Use your archetype to clarify your brand purpose and help you deliver on its promise.
Corporations have found great branding success by leaning into their organizational archetypes. Similarly, you can use your personal archetype as a helpful tool while going through the Excavate–Tell–Affirm™ executive personal branding process from Revealing Genius.
But what is an archetype exactly? How have corporations leveraged this concept? And why is it so important that healthcare executives like you know and build on yours as you do executive personal branding?
Archetypes in Psychology
The idea of archetype first came from psychiatrist and psychologist Carl Jung. His 12 “archetypes” or “personas” collectively represent human motivation.
Perhaps the most well-known Jungian archetype is “the hero.” Jungian heroes generally start in ordinary circumstances, are “called to adventure” and, in the end, confront their darkest fear in a conflict that deeply transforms them.
You might think that most healthcare leaders are hero types. After all, you all face big challenges regularly, and your work can be transformative and save lives. But I have seen a variety of archetypes represented among the healthcare leaders I have worked with doing executive personal branding. Besides the hero archetype, Jung identified the creator, the sage, the magician, the explorer, the outlaw, the lover, the jester, the everyman, the caregiver, the ruler and the innocent archetypes.
Archetypes in Branding
Think about some successful corporate brands and how they map to these archetypes. Outdoor clothing outfitter The North Face is a good example of the “explorer” archetype. The brand connects people with their sense of freedom and need for a spiritual journey.
Put-it-together-yourself furniture retailer IKEA is a good example of an “everyman” archetype brand. The IKEA brand helps customers feel connected to other people and gives them a sense of belonging.
Before we discuss the use of archetypes in executive personal branding, let’s consider one more corporate example (and you might like to check out the archetypal corporate brand chart in this article).
Virgin Atlantic Airways’ embodiment of the outlaw archetype—which connects people to a feeling of liberation and leaving a mark—was bold when Richard Branson took control of the airline in 1984. Until then, airlines had branded themselves as archetypical explorers, lovers and caregivers, not outlaws. It probably helped that the airline’s new branding had a built-in boost in Branson himself. He had already mapped the outlaw archetype to his own persona and another highly successful company, Virgin Records.
Archetypes in Executive Personal Branding
By now you might be wondering how brand archetypes map to people and their careers. Interestingly, until the late 1990s, they didn’t. The idea of personal branding using archetypes started gaining traction in 1997, when a Fast Company article by Tom Peters asserted that individuals, like companies, ought to consider their brands. (Peters coined the phrase personal branding.)
Of course, Branson—the outlaw—is a great example of how to effectively leverage an archetype in executive personal branding. Knowing which archetype most resonates for you can help you create your personal brand during the Excavate–Tell–Affirm™ executive personal branding process from Revealing Genius.
Take a moment to get an idea about which archetype is a likely fit for you by taking this survey. Do the results resonate?
Clarifying your archetype is an excellent way to clarify your executive personal brand, including your core competencies, the people you most want to serve (people I like to call your “beloved avatar”) and why you are the best person in the world to serve them.
Today is a great day for healthcare leaders like you to consider, cultivate and protect your personal brands as you start private consulting practices, pursue professional goals and choose to go about life more purposefully. Archetype consideration is particularly valuable—arguably even essential—for executives and other professionals looking to stand out in a new niche and maintain relevance in today’s landscape.
Learn more about how to use archetypes in the Excavate–Tell–Affirm™ executive personal branding process from Revealing Genius by signing up for our complimentary Excavate Your Brand webinar or our 7-Day Summit. We provide 1:1 executive coaching options too.
