In this series, we're delving into the concept of the shadow—a psychological term that may not be widely discussed, but can be transformative for personal development and organisational success.

The shadow represents the parts of ourselves that we often deny or hide, sometimes out of fear, shame, or simply because we're unaware of them.

Swiss Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist, Carl Jung (1875-1961) talked about the shadow as an aspect of the psyche. It’s something that we all have in common. For Jung, the shadow sits alongside the ego as a core influence to our personality and identity.

Jung described the shadow as, 'the thing a person has no wish to be' (CW 16, para. 470).

The shadow is made up of the parts of us that, in our early and formative years, we supressed, repressed, negated, shunned - however you want to describe it - the parts of ourselves that ‘got the memo’ that they’re weren’t welcome or acceptable. Often as infants, as a result of feedback from our primary care givers and society, and as adolescents. So we buried these aspects deep in our subconscious, and those parts form ‘our shadow’.

Understanding and integrating these hidden aspects can lead to profound changes.

How do we know we’ve got a shadow?

We all have a shadow and it operates within us constantly by steering, driving, directing, motivating and often complicating our sense of self and others. But it is mostly unconscious to us. Nevertheless, it operates ceaselessly in our daily conscious lives through behaviours, thoughts, feelings, biases, beliefs. If we learn to tune in, we can begin to observe aspects of our shadow at work.

To complicate things further, often how we see, perceive and experience others is influenced by our shadow. Needless to say, the things that were so unpleasant and unacceptable enough to ourselves to warrant total relegation from our awareness, we still try them on for size now and then. And we do this by projecting them - by projecting our shadow - onto others. So the things that we see in others that we dislike are often a reflection of the parts of ourselves that reside within our shadow.

This can be problematic, as you’ll no doubt appreciate. Because, when we interact with people based on our assumptions, biases, judgements, fears, irrationals thoughts, we often come into conflict - with others, within teams, organisations, nations, even. In simple terms, who and what you criticise, judge, try to change, confront, is giving you more information about who you are, than who they are. Read that again perhaps and see if you can find an Aha! moment for yourself.

The work we do in bringing aspects of our shadow into conscious awareness is about getting to know ourselves better, creating greater choice and effecting real change.

“The most dangerous psychological mistake is the projection of the shadow on to others; this is the root of almost all conflicts.”

“The best political, social, and spiritual work we can do is to withdraw the projection of our own shadow onto others.”

— Carl Jung

In the most general terms, if we truly desire peace - inner peace; peace and understanding within our relationships; peace, prosperity and consciousness within our organisation; peace on the international and global stage - then we must first introduce ourselves to our shadow and begin the work of getting to know it with compassion. And that work starts with us.

Why can shadow work be helpful?

By really turning inward and tuning in to who we are and what drives and motivates us, what we believe, and then reflecting in a highly functional way on how that emerges within and upon the world, we can bring new personal insight that can change the way we act within ourselves and interact with others.

What it’s not

The shadow work we offer is not counselling, therapy or a psychological modality. It is a psychologically-informed functional approach that uses identifiable cues within the environment around us to bring awareness to deeper thoughts, feelings and patterns of behaviour. By viewing and considering these as a mirror to ourselves, we explore our own reflection and consider what it might be telling us. Then, with curiosity, compassion and functional planning, we consider how we might make different choices and effect meaningful change - both towards others and in becoming our ‘ideal self’.

How does this knowledge solve problems?

If you’re curious to explore any of the issues below, or how the shadow in you or your business or organisation might be getting in your way, contact us to find out how we can support you.