Using Archetypes to Enhance Leadership

Adrian Xuereb Archer
2 days ago
5 min read

How Leaders Become More

When Merlin walked into the halls of Camelot, he did not need to raise his staff or cast a spell. His presence alone shifted the atmosphere. Leaders who reach maturity in their personality development discover the same truth: power is no longer about control, persuasion, or even charisma. It is about coherence. Presence becomes power.

Presence as Power

Leadership research increasingly points to the role of presence, not as physical appearance, but as the ability to align one’s internal state with external impact. Presence signals authenticity, confidence, and calm, influencing how others feel and behave (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2013).

A leader’s personality, when integrated and coherent, becomes transformative in itself. Without speaking, leaders transmit stability or anxiety; without action, they embody trust or doubt. This is where archetypes enter the conversation: they give language and shape to the deeper forces that presence conveys.

What Are Archetypes?

Archetypes are universal patterns or symbols that represent fundamental human motives and values (Jung, 1959/1981). They live beneath culture and time, surfacing in myths, stories, and organisational life. Archetypes act like shortcuts of meaning: when a leader embodies the archetype of the Warrior, they inspire courage.

In management contexts, archetypes help leaders expand their repertoire beyond narrow personality habits, allowing them to channel different dimensions of power depending on the needs of the system (Pearson & Mark, 2001). Here are the 12 archetypes of Jung and how they can be applied:

The Innocent Idealist: leaders embodying this archetype bring hope and morale. They are effective at creating environments of positive safety but are quite naïve.
The Regular Person: leaders in this archetype excel at belonging and team cohesion. They build approachable cultures but struggle with asserting authority when needed.
The Hero or Warrior: heroic leaders push teams to deliver, set ambitious targets, and fight obstacles. Great for crisis or high-performance environments but risks burnout.
The Caregiver: caregivers prioritise giving service to staff wellbeing, psychological safety, and development. They excel in HR but may avoid tough decisions.
The Explorer: explorer need freedom so they champion creativity and unconventional strategies. They thrive in start-ups or innovation but need to be careful as they may destabilise teams if constantly chasing novelty.
The Rebel or Outlaw: rebels seek liberation and are catalysts for transformation. They break outdated practices yet risk chaos if they don’t anchor change with structure.
The Lover: lover leaders foster connection, loyalty, trust, and customer intimacy. Strong in brand-building and partnerships, though risk favoritism or overattachment.
The Creator: creator managers inspire innovation, design unique solutions, and lead cultural branding. They must balance vision with execution to avoid endless ideation.
The Jester: jesters lighten & play with tension, boost morale, and encourage out-of-the-box thinking. Effective in creative teams, though they risk not being taken seriously.
The Sage: sage leaders mentor others, makes evidence-based decisions, and guide with truth. They can, however, over-intellectualise and avoid action.
The Magician: magician leaders transform systems by shifting mindsets. They inspire collective breakthroughs but must avoid manipulation or unrealistic promises.
The Ruler: ruler leaders bring stability, control, governance, and accountability. They excel at scaling organisations but need to avoid rigidity in handling risk and hierarchy.

How to Find Your Archetype?

Archetypes provide leaders with a mythic compass: a way to align inner motives, outer behaviours, and systemic impact. Leaders who embody their archetype with intention, their personality itself shapes cultures and brands. Here is a process you can use to access this:

Step 1 - Self-Reflection and Story Gathering: begin by reflecting on key life and career stories. Recall a time where you were the person you wish you were. Ask: When was I at my best? What qualities did I have?
Step 2 - Identify Core Longings: Each archetype is driven by a deep motive (Pearson & Mark, 2001). E.g Sage = truth, Magician = transformation, Hero = achievement, Caregiver = service, etc Ask: What do I most want to bring into the world? This question helps clarify the archetype that most resonates.
Step 3 - Identify Core Archetype: the ideal is that we integrate all 12 archetypes mentioned above. However there will be one which is more powerful than all the others. Take your core longing and see if it matches the above list and identify your core archetype.
Step 4 - Make It Epic: identify a character in the movies, religions, animal kingdom or in mythology that resonates with your archetype. Start thinking what would that archetype do? In church they ask, 'What would Jesus do? In vedanta they ask 'What would a wise man do?'
Step 5 - Experiment With Embodiment: Like Merlin trying on different robes, leaders can experiment with consciously embodying different archetypes. This builds identity-shifting skill (Ibarra, 1999).
Step 6 - Feedback and Mirror Work: Archetypes are best recognised in community. Leaders should ask trusted colleagues: How do you experience me when I am most effective? Often, others see the archetypal presence more clearly than we do ourselves. 360° reviews or coaching conversations can be invaluable here (Avolio & Gardner, 2005).
Step 7 - Align Leadership Actions With Archetype: Once a core archetype is clear, leaders can shape their leadership behaviour around it. No archetype should dominate unchecked. Each leader should identify a complementary archetype to balance their main one.

How I Am Using Archetypes to Enhance Leadership

Throughout my life my skills were into being a creator and process development. This allowed to be a good change catalyst. However because of my idealist nature I tended to be naive (something which can also be useful but at a cost). Working with a coach I stumbled that an archetype I was shying away from was the Leader or Ruler.

The coach then supported me to feel into the archetype. This is done by a bit of play acting to support acting as if I have that archetype. My body posture, voice, thinking and confidence changed drastically. It was something I was longing for. It took me almost three years to integrate this. Although it is easy to feel into it, embody the mindset, heartset and doing takes time. In time I became more confident, clear, assertive and able to lead others.

From Managers to Legacy Creators

Managers who master archetypal presence become more than decision-makers, they become culture shapers. Their being transmits coherence, aligning teams around values and identity. Research supports this: leadership rooted in authenticity and purpose leads to stronger employee engagement, performance, and organisational resilience (Avolio & Gardner, 2005; Rego et al., 2012).

The true power of archetypes lies in their ability to connect personal leadership to collective transformation. Just as Merlin’s presence altered the destiny of Camelot, managers who embody archetypes leave cultural legacies that outlive their tenure. Archetypal leadership supports:

Purpose-Driven Leadership: archetypes give leaders a symbolic compass. A manager operating from the Sage archetype makes decisions not only for quarterly returns but for enduring wisdom, shaping the organisation’s legacy.
Systemic Thinking: archetypes shift focus from individual traits to relational fields. A leader embodying the Creator archetype sparks innovation across teams, not just in themselves.
Mentoring Others: just as Merlin’s presence initiated Arthur into kingship, leaders who embody archetypes create fields where others discover their own leadership potential.

References

Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 315–338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.03.001
Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2013). Primal leadership: Unleashing the power of emotional intelligence. Harvard Business Press.
Ibarra, H. (1999). Provisional selves: Experimenting with image and identity in professional adaptation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(4), 764–791. https://doi.org/10.2307/2667055
Jung, C. G. (1981). The archetypes and the collective unconscious (R. F. C. Hull, Trans., 2nd ed.). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1959)
Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692–724. https://doi.org/10.5465/256287
Pearson, C. S., & Mark, M. (2001). The hero and the outlaw: Building extraordinary brands through the power of archetypes. McGraw-Hill.
Rego, A., Vitória, A., Magalhães, A., Ribeiro, N., & e Cunha, M. P. (2012). Authentic leadership promoting employees’ psychological capital and creativity. Journal of Business Research, 65(3), 429–437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.10.003