The Child Archetype

Before reading about the Child archetype, you may wish to read the introductory article on archetypes.

Have you ever worked with a bunch of Children dressed up in big people's clothes? Welcome to yet another of the universal archetypes ... the Child.

We see the Child a lot in organizations, but we aren't talking about being Childish.

Rather, we are talking about a conversation, that goes on in your mind, that is trapped in the thoughts and feelings of your Childhood. Your Child archetype is the part of you that learned the concept of cause and effect.

The Child within you expects a protected life, a perfect life ... expects life to be very nurturing and safe. The Child believes that nothing happens to you unless you deserve it. If ever you catch yourself saying, "I don't deserve that" recognize this is your Child archetype speaking.

Your Child looks for whether life is fair or not. Whether you deserve something or not. For example:

When you hear people complaining, "We aren't recognized enough for the hard work we do", you are witnessing the Child in action.

Are you a good boy/girl?

Your Child wants someone to tell you, "You are a good boy/good girl".

Why is that?

Because you don't have enough genuine self-approval.

Each person deeply thirsts for their own self-approval. And, it is important that you come to grips with the reality that, the opinions of others will never satisfy your deep-seated need to like, love and approve of yourself.

Once you have found the path to successfully liking yourself ... strongly approving of yourself ... then the need for the approval of others will fall away. Sure, when the approval of others comes your way, you are unlikely to reject it. But you are no longer a slave to it.

When you consciously work with your Child archetype you will discover your path to self-approval.

Just as the Judge can protect you with its safe rules AND it can hold you back with its limiting, restrictive rules, so too the Child archetype can hold you back when it is underdeveloped.

How the underdeveloped Child shows up

An underdeveloped Child archetype can be expressed in many ways, (Wounded, Brat, Orphan, Magical) but there are two, that seem to provide leaders with challenges, when they appear in the workplace.

If you, as their leader, are providing this parental type figure, there's almost one thing that can be guaranteed. At some point together you are going to hit a brick wall. The person who has a wounded Child archetype is looking for you to make their world safe, and it is not your job to do that.

It is their job.

When you are over-protecting them you are taking away their power, to learn to stand on their own two feet.

Unfortunately, like magnets the Nurturing Parent and the Wounded Child seem to find each other.

So, if you feel that you are inclined to use a lot of Nurturing Parent in your leadership, you need to be very aware of this. Your job, as a high performance leader, is to empower others. In the training Understanding Difficult People, we explore more the challenges with Nurturing Parent leadership and what you can do to bee a more empowering leader.

The Brat at work

Recently, I met a woman at a lunch and she shared with me an experience she had with one of her team members, that morning. A fellow who seems to have a very extreme Brat.

She had asked him to do something for her, and the next thing he was picking up things and throwing them across the room, swearing and shouting, huffing and puffing. Of course, his Brat within, got exactly what it wanted, the attention of everyone in the facility.

What precipitated this episode?

This woman, had recently been brought in to run this particular department. This team member felt that he should have been offered the job, rather than it going to an external person. And of all things a woman! It seemed it had been only a matter of time before his Brat had to show up.

When someone is in a full flight Child moment, do you think there is anything you can say or do to stop them?

Certainly it is very difficult, if not dangerous, to say to them "Now listen your Child has taken over here", particularly when they don't understand this concept of archetypes. At best the Wounded Child will go off in a huff and at worst the Brat might hit you!

Help yourself and your people to become your own coaches. Share this information, about Archetypes, in a personal development training session, to help them better understand why they behave the way they do. When you help your people to better understand themselves, the better your team will perform.

Haven't you had those days that felt like a Disney day? The birds were chirping, butterflies fluttering and all was right with the world! You bounced into work with a spring in your step and nothing, but nothing could stop you from feeling good.

Well, that was a day when you were feeling into your Natural Child archetype energy. The most delicious part of you and just how life should feel all the time!

People who have a strong Judge often try to squash Natural Child energy in the business setting - business is serious stuff! And yet, look at companies like Virgin and Southwest Airlines, where people have a great time and still deliver great business results.

Read the book "Fish! A Proven Way To Boost Morale and Improve Results" by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen, if you want to explore how you can bring some of the Natural Child into the workplace.