Key Takeaways:
Defense mechanisms are unconscious psychological responses that protect our ego when we feel threatened
Understanding your common defense mechanisms improves workplace relationships and reduces conflict
Most defense mechanisms form in childhood and emerge automatically when we're triggered
Leaders who recognize defense mechanisms (their own and others') create psychologically safer environments
Self-awareness around triggers and responses creates choice instead of automatic reactions
The Hidden Forces That Shape Workplace Interactions
When tension arises in meetings, projects go off track, or workplace relationships become strained, we often focus on surface-level issues: deadlines, resources, or communication breakdowns. What we rarely examine are the underlying psychological patterns driving these challenges.
In the fourth installment of our "Know Thyself" series, our CEO Ashish Kaushal continued his conversation with Dr. Plummer, CEO of Onyx Therapy Group, exploring how defense mechanisms impact workplace dynamics and professional relationships.
What Are Defense Mechanisms?
Defense mechanisms, a concept originally developed by Sigmund Freud, are unconscious psychological strategies we use to protect ourselves from anxiety, uncomfortable feelings, and perceived threats to our ego.
As Dr. Plummer explained: "Defense mechanisms are not necessarily bad, especially if you're aware of them and you're also aware of your triggers. It's actually a good thing because you don't want to always just accept [everything]."
The challenge emerges when these protective responses activate automatically in situations where they aren't needed or helpful.
Understanding Ego: More Than Just "Having a Big Ego"
Before diving into specific mechanisms, it's important to understand what "ego" actually means in this context. Many people misuse the term, equating it with arrogance or self-importance.
Dr. Plummer clarified: "Ego is not a bad thing. The problem is that we have taken the word 'ego' and made it into essentially defense mechanisms... Ego is a balancer."
In Freudian psychology, the ego sits between the primitive, instinctual id and the moral, rule-following superego. Its role is to balance these forces and help us navigate the world effectively:
"The ego keeps us balanced. The ego is also where our personality lies. But the tricky part about the ego is that part of it is conscious and part of it is subconscious."
This explains why we're often unaware of our defense mechanisms—they operate partially in our subconscious, activating before we've had a chance to consciously evaluate a situation.
Common Defense Mechanisms in the Workplace
While Freud originally identified about 12 defense mechanisms, the list has expanded as our understanding has grown. Here are some of the most common ones you might recognize in your workplace:
1. Intellectualization/Rationalization: Overemphasizing logic and dismissing emotional content to avoid feeling uncomfortable emotions.
Example: A team member responds to critical feedback by analyzing the statistical validity of the assessment process rather than addressing the actual performance issues.
2. Projection: Attributing your own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to others.
Example: A manager who's insecure about their technical skills accuses team members of lacking confidence in their abilities.
3. Displacement: Redirecting emotions from their original source to a safer target.
Example: After being criticized by their boss, an employee becomes unusually harsh with junior team members.
4. Denial: Refusing to accept reality or facts to avoid dealing with the emotional impact.
Example: Continuing to behave as though a failed project is on track, despite clear evidence to the contrary.
5. Repression: Unconsciously forgetting or pushing uncomfortable situations into the subconscious.
Example: A team member genuinely "forgetting" about a tense argument with a colleague when the incident is mentioned later.
How Defense Mechanisms Form
Most defense mechanisms develop during childhood as protective responses. As Dr. Plummer noted:
"Our general defense mechanisms are generally formed in our childhood, so it's based off of who our parents told us to be. So if my parents said, 'Hey, Linnell, you know, you can't be all emotional all the time,' ... sometimes that works, but if you do that too often, it becomes a defense mechanism of rationalization."
These patterns become deeply ingrained, often operating below our conscious awareness. They're triggered automatically when we perceive a threat to our self-image or emotional security.
The Workplace Impact
Defense mechanisms can significantly impact workplace dynamics in several ways:
1. Creating False Narratives: When projection becomes prevalent, workplace "conspiracy theories" can emerge as people attribute motives to others that don't actually exist.
