Carl Jung is the psychologist who has most influenced the modern understanding of an ancient concept, the archetype. These are the roles and characters that we and others adopt as we live our life stories. Though each of us lives a unique story, many if not most of the situations we humans find ourselves in have common themes. The roles we play in those situations are drawn from a shared human repertoire: father, mother, child, lover, creator, warrior, caregiver, and an untold number of others.
Different individuals and cultures may favor the expression of some of these archetypes over others. CAPT provides two assessment instruments designed to measure the relative dominance of different archetypal themes. The Pearson-Marr Archetype Indicator® (PMAI™) helps individuals discover the archetypes they prefer. and those whose potential they leave untapped. The Organizational and Team Culture Indicator™ (OTCI®) looks at the archetypal themes that characterize the aggregate culture of the workplace.
These two instruments, used separately or in conjunction, are primarily used for these purposes:
- Personal development and self-understanding (for individuals)
- Cultural themes identification and alignment (for organizations and their teams)
- Job satisfaction (using both the OTCI® Basic Report and PMAI)
- Company, product, and personal branding (using the OTCI® Professional Report alone or in conjunction with the PMAI)
Personal Development
Each archetype has its strengths and its weaknesses and its appropriate and inappropriate uses. Unused archetypes are like treasures buried inside of us, waiting to be discovered. The Pearson-Marr Archetype Indicator, or PMAI™, is a map to those treasures. The PMAI report shows you which archetypes you favor and which ones you under use. With a more diverse set of characters to choose from, you can consciously "cast" the right role for the right situation.
Here is an example of using the right archetype in the right situation.
A Lover, Not a Fighter
Lover and Warrior are two of the twelve archetypes measured by the PMAI instrument. High scores on Warrior may be appropriate for a competitive sales job, but problematic in a relationship (where Lover is a better fit) or in a work environment that values harmony.
The other ten archetypes identified by taking the PMAI are Innocent, Orphan, Caregiver, Destroyer, Creator, Ruler, Magician, Sage, Seeker, and Jester. Discover your archetypal profile online or learn more from the book What Story Are You Living?.
Cultural Themes in Organizations and Teams
Specific archetypes may characterize individual persons or cultures, but they are drawn from a pool of archetypal themes common to everyone. So it's no surprise that when individuals join together to form teams, or even an entire organization, groups of all sizes may assume a dominant archetypal theme. This is another way of conceptualizing organizational culture—whose impact on employee performance is "greater than . strategy, organizational structure, management systems, financial analysis tools, leadership, etc," according to Harvard Business School's John Kotter and James Heskett.
The Organizational and Team Culture Indicator™, or OTCI, is designed to measure culture at its core, using archetypes. The OTCI® Professional Report helps a company discover its strongest archetypes, its most valued archetypal themes, the alignment between those strengths and values, the consistency of culture across and throughout different parts of the organization, and the best candidates for successfully branding the company and its products.
The OTCI® Professional Report is a B-level instrument, requiring administration by a trained professional. Contact CAPT for information on arranging for an OTCI assessment for your team or organization.
The OTCI® Basic Report is an unrestricted instrument available to individuals to assess their perception of the archetypal characteristics of the organization they work for. Take the OTCI® Basic Report.
Job Satisfaction
The OTCI® Basic Report can be coupled with the PMAI instrument to provide a comparison of your personal archetypal preferences with your perception of the archetypal themes of your current or potential workplace. Because the archetypes assessed in these two instruments directly correspond one-to-one, individuals are able to compare their personal archetypes against those present in the workplace, creating a job satisfaction indicator.
Branding
Both the OTCI and the PMAI are valuable in determining branding strategies for products and marketing.
Company branding—the creation and promotion of a public image for an organization—is most successful when the identity corresponds to a high-scoring archetype determined by use of the OTCI.
Product branding—the creation and promotion of a public image for one of the company's products or services—is most successful when the identity chosen reflects both the company brand and the brand preferences of the product's customers. Archetypal branding, which resonates with customers at the deepest levels, is a fast-growing approach that has produced such successful product launches as the Chrysler PT Cruiser.
Both the OTCI and the PMAI are valuable branding tools. The OTCI helps an organization assess and align its central brand identities to use in market and product strategies. The PMAI is used to measure the archetypal profiles of potential customers, to help craft brand messages that will appeal to them.
Personal branding—the concept that "we are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. You're every bit as much a brand as Nike, Coke, Pepsi, or the Body Shop" has taken hold since Tom Peters first wrote those words in a Fast Company article in 1997. The PMAI is being used in corporate training to help individuals find a self-branding identity that resonates at a deep level.
Contact CAPT for information on arranging for an OTCI branding assessment for your team, organization, or product.
To learn more about product branding and archetypes, order the book The Hero and the Outlaw.
