themselves and to accept their inconsistencies. Check to see if they value their own personal point of view or, rather, if they diminish its importance relative to the point of view of others in the organization. Strengthen their confidence in their own perceptions and conclusions. Their personal point of view is of intrinsic value, even if they should choose to reexamine and change it as a result of the coaching process. Help them to figure out what is really important to them. Then discern where that fits into their career and their organization’s priorities. This process may frighten your clients (or it may not), but it must be done. Help clients avoid a herd mentality and a group morality. Help them choose their own point of view. In the existential perspective, autonomy in self and others is valued and promoted.

   Avoid typing people. Do not put too much stock in what others say about your clients. Experience them freshly for yourself. It is likely that you will have similar impressions and come to similar conclusions, but you must do this for yourself. Look for the truth about your clients inside of yourself.

2. Encourage Choice—Remind your clients that they choose their identity each moment of each day. Existence precedes essence. Their reputation need not constrain them. They can remake their “self.” They can make new choices and behave or prioritize in new ways, starting now. Once they establish a pattern of different choices and different behaviors, others will eventually begin to look at them differently, and they will establish a new reputation and a new identity, even to themselves. When clients choose not to change circumstances, remind them that they still have the ability to make a more important and powerful choice: that of meaning. They choose what things mean to them, they choose how to react, and they choose how to respond. They even get to choose their attitude.
3. Get Going—The time for waiting is over. In Samuel Beckett’s 1953 play Waiting for Godot, two actors talk for hours about how great it will be when Godot arrives, but he never does. They wait and wait in eager anticipation and shades of intermittent disappointment for naught. Godot finally sends a message that he will surely come tomorrow. The waiters consider suicide (along with the audience, most of whom grew tired of the waiting long before the actors).

   Exhort your clients to take risks, to get involved, to act, even to “live dangerously” sometimes. Life is finite, short sometimes, and we do not have any guarantee that we will be alive tomorrow. This means that we must squeeze each day for as much life as possible.

   When you enter the world of your clients, look for ways that they have avoided risk or danger, ways that they have made themselves numb, ways that they have withdrawn from the action or narrowed the field. Point these things out to clients and urge them to reconsider. Numb is no way to live, and the existentialist is wary of comfort. We are actors, not spectators in life’s adventures.

4. Anticipate Anxiety and Defensiveness—Anyone who is a coaching client will feel anxiety. This is expected and “normal.” Beware of a client who reports no anxiety, for it means that he or she is not willing on able to notice or discuss feelings or their subjective inner state. It is appropriate for coaching clients to be anxious about coaching or about the situation they face, given that they must change or grow. Change is often frightening, and it adds to the “regular” anxiety associated with a life that is already understood to be out of control, in the existential sense. A coach need not make much of this anticipated anxiety, but can “normalize” or even welcome it.

   Resistance and defensiveness can also be anticipated in the coaching process because, as Maslow (1968) pointed out, growth and safety pull in opposite directions, and all humans are drawn to both of those goals. Assume that resistance in clients is always present to some extent and in some form, and do not be disappointed when it erupts. It is an essential part of the change process and coaches must actively contend with it.

5. Commit to Something—Existentialism urges us to get involved with the regular activities of everyday life, and to do it with a passion. Do not accept it when your clients hang back. Urge them to get involved with those things that are important to them, even if others do not agree with their priorities. Help them to really dig in to something and to make it important. Such a commitment can lead to excellence and to exceptionality. Mediocrity, especially when it represents a dull, reactive, go-with-the-flow mentality is to be banished. Regular daily activities are understood as a distraction from commitment to something that is really important. Activity and intensity are valued. We only find out what we are made of when we are tested.
6. Value Responsibility Taking—Existentialism urges us to take responsibility for the choices we have made. We did it, we chose it, and we now live with the choices and implications. Assess your clients along this dimension. Ask them what their view is on responsibility, ask others about this in your 360-degree evaluation. Observe them in action. Ask them to describe the last time they publicly took responsibility for something that went wrong in the organization. Help clients take responsibility for the decisions they make and the actions they take. Help them become known as responsibility takers in their organizations. Do not let them duck things. Coworkers and subordinates love people who take active responsibility and scorn those who do not. Certainly the act of data collection—and asking for feedback—along with the changes these might incite, represents an exercise in choice.
7. Conflict and Confrontation—In the existential view, interpersonal conflict is unavoidable, yet many people characteristically avoid conflict. This is a mistake, and coaches must assess their clients along this dimension. Ask your clients how they evaluate themselves. Do they enjoy conflict? Do they thrive on it? Does conflict make them feel like they are more fully alive? Or do they hate it? Does conflict scare them?

   Certainly no one would advocate unnecessary conflict, but most people are likely to avoid rather than confront. Existentialism sees conflict as an essential aspect of any authentic relationship, and confrontation is necessary from time to time to keep a relationship “real” and valid. Of course, there are better and worse ways to handle confrontation, and a good coach can help clients learn how to do it. It helps to view conflict and confrontation as a potentially positive aspect of organizational life, rather than merely a symptom of dysfunction. Pseudotranquility and pseudomutuality ought to be of more concern than active confrontation from time to time.

   There is another aspect of the conflict inherent in human relations. Sometimes the very people who drive you crazy are the ones you need the most, so it can be a terrible idea to reject them too readily. There may be important lessons to learn from uncomfortable or annoying others, and as Sartre concluded in No Exit (1989), we need each other, even the people we despise.

