Are "Hierophants" Really That Important? (McDonald's Thinks So!)

Why Do We Need Hierophants?

Gandalf the Grey (later the Gandalf the White), Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, and Professor Albus Dumbledore are all Hierophants. Mr. Miyagi, of Karate Kid fame (whether the first or second film release), is also a Hierophant. With this established, is a Hierophant something (or someone) that we really need - or is this just a nice artifact for certain film and story genres?

McDonald's, a Fortune 500 company, certainly thinks that Hierophants are important.

A Hierophant is more than a teacher, coach, mentor, or guide - although he (or she!) is typically all of those roles. The "more than" is that the Hierophant is the means by which the traditions, "secret knowledge" (whether of spells or corporate plans), and values are transmitted from one leadership generation to another.

According to a Robert P. Gandossy and Nidhi Vermma, in "Passing the Torch of Leadership", the implicit role of Hierophants is essential in ensuring that strong companies maintain their competitive edge. Quoting a study carried out by Stanford University researchers James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras, as described in their best-seller Built to Last, these two researchers found that companies maintaining a stellar performance and managing 20th-century endurance had one essential ingredient: a culture of succession management. In other words, internal Hierophants trained the next generation of leaders.

Further, as described by Collins and Porras, and summarized in this article:

Organizations that embrace a formal, ongoing, top-to-bottom succession process that is a fundamental part of the corporate fabric--what we call best-in-class succession management--have developed a key ingredient for long-term success, as Collins and Porras demonstrated.

Is this sound advice? McDonald's, a Fortune 500 company, certainly thinks so. In a Fortune article on Why McDonald's wins in any economy (August, 2011), author Beth Kowitt describes a culture instituted by CEO Jim Skinner, who created "Hamburger U," McDonald's management training facility. According to Kowitt:

This push for talent development may be Skinner's greatest legacy at the company, which has 700,000 employees in the U.S. alone...

His push for in-house talent development creates a substantial pool of leaders-in-training:

[Skinner] requires that all executives train at least two potential successors -- one who could do the job today, the "ready now," in McDonald's parlance, and one who could be a future replacement, the "ready future." ... Every year the executive team, including Skinner, reviews the top 200 positions in the company and the feeder pool, which means it ends up looking at about 400 people. "We talk about all of them," says HR chief Rich Floersch.

This is an excellent example of the Hierophant notion internalized into corporate values and training. We pay attention to that where we put our money. Clearly, McDonald's is putting both attention - and money - into internalizing the Hierophant role within its culture.

Who - and What - Is a "Hierophant"?

Hierophant - Leader of Leaders, and Teacher of Teachers

Those of us who've been following Unveiling: The Inner Journey - both reading the book and this blogpost - have probably wondered about this notion of a Hierophant. We never hear the term in any of our "leadership books." The subject of "hierophants" is not covered in the Harvard Business School, or in the military's leadership academies. So how can this notion possibly be important? And - perhaps most essential - how can it be one of our "core six power archetypes"?

For the longest time, the idea of a Hierophant puzzled me also. In fact, it was still something of a puzzle as Unveiling was going to press. I still hadn't figured it out! But here, in a sort of "post-Unveiling epilogue," a lot of the concepts I'd worked on earlier are becoming much more clear. And surprisingly enough, it was the work on the Hero's Quest (and the Heroine's, as well - see Chapter 6 in Unveiling, on that theme), that made the notion of a Hierophant much more clear.

Let's start with one of the classic Hero's Quest examples from Chapter 6; Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute. The young hero, Tamino, seeks initiation into a "higher order." He undergoes trials of initiation, overseen by the High Priest, Sarastro. At first, we might not have a good "felt sense" of Sarastro's role, other than that he seems to be a necessary figurehead. But let's move on!

Our next example (also from Chapter 6) is Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. Young Luke also goes through trials, much as does Tamino. He trains first with Obi-wan Kenobi, and later with Yoda. In Star Wars, this stage of training - of both learning and proving himself - is essential before the young hero takes on his true, defining challenge. But in the early stage, a teacher is essential. As a similar example, Mr. Miyagi is the necessary teacher in the Karate Kid movie series.

