Archetypes
The archetypes model treats leadership identity as a set of universal characters - Warrior, Sage, Caregiver and others - so you can see which pattern you default to and which one is missing when it's needed.
Twelve characters ring a wheel, each holding its own patch of ground you can step into or avoid.
Reach for this when…
- Someone leads the same way in every situation, whether or not it fits.
- A team can't articulate what's distinctive about their leader's style beyond a job title.
- You want a way into identity work that isn't a personality test.
How to run it
- Introduce the twelve archetypes: Innocent, Orphan, Warrior, Caregiver, Seeker, Lover, Destroyer, Creator, Ruler, Magician, Sage, Jester.
- Have participants complete a self-assessment or reflective exercise.
- Discuss how the dominant pattern shows up in leadership behaviour.
- Explore which archetypes are underdeveloped and what that costs.
- Build development intentions around archetype balance.
A worked example
Situation. Ayesha Malik ran an HR consultancy in Lahore, Pakistan, and her team described her, warmly but consistently, as always the one saving the project.
Applied. Working through the archetypes, she recognised herself almost entirely as Caregiver, with Ruler, the archetype that sets boundaries and says no, close to absent.
Result. She kept the Caregiver instinct but practised the Ruler moves deliberately, declining two client requests outright for the first time in a year. Her team stopped waiting to be rescued.
The catch
Archetypes are a mirror, not a diagnosis - it's easy to romanticise a pattern (everyone wants to be the Warrior) rather than see its shadow side honestly. The model also has thin empirical grounding compared with validated psychometrics, so treat the labels as language for reflection, not fact.
The archetype you're proudest of is usually the one costing you the most.
Origin: Carl Jung's archetypal theory, developed into a twelve-archetype model by Carol Pearson (Awakening the Heroes Within, 1991)