The Cast of an Organization’s Journey

At work, our titles tell people where we sit in an organization, but not always how we’ll show up when a team faces a challenge. We may spot the need for change, test a plan, or help someone move forward. Those roles can shift from one moment to the next.

That’s why I find archetypes useful. Carl Jung explored recurring patterns in the psyche and in stories. Joseph Campbell drew on related ideas in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), comparing heroic myths and describing the monomyth, now widely known as the Hero’s Journey.

These are story functions, not fixed personality types. One character can take on several as a story unfolds. Before a workshop or exercise, I consider these archetypes to anticipate group dynamics and clarify what the team needs to accomplish. Here are eight familiar archetypes, first through films I’ve referenced in my writing, then through their application to workshops.

Symbol key: top row—Hero (rising path and star), Mentor (lantern), Herald (bell), Threshold Guardian (locked gate); bottom row—Shapeshifter (opposing crescents), Shadow (large cast shadow), Ally (linked rings), Trickster (looping, branching arrows).

The Hero

On screen: Cameron in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Ferris may set the day in motion, but Cameron is the one most changed by it. He begins trapped by fear and self-doubt, then finally makes a choice of his own. That change gives him the Hero’s arc. I’ve written about the film’s playful break with the fourth wall in “Breaking the Magic Circle.”

In a workshop: The Hero isn’t necessarily the most senior person in the room. It’s the person most changed by the experience: someone with something at stake, who is genuinely in motion and doing the work rather than simply observing it. They’re often not the person you’d predict.

The Mentor

On screen: Dr. Falken in WarGames. Falken helps David and Jennifer understand the danger they’re facing and see the problem from a different angle. He offers perspective; the younger characters still have to act.

In a workshop: The Mentor is someone with relevant experience who is willing to share what they’ve learned without taking over. Their job is to help the Hero keep going, not to make the journey for them.

The Herald

On screen: Lucy in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Lucy’s discovery of Narnia brings news that the familiar world is not the whole world—and draws her siblings toward a new adventure.

In a workshop: The Herald announces the need for change. It might be a declining metric, a customer complaint, a new competitor, or a mandate from leadership. The Herald doesn’t tell the team what to do. It signals that something has to change. People often shoot the Herald. That’s a significant strategic error.

The Threshold Guardian

On screen: the Cyclops in The Odyssey. Polyphemus stands between Odysseus and the way forward. The encounter tests Odysseus’s judgment and resourcefulness before the journey can continue. I explored the story’s trials in “The Human Ecotone, At the Edge of What We Know.”

In a workshop: The Threshold Guardian tests whether the team is ready to move forward. It might be an approvals process, a skeptical executive asking hard questions, or a colleague who challenges every proposal. The Guardian can expose weak assumptions and help the team prepare.

The Shapeshifter

On screen: Marlon in The Truman Show. To Truman, Marlon is a trusted friend. But as the truth about Truman’s world emerges, Marlon’s familiar role becomes harder to separate from the performance he has been asked to maintain.

In a workshop: The Shapeshifter introduces uncertainty. It could be a stakeholder whose priorities shift, a partner whose commitment is unclear, or new information that changes how an earlier decision looks. This archetype tests whether the team can adapt when certainty disappears.

The Shadow

On screen: Phil Connors’s former self in Groundhog Day. The loop forces Phil to confront the selfishness and cynicism he would rather avoid. The Shadow here isn’t a separate villain; it’s the pattern he has to recognize in himself.

In a workshop: The Shadow is what the team would rather not confront: a strategy that is failing, a behavior affecting performance, a competitor gaining ground, or an assumption mistaken for fact. It isn’t a label for a difficult person. It’s the challenge, pattern, or truth the team is avoiding.

The Ally

On screen: Trinity in The Matrix. Trinity supports Neo, takes risks alongside him, and helps him continue when the stakes rise. Her support matters, but Neo still has to make his own choices.

In a workshop: The Ally helps the Hero make progress. They might turn an idea into a workable plan, make space for a quieter voice, or stay engaged when the work gets difficult. Their value lies in helping the team move forward while leaving ownership with the people doing the work.

The Trickster

On screen: the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. The cat unsettles Alice’s expectations with riddles, humor, and a refusal to behave predictably. He disrupts her certainty, even when he doesn’t give her a straight answer.

In a workshop: The Trickster disrupts routine. They might use humor, expose a contradiction, question the rules, or introduce an unexpected turn that forces the team to see the situation differently. Disruption can frustrate a team, but it can also loosen habits and reveal new options.

Finding these characters in your organization

These archetypes aren’t permanent labels, and they don’t have to belong to different people. Someone may be an Ally in one moment and a Threshold Guardian in the next. A surprise event can act as a Herald; a difficult choice can reveal a Shadow.

Understanding which archetypes are present, and which are missing, can help us design better workshops. Without a Herald, a team may miss the signal to change. Without a Mentor or Allies, it may struggle to learn and keep moving. Without a Threshold Guardian, it may fail to test its assumptions. Without a Shadow to confront, it may never discover its real limitations.

Finding Opportunities and Exploring Blockers

The point isn’t to assign everyone a character. It’s to notice the different forces shaping how a team meets a challenge and to design an experience that helps the team move through them.