Leader's Insight

Janet studied Jungian psychology at the Philadelphia Jung Institute in 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 and 2011/2012.

In July of 2010 she completed a 2-week intensive at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich, Switzerland. She continues to clarify and understand her own tendencies, preferences and behavior, in order to be more effective in the coaching relationship.

This translates into the ability to:

⤷ Ask questions that move a client in the direction appropriate to their life;

⤷ Understand the importance of root cause;

⤷ Take advantage of symbolism and metaphor that may surface during sessions;

⤷ Be comfortable with paradox and intangibles.

Examples of how a Jungian analytical frame is useful include:

One client asked me if he should take a promotion or not, I was able to step back and not project my thinking or wishes, (knowing if he got a promotion while we were working together it would look good for me), but to actually ask him why this would be a good decision for him or, why it might not be the best decision for him and to work with that information.

When my work with one woman moved to her frustration with her female boss we were able to focus on where some of this negative energy was coming from and help her take responsibility for the projections that were getting in the way of a more productive relationship between them.

While organizations like to talk about embracing paradox, I find a lot of individuals don’t really know what this means. Jung did a lot of work with paradox. His theory of personality is built on the idea of opposites. For example, while one might prefer introversion, one has the capacity for extraversion as well. If one likes harmony and peace it does not mean that they can’t value power -- it doesn’t have to be an either /or. Making room for the both/and can open up perspectives and expand the lens in which we see our world and do our work.

Many teams and organizations work with the MBTI, but few get enough from the use of such tools. Jung’s theory of personality is the basis for the MBTI and understanding his theory enables me to work much more deeply with individuals and teams on the results of their assessments.