Banishing the Organizational Shadow in Healthcare

Carl Jung once identified the shadow (or shadow archteype) as the unconscious aspect of the personality that the conscious mind and ego don ' t especially care to recognize as an aspect of the self. Some may refer to the shadow as the entirety of the unconscious mind. In this light, can we also deduce that organizations themselves also have a shadow? The Shadow Lurks Jung stated, “Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual ’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. ” He also said, “One does not become enlightened by imaging figures of light, but my making the darkness conscious. ” So what does it mean when an organization has an unacknowledged shadow? Inan informative article published on Culture-Builder.com, author Matt Auron writes: “…..Something generally happens as companies grow. For start-ups, the change usually comes after the business model has been proven or their B round has funded. At this stage the executive team meets and discusses how to implement processes for sustained growth. This involves rapid hiring and expansion with individuals who mainly come from larger organizations. It ’s a common experience in the growth stage of a company that most of us have seen. Less conscious decision-making results in unintended consequences. Leaders make decisions that are sometimes in direct opposition to the espoused values of the culture. People stop walking their talk. This, it seems , is the eme...
Source: Digital Doorway - Category: Nursing Source Type: blogs