Leadership Development with Archetypes

The PMAI instrument can be used in a variety of settings as a tool for leadership development. Living out archetypal stories fosters individuation and thus the development of the mature capacity to take responsibility in the world—the tools necessary for good leadership.

Many people in today's culture have not fully matured enough to exercise leadership. Even in midlife, when something goes wrong in their families, neighborhoods, workplaces, or the nation, they unconsciously expect others to fix it, perhaps even complaining about the sad state of the world as if they have no responsibility for it.

The hero's journey provides a metaphor for the individuation process—the process by which people prepare to take on the responsibilities of mature adulthood and of leadership. This can involve exercising individual leadership (as a parent, a boss, a community leader, a political office holder) and/or participating in shared leadership (such as being a good voter, a concerned citizen, a member of a work or volunteer team, a responsible family member).

Understanding and assessing the higher-level expressions of each archetype can translate into important leadership attitudes and skills. Some of the higher-level attributes of the archetypes are described here:

• The Idealist is optimistic, trusts life and others, and inspires others to have faith and to do their best.
• The Realist is realistic, resilient, empathic, and helps others anticipate possible trouble.
• The Warrior sets clear goals, organizes others to achieve them, and heads off the challenges/adversaries that might get in the way of accomplishing them.
• The Caregiver shows care for employees or followers, nurturing and caring for them as well as himself or herself.
• The Seeker pursues new ideas, experiences, and ways of doing things, and appreciates others who see opportunities or provide perspectives.
• The Lover is passionate, enthusiastic, and able to help people really love their work and appreciate one another, building truly bonded teams.
• The Revolutionary recognizes when things are not working, makes needed sacrifices, and takes strong but compassionate action to prune back areas that do not fit one's needs.
• The Creator provides a clear vision for where the enterprise is going and is imaginative, flexible, and skilled in moving from a vision to the step-by-step actions needed to make it a reality.
• The Ruler is thoroughly in charge, rules for the good of all concerned, and puts procedures, policies, and systems in place that make things work optimally.
• The Magician is a catalyst for positive change and transformation, always beginning with his or her personal attitudes and behaviors.
• The Sage evaluates options and achievements with an open and dispassionate mind, with awareness of his/her own biases and the limits of what can be known.
• The Jester knows how to love life and work and uses this knowledge to free up others and to make the process of what people do together enjoyable as well as productive.

Leadership and executive coaches and consultants can use the PMAI instrument to help leaders develop the gifts associated with each archetype.

Team Building and Organizational Development

The PMAI instrument can be administered to teams as part of team-building exercises. In sharing their results, people within the teams get to know one another better and understand what motivates them and how they make narrative meaning in the world. In addition, teams can look at which archetypes are active for them and which inactive, using that information to help them consider the perspective of the missing or weak archetypes when making group decisions. They can also use their imaginations to seek out the advice of the missing archetypes or seek out advice from consultants or people from teams who have access to that archetype in order to get a more complete picture of their options.