Healer Turned Leader: 4 Ways Transpersonal Leadership helps to Tame the Shadow

Most of us who enter the helping profession do so with a conscious drive “to heal” others.  This is usually because we have our own wounding that may still need attention, or because we want to give back, having had the impact of powerful healing in our lives.  The “Wounded Healer” archetype was coined by Carl Jung.  Jung believed that disease of the soul could be the best possible form of training for a healer. In essence, our woundedness serves as an inherent drive to heal others affording us the ability to empathize and come into wholeness with those we serve.  

The shadow side of the wounded healer however leaves us vulnerable to misusing our gifts as a way to feed our egos.  Our shadow seeks other wounded souls believing we can save them.  We ignore our own needs and get hooked by our ego, believing we know better and have all of the answers. We can lose touch with ourselves and the gentle art of creating space for healing to occur. 

Shadow sides of any archetype are not inherently bad, yet they are often unconscious and drive behaviors without awareness.  The lack of self care and the need to keep wounded souls in one’s orbit without realizing it can easily lead to burn out, misuse of power and toxic relationships.  If the healer is not properly trained, nor seeking supervision and doing their own reflective work, their conscious drive to heal and help ultimately becomes driven by the unconscious needs of the shadow. 

When this archetype finds themselves in a leadership role, their system can become easily confused creating an opening for the shadow to dominate.  As a leader the primary role is no longer “to heal” others, instead it is to guide or shepherd towards a shared objective or goal. This can be confusing to the shadow as without conscious awareness they continue to seek relief from their hurts and fail to take responsibility for holding the vision of the greater good.  Without realizing it, healers turned leaders can fall to the shadow using power, control and blame to satisfy their unmet need.  A transpersonal approach gives us a perspective from which we can continue to ground ourselves in leadership roles and bring light to our shadow part.

Four ways healers turned leaders can bring light to their shadow for transpersonal leadership:

1.  Find a Leadership Mentor

As healers we spend most of our careers working with mentors, teachers or supervisors who help guide us in using our skills and healing prowess.  They not only teach, they also hold a mirror up to us and are typically skilled in helping us bring unconscious drives to awareness.  Transpersonal leadership requires the same kind of guidance however it may require a different guide.  Look for someone you admire and who has a proven track record of balancing both their innate healing gifts with consciously leading others from a values driven approach.  

         2.   Learn and Understand your Relationship with Power
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As healers we tend to have a complicated relationship with power, especially if it is involved in our original wounding.  We enter into space with others in a unique hierarchical relationship.  Although we would like to think that it is balanced, people come to us for help which automatically gives us implicit power.  When we are operating from our shadow, we can take advantage of this unknowingly and in the most toxic forms we may even keep people dependent on us.  

The power dynamic in a leadership role however is explicit and necessary.  Minimizing or ignoring it can leave people confused and feeling unsafe. A transpersonal leader understands their influence and is able to empower individuals while still holding them accountable.  Transpersonal leadership requires us to identify our unconscious use of power so that we can use it to serve rather than control.

       3.  Practice Humility
As healers we are taught to practice humility however our shadow side believes that we should have all of the answers. Transpersonal leaders operate beyond their own ego to balance the needs of those they lead and the organization or community they serve for the greatest good.  A transpersonal leader knows that they don’t have all of the answers.  Instead they practice curiosity and humility.  Their job is to ask the right questions and take in all of the information exercising flexibility and conscious decision making when it comes time to make the tough decisions.

     4.  Identity your Values
As healers we are required to do our own work including the continual identification and alignment with values.  Transpersonal leaders align with their values as well as the values of the organization/community and use them to help guide decision making.  These decisions are not always easy and knowing how you want to show up will become your north star.  How do you want to treat yourself and how do you want to treat others?  Is this move aligned with the mission of the organization and how does it impact the greater good?  Transpersonal leadership requires healers to think beyond themselves and the individual in front of them, knowing and aligning with values will help you stay on track.

Ultimately, healers have the training and insight to be powerful change agents and leaders. Often we are thrust into these positions because we are good at what we do even if we have little leadership experience.  Luckily, as trained healers we are not strangers to ourselves.  Transpersonal leadership requires us to continue our internal work, shining light on our shadows, so that we can show up in authentic and radical ways holding the vision of the greater good.



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