"CultureTalk"

Archetype Framework

Archetype | noun ar·che·type
\ˈär-ki-tīp\

A symbol, theme, setting, or character type that recurs in different times and places in myth, literature, and rituals so frequently as to suggest that it embodies essential elements of ‘universal’ human experience.

Archetypes are human storylines that we can all recognize and relate to; they show up as personality in people and as shared culture in groups. They are like fingerprints: nuanced and unique. They can provide multi-layered and detailed profiles of both individuals and organisations, as well as a shortcut to understanding unwritten rules and unconscious behaviours.

12 Leadership Archetype Framework

Even just scanning the list, can you already guess what each of these storylines is about? Heroes save the day. Magicians transform. Revolutionaries break boundaries.

And you likely relate to some of these stories more than others. Whichever Archetypes are active in you (or in others) provide the lens through which you interpret the world. This lens also determines what gets noticed and what gets filtered out. Archetypes provide a shortcut to understanding ourselves, our teams, and our organisations.

Science & Methodology

Carl Jung introduced the concept of ‘Archetypes’ to describe unconscious storylines that influence our thoughts, behaviours, and the way we look at the world.

“Archetypes show up as personality in individuals,” he said, “and as culture in groups.”

Carol Pearson brought Archetypes to the modern business world. An academic researcher, she identified 12 stories most common in organisations and applied this ‘narrative intelligence’ to leadership development and organisational alignment. It is Pearson’s 12-Archetype framework that we use in our work at CultureTalk.

3 Step Methodology

Learning how you ‘type’ in an assessment is of little value unless you have a way to unpack the outcomes and see the results in context to your own experience. That’s why we teach the 3-Step CultureTalk Methodology.

STEP 1

Measure

At the center of the CultureTalk Platform are two validated assessment instruments that measure Archetype patterns in individuals and groups.

Both of these instruments present scores across the full, 12-Archetype framework.

STEP 2

Validate

To validate Archetypes, we look for ‘story points’ to illustrate how high-scoring patterns are showing up.

For individuals, learning the motivations, strengths and shadows of each Archetype can create ‘ahas’ and uncover the ‘why’s of their experiences. They can build a personal Archetypal Profile of 3 or 4 patterns that express ‘who am I?’

For teams and organizations, validation can include interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders to capture the organization’s stories and symbols, it’s strengths and shadows. A cultural profile of 3 Archetypes should illustrate ‘who are we as a team’ and ‘who are all of us as an organisation.’’

STEP 3

Activate

Watching the work take hold in the development of talent, teams and organisations is one of the most exciting aspects of applying Archetypes.

Archetype profiles can be applied to many connected growth and change initiatives that play out over time, giving the work tremendous scalability and staying power.

Accreditation

Business By Design Duo are proud to be one of the few businesses in Australia accredited in the CultureTalk Archetype Framework. You can have confidence in knowing that we can work with you and your organisation to carry out both individual and organisational assessments, validate assessments and also activate actions and plans for individuals and organisations to achieve positive and long lasting change and growth.

Download our "FREE GUIDE"

To find out more about Archetypes and how they can be used in the workplace download our information booklet on "Applying Archetypes to Develop People and Organisations"