It follows you; it mimics you. In story telling it’s the murky frightening tell tale sign of foreboding, or badness, of threat. A shadow is made from blocking light; the darkness is a mirror image of ourselves appearing behind us. And in Jungian terms, it’s the bit of ourselves we repress, we’re told is not socially acceptable. An unconscious aspect of ourselves that our conscious does not see.
How ready are you to admit that perhaps you do not like having to stop and wait for others? That you much prefer to work alone. Or perhaps you put your own needs before others and manage to veil that successfully, usually. Are you an over achiever who likes to win, who in fact, would win at all costs, any cost? What about the bit of you that is just fed up with other people, actually?
We find it hard to admit these shadow parts of ourselves to our own minds, let alone others. And we are very skilled at repression; it serves its purpose in helping us survive, to get along with others within the cultural norms taught to us from birth. If we are told a part of us is unacceptable, shameful, what do we do with it than hide it? We can’t cut it off. And it is in that very attempt to hide a part of ourselves that something unhealthy happens to us. When something is unknown, how can it be managed? Perhaps it could be used in the times its helpful, or managed the times it isn’t?
And this psychology happens in organisations, too. Organisations are at one level; brands, mission statements, structures, organograms, sales figures, margins, capital shares, policies. And the way they really work is that they are collections and networks of people who communicate with each other and work to some common purpose. Because organisations are really networks of people, the organisation can have a collective conscious, a personality type, a shadow side, just like our own minds. This is how culture is created and influenced – its not the poster about values on the wall. That’s why culture doesn’t change when you change those words on the poster. Our culture is the accumulation of a group of people’s psychologies and behaviours, with those in the organisation with most power, having the most influence on the culture.
What is your organisations shadow, and why does it matter? If we don’t know the ways that we work, don’t notice, don’t talk about how can they be managed, what risk do they pose, what opportunities are missed? Only when we integrate ourselves as a whole, with all our nuances and idiosyncrasies can we be healthy.
Where are the cliques, the power struggles, the grapevine, the intimidation, the mavericks, the favours, the restrictive ways of working, the cutting of corners, the turning a blind eye, the gossiping? What can’t be spoken about here? What can’t be expressed or felt? These sorts of questions are where we begin to understand our own shadows. What happens in your organisation that you don’t like, but you ignore it so fast you barely remember it?
The personal development work I am doing at the moment is focused on removing all cultural norms in a “human lab” to expose all parts of our selves, in a group and accept and integrate these. Its scary stuff! And I have noticed I feel happier sometime afterwards. In organisation culture change work, we are asking staff, managers, leaders with the most power; to notice, acknowledge and accept the organisations shadows, to openly talk about them. To turn the lights on. Shadows can’t be measured or quantified or controlled. They can’t be changed or cut off. Unless you’re Peter Pan, and even he wanted his back. When we know about our shadow, not only can we work with its impact, but it can also tell us something very useful; data about our organisation, and about ourselves.
Do get in touch if you want to explore your organisation’s culture and how to influence change through acceptance.