8. Create and Sustain Authentic Relationships—This advice applies to coaches and clients as well. Both will benefit from authenticity in work relationships. Coaches should strive for real relationships with clients, and clients ought to strive for realness in organizational work relationships. An authentic relationship occurs when both parties treat each other as autonomous entities to be respected. The truth is told and neither manipulates for personal benefit. People are not instruments for the accomplishment of some work purpose. They are individuals to be met with respect rather than treated as interchangeable components (personnel) in the labor market (Shinn, 1959). In the existential view, other people are neither to be manipulated nor obeyed. Gemeinschaftsgefhül, or the feeling that we all belong to the community of humans, is the existential view (Jourard & Landsman, 1980).

   Authentic behavior with a client means you put into words what you are experiencing with the client as you work. This is the most powerful thing you can do to have the leverage you are looking for and to build client commitment. (Block, 2000, p. 37)

9. Welcome and Appreciate the Absurd—Organizations are full of examples of absurdity, and anyone who has ever worked in a large (or small) organization knows how ridiculous things can get. This is simply normal. Assess your clients to see how well they understand this fact and what they do with it. Do they whine or complain when things do not go the way they were supposed to? Do they get angry when their planning goes awry? Help them appreciate how out of control life really is, and help them become more accepting and flexible. Help them find humor in the contradictions. If you can find the absurd to be humorous, you have got it made.
10. Clients Must Figure Things out Their Own Way—No one can tell you the answers to the most important questions. You have to figure them out for yourself, in your own way. Coaches have to figure out what this means to them, as well as how to “teach” important things to clients, to help them learn essential lessons or skills. Such teaching is rarely direct, as most humans resist being told what to do. Kierkegaard advocated “indirect communication” and added that truth requires self-discovery. It cannot be handed from one person to another.

    Suppose an artist, for example, explains to you that a certain picture is beautiful. You believe him. You go around repeating the conclusion, “That picture is beautiful.” But you do not understand what you are saying unless you personally have discovered the beauty. (Shinn, 1959, p. 92)

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Existential Viewpoint in Coaching

The existential way of living and coaching promotes a thoughtful and energetic approach to things. It can be exciting and productive and satisfying. It can promote creativity and action. It can result in relationships that are close, substantial, and enduring. It promotes organizations that are alive and exciting.

There are downsides, however, to the existential stance, and they must be acknowledged. First, the classic existential writers were ineffective at politics and often not so good at social relationships. They have a poor track record, as might be expected, in matters that require finesse, restraint, and compromise, and much of real-life corporate success requires a shrewd political savvy. In fact, it might even be said that the intense, committed person only fits into a small (but important) number of corporate slots (chief executive officer [CEO] perhaps being one of them). It is possible, sometimes, for the passionate one to mistake intensity for wisdom. It is true that existentialist writers often seemed to advocate any decision, as long as it was individually and authentically made, without much concern about the wisdom in the decision itself. Decisiveness is sometimes even valued over reason (Shinn, 1959).

The core values of existential thinking are deeply Western, written for the most part by Northern European males. They reflect a belief in individualism and personal autonomy. Taken superficially, an existential view could lead to a kind of individualism that is thoughtless or empty of direction. This kind of individualism for the sake of itself does not work very well in real life or in organizations, and it clashes with core values that have other cultural roots. Some cultures value a more collective view and can find direct interpersonal confrontation to be difficult, counterproductive, and even offensive.

Last, many people have inaccurate negative stereotypes of existential ideas. They associate existentialism with nihilism (a negation of all values or a rejection of law or order) and with godlessness. They also see it as a gloomy point of view, which it most certainly is not. But the ideas of existential writers are complex, and it is easy to see how such misunderstandings arise, and the original writers often did little to clear them up. Nonetheless, it may be simplest and smart to low-key the overt expression of existential ideas and simply bring the best of the existential approach to the coaching process without a label. Coaches might consider the “Recommended Readings” section to decide for themselves what they think.

References

Barrett, W. (1964). What is existentialism? New York: Grove Press.

Beckett, S. (1954). Waiting for Godot: Tragicomedy in two acts. New York: Grove Press.

Block, P. (2000). Flawless consulting: A guide to getting your expertise used (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

Camus, A. (1942). The stranger. New York: Random House.

Camus, A. (1955). The myth of Sisyphus and other essays. New York: Random House.

Dostoevsky, F. (1992). The best short stories of Dostoevsky. New York: The Modern Library.

Jourard, S. (1971). The transparent self. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Jourard, S., & Landsman, T. (1980). Healthy personality (4th ed.). New York: Macmillan.

Kafka, F. (1956). The trial. New York: Vintage.

Kafka, F. (1966). The metamorphosis. New York: Norton.

Kaufmann, W. (1956). Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. New York: World.

King, M., & Citrenbaum, C. (1993). Existential hypnotherapy. New York: Guilford.

Maslow, A. H. (1968). Toward a psychology of being. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Nietzsche, F. (1968). The will to power (W. Kaufmann & J. R. Hollingdale, Trans.). New York: Vintage.

Olson, R. (1962). An introduction to existentialism. New York: Dover.

Sartre. J.-P. (1965). Essays in existentialism. Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press.

Sartre, J.-P. (1989). No exit and three other plays. New York: Vintage.

Shinn, R. (1959). The existentialist posture. New York: Association Press.

Solomon, R. (1995). No excuses: Existentialism and the meaning of life, parts I and II (Audiotaped lectures). Springfield, VA: The Teaching Company.

Spinelli, E., & Horner, C. (2008). Existential approach to coaching psychology. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of coaching psychology (pp. 118–132). London: Routledge.

Thody, P. (1957). Albert Camus: A study of his work. New York: Grove Press.

Recommended Readings

Cohn, H. W. (1997). Existential thought and therapeutic practice. London: Sage.

Spinelli, E. (2005). The interpreted world (2nd ed.). London: Sage.