2. Blocking Authentic Communication: Defense mechanisms can prevent genuine dialogue and problem-solving.
3. Generating Unnecessary Conflict: When two people's defense mechanisms interact poorly, simple disagreements can escalate rapidly.
4. Hindering Personal Growth: Strong defense mechanisms can prevent people from receiving feedback and developing professionally.
5. Damaging Team Trust: Persistent defense mechanisms erode psychological safety in teams.
Leaders and Defense Mechanisms
For leaders, understanding defense mechanisms becomes particularly important. Dr. Plummer observed a pattern in how defense mechanisms manifest across organizational hierarchies:
"People who are in leadership positions use defense mechanisms like intellectualizing or rationalizing. And we also see them using defense mechanisms like displacement or projection."
The higher people rise in organizations, the more they may resist vulnerability:
"The higher we go in leadership, the more people are afraid to be vulnerable. Because there's this thought that if they are vulnerable, then they will get fired, if they're vulnerable, it means that they're paying more attention to humans as opposed to the product and the productivity."
This reluctance to show vulnerability can lead to defensive leadership styles that prioritize being right over being effective.
Practical Approaches to Recognizing Your Defense Mechanisms
Ashish shared an exercise he implemented with his team at Consciously Unbiased:
"I had my whole team do the exercise on their own and I asked them not to share it with me or anyone else just so they could be real honest with themselves and basically write how they used [each] defense mechanism... and how they used it in their own personal lives."
This private reflection exercise helped team members recognize their patterns without judgment. As Dr. Plummer noted, this self-awareness creates choice:
"Knowing the defense mechanism is important because it shows you how to move forward at work. But knowing it is also important because it'll show you what part of your childhood or your learning needed to be adjusted."
Other approaches to building this awareness include:
Notice emotional triggers: Pay attention to situations that provoke strong emotional responses
Observe patterns: Look for recurring conflicts or communication breakdowns
Ask trusted colleagues: Request specific feedback on how you respond under pressure
Journal about difficult interactions: Reflect on what happened beneath the surface
Study defense mechanisms: Learn about different mechanisms to spot them in yourself
The "Bringing Your Authentic Self" Myth
An interesting insight from the conversation addressed the popular workplace advice to "bring your authentic self to work." As Ashish noted:
"One of the things that's really been kind of annoying me in the DEI talks is bringing authentic self to work. And I'm like, you have to put context around that because I don't even bring that to my mom."
Dr. Plummer agreed, explaining:
"Whenever you have to deny yourself of who you actually are, it will start to plant a seed of mental illness because you feel like you can't fully be who you are in every place. And that never feels good."
The key distinction is between denying yourself and appropriately adapting to different contexts:
"Maybe people curse when they're at home and they don't curse at work. That doesn't mean that they're not being themselves. It means they're modifying a particular behavior for a particular location."
Effective adaptation preserves your core authenticity while respecting the context—a balance the healthy ego naturally seeks to maintain.
Building a More Psychologically Aware Workplace
Ultimately, the goal isn't to eliminate defense mechanisms—they serve an important protective function. Instead, the aim is to:
Become aware of your defense mechanisms
Recognize when they're being triggered
Create space between trigger and response
Choose more constructive reactions
As Dr. Plummer summarized:
"The defense mechanisms are not necessarily bad, especially if you're aware of them and you're also aware of your triggers. So having a defense mechanism is not bad. It's actually a good thing because you don't want to always just accept, like, you want to be able to process what's going on and think about it."
Watch the Full Conversation
For a deeper exploration of defense mechanisms and how they impact workplace dynamics, watch the full LinkedIn Live conversation.
Poll: Which Defense Mechanism Do You Recognize Most in Your Workplace?
Intellectualization/Rationalization (over-emphasizing logic)
Projection (attributing your feelings to others)
Displacement (redirecting emotions to safer targets)
Denial (refusing to accept reality)
Repression (unconsciously forgetting uncomfortable situations)
Other (share in comments)
Vote to see how your workplace experience compares with our community!
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This post is part of our "Know Thyself" special series on emotional intelligence. Subscribe to be notified of future installments.
What defense mechanism have you noticed in yourself at work? Share in the comments below!
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