The same is true of young women, facing their Heroine's Quests. Young Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz, has Gilda, the Good Witch of the East, to guide her.

But is this consistent? Is this something necessary?

Let's look at a few more Hero's Quest stories. The Lord of the Rings is a great one. We have young Bilbo Baggins first in The Hobbit, and later Frodo and his hobbit-companions, together with warriors from men, elves, and dwarves. But throughout, we also have a certain special character - not Aragorn (who really is a Hero, joined in Quest with Frodo and the others). No, the character who deserves our attention is Gandalf. That's right; Gandalf the Grey, later Gandalf the White.

One essential component of the Hero's Quest - since it is really the Hero's story - is that the Hero needs to be guided by his teacher, the Hierophant, in the early stages. Yet later, he needs to confront challenges on his own. Usually, the Hierophant is killed in this process - in order to make the Hero's isolation during his final challenge most real and concrete.

During crucial portions of The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf is unavailable to Frodo and his companions; he sacrifices himself while fighting the ancient and fearful Balrog. Similarly, Obi-wan Kenobi sacrifices himself in a duel with Darth Vader, allowing Luke and other to escape. We're seeing a pattern here; can we find another instance?

One of the greatest "mythological sagas" of our time is the Harry Potter series. We meet young Harry when he is only twelve years old, and is whisked away to Hogwarts to study magic. He meets the Headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore. In a manner similar to that of Obi-wan Kenobi and Gandalf the Grey, Professor Dumbledore dies in the last book - forcing Harry to have his final confrontation with Lord Voldemort on his own.

We see that the Hierophant is a powerful figure. He is essential to the growth and training of a young Hierophant. Often (but not always), the Hierophant sacrifices himself, although this is usually a plot device - and not a necessary Hierophant characteristic!

Our culture focuses on the drama of the young Hero/Heroine, in their respective Quests. We see, now, that the Hero or Heroine does not gain skill, insight, or understanding on their own. Before they go on to their "great challenge," they must undergo training. The Hierophant is their teacher; their guide.

So in your own life, are you being a Hero/Heroine, or a Hierophant? Learning to see this distinction in yourself, and in those around you, will be the subject of the next blogpost!

The "Hero's Quest" and the "Hierophant" - Part 1

The Warrior's Road to Wisdom: Going from the "Hero's Quest" to the "Hierophant"

In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker, beholding the devastation that once was his uncle's farm, has no choice. Not only is there no "going back," there is nothing left to "go back to." He seeks out his new teacher, Obi-Wan Kenobi, more out of desperation than desire to go off "adventuring." Yet, as his training and his travels unfold, he finds himself on a Hero's Quest; one of the grandest sagas of our time.

Princess Isabelle, in a "The Embryo Goddess and the Morpho," a short story written by Nicole Cutts, Ph.D. (in Many Paths, Many Feet, edited by Phyllis Wilson), leaves the safety of her Queen Mother's love and her King Father's castle, and ventures off to reclaim a portion of her father's lands and restore the kingdom.

The young Tamino, in Mozart's The Magic Flute, undergoes the trials of initiation into the priesthood of the Sun God worshippers. In The Karate Kid, young Daniel simply wants to survive the daily humiliations of martial arts-skilled school bullies.

Is there something is common to all these stories, and to many other stories of heroic adventure?

As it turns out, they share a great deal in common - so much so that the great Joseph Campbell identified the underlying story-structure of all of these as the monomyth. As he described it, there is only one great story or grand saga. It has a consistent structure. And it underlies all the great stories of human "becoming." The monomyth describes the journey of Jason and his Argonauts, as they searched for the Golden Fleece. This monomyth similarly underlies many of our current "grand sagas" - both in myth, movies and books, and in our personal lives.

The reason that certain monomyth retellings achieve huge cultural resonance (Star Wars-like resonance) with us is not just the quality of the movie or the book. Rather, it is that the movie, book, or even someone's personal history faithfully adheres to the core monomyth storyline.

Monomyths are compelling. They pull us along; they sweep us away. When we go through our own Hero's Quest or Heroine's Journey, we undergo a profound personal transformation. We have left the warmth of nurturing love, and the security of a known environment. We even give up our "identity."

Think of Aragorn, in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Yes, the monomyth there is being largely carried out by the young hobbits. However, Aragorn as much as the hobbits is on his Hero's Quest. In classic heroic manner, he travels - not as a prince of the realm, with servants and retinue - but under an assumed name, as the Chieftan of the Rangers of the North. He has relinquished identification with his "true name" and "true heritage" until he has successfully concluded his Heroic Quest; reuniting the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.

We have many Heroine's Quest stories as well; Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz is an early prototype. Sarah in the Labyrinth, and Lyra in The Golden Compass are other young heroines. Each of them steps into their quest to rescue someone whom they know and love. Dorothy wants to rescue her dog Toto, and Sarah seeks to rescue her baby half-brother, Toby. Lyra searches for her friend Roger, and for other children taken by the Gobblers.

Heroic Quests can take on many forms and guises. Consistent to all of them - Hero's Quests and Heroine's Quests alike - is the moment when the young Hero/Heroine leaves safety, security, and a well-defined (although limiting) role.

Similarly, we each take on a Heroic Quest - often many times in our lives! When we leave home to go off to college, or join the military, we are beginning a personal Heroic Quest.

When we start a new business, leaving behind the safety, security, well-defined structure, comforting companionship, and certain role of corporate life, we are beginning a new Heroic Quest.

We can undertake Heroic Quests within a corporate structure as well. If we champion a new product or idea; whenever we go into Warrior mode, we are questing.

Questing, although arduous and dangerous, is exciting, More than that, it is self-defining. It is the process by which we individuate; become our own person. We find courage, step out from our parent's home, or the security of a corporate paycheck, and forge our own pathway. It is through this forging - which may take many years, and require severe and lengthy training (think Luke Skywalker; think Aragorn) - that we become that which we were meant to be. The higher the calling - be it Jedi Knight or Ruler of the united Gondor/Arnor kingdoms - the more difficult, lengthy, and perilous the journey.

Because it is so intense and so self-defining, with such a clear end in sight, we might think that questing leads us to our final goal; that it is the "single defining journey" of our adult lives.

Surpisingly, not so. In fact, even if we undertake successive Heroic Quests, there is still a realm beyond. So suppose that we leave home to go to college, and then get an advanced degree. That's one Quest. Suppose that we get a corporate job, and spearhead a new initiative within the company. That's another Quest. Suppose that we then strike out and form our own company; yet another Quest. We can go questing all our lives.

But there really is more. There is indeed a "life beyond the Heroic Journey." And it is not at all staid and boring! Rather, the journeys of a mature adult, while often more "inner" than "outer," have just as much challenge as our youthful, self-defining questing - perhaps even more!

A Heroic Quest is obvious. Everyone - including ourselves - knows what we are doing. We are re-uniting the severed kingdoms, getting the "Ring of Power" into Mordor, writing a dissertation, climbing a mountain, or rescuing someone in distress. Our goal and our focus is clear. Further, we shape who we are in the process.

In contrast, the "journeys" that we may undertake as mature adults - something that we may do after we've successfully completed a Heroic Quest (or two or three) can be much less overt. Those around us may not even know that we undertaking some sort of "inner journey." In fact, we ourselves may not even know it - until we come through the other side and say to ourselves, "I really have changed!"

So how do we know the difference? How can we tell if we are on a Heroic Quest, or doing something different? What lies beyond questing? And are there signposts or guides, so that we can know what we're doing?

That will be the theme of the next blogpost - and perhaps a few more afterwards!

In the meantime, if you have a copy of Robert Moore's King, Warrior, Magician, Lover - take a look. There's an error in the basic premise. See if you can discern it. (It will help if you've read Chapters 7 and 11 of Unveiling: The Inner Journey.)

More to be revealed in coming posts.

To your health, and the success of your journeys!

Alay'nya


P.S. There's a clue - and it's in the title of this post. What's the role of the Hierophant? How does the Hierophant relate to our Heroic Quest (if at all)? See if you can figure this out before my next posting!

Your Six "Power Archetypes" - What Happens When One Doesn't Function?

Six Core "Power Archetypes" - The Key to Personal Power

Imagine that you're John Wayne, with the thundering power of six galloping horses under your control, as he had in the movie Stagecoach.

Such stirring, viscerally exciting stagecoach "powerhouses" still exist; and are still drawn by six powerful horses. There are still people who are excited by real stagecoaches and the power of their six-horse "engines."

Now, imagine that you're in the driver's seat, thundering along at full speed. Your "six horses" are in fine form, as you cover dusty plains, heat-seared deserts, and mountainous terrain. You know each member of your team; each is integral.

And suddenly - one of your horses takes a stumble; he breaks a leg, and you no longer have that essential horse on your team. That crucial "balance of power" that enables you to move at top speed, easily covering the most difficult terrain, is broken. Now, lacking just one of your integral "powerhouses," you are much more vulnerable - to attacks by Indian war parties, to raiders and bandits, and even to rivals who will beat you to the next town with important news.

The value of archetypes?

You are the stagecoach. Everything that you are, that you value, that carries you through life, is your "stagecoach." It's your job, and the skills and abilities that enable you to perform on your job. It's your special interests, and the skills that you've built up over a lifetime that lets you cultivate your interests. It's your role in your community, your church, your family, and society at large.

Your archetypes are your horses. Each is different, and you need each one.

 

Congratulations - You've Found One of the Top Blog Posts in The Unveiling Journey

Congratulations!

Whether by luck or by design, you've come to the single most popular blogpost in The Unveiling Journey since the blog was started in 2007. ("Most Popular" is the vote current as of October 22, 2013.)

Since then, we've moved the entire blog series to a new location.

Here are some great reading choices:

• The Unveiling Journey - the most recent blog (we keep getting better!),
• Six Top Blog Posts for The Unveiling Journey - gives links to this blog post plus five more (including the one I'd recommend the most), and
• Your Six "Power Archetypes" – What Happens When One Doesn’t Function? - the rest of this post (the one that you started reading here just now).

 

Why the Transition to a New Blog Site?

• Better Intralinking: You'll find related blogposts easier (look at the end of this post on the new site for good links),
• Better Categories and Tags: Interested in a related topic? Want to see what else is covered? Look in the right-hand sidebar on the new site - check out the Categories (main topics) and Tags (people, books, events, and sub-topics), and
• Improved Resources: Look for a Resources Page (main header menu); it will give you a different kind of access to related topics - from the antecedents (books inspiring this ongoing work) to future directions.

 

See you over there - and thank you!

 

Alay'nya (Alianna J. Maren, Ph.D.)

 

Post edited and content moved to The Unveiling Journey website, specifically to the Your Six "Power Archetypes" - What Happens When One Doesn't Function? blogpost on Tuesday, October 22, 2013. Original post September 15, 2011.

Book Review - "The Survivor Tree" by Cheryl Somers Aubin

"The Survivor Tree," by Cheryl Somers Aubin, and beautifully illustrated by Sheila Harrington, has warmed, melted, and deeply touched my heart. The core message of this book is that "survivors can heal" - and that even though those of us who survive any kind of life-ordeal may be scarred and damaged, we can still be beautiful.

The illustrations are exquisite, and touch me deeply - they perfectly complement the story.

A delightful You Tube video interview with Cheryl shares how she was inspired to write this book, succinctly captures the story line, and shows several of the deeply moving illustrations.



This is a book that I will give to friends who have undergone any kind of challenging life-ordeal, from which they emerge as "survivors." It has a reach well beyond those impacted by 9/11, to the broader community of those who "survive" harrowing experiences. It will deeply help their healing process.

Mastering the "Power Archetypes" - Essential for CEOs and Strategic Leaders

Using the Six Core Power Archetypes - A Leadership Essential

Why are successful CEOs paid so much more than other key members of a leadership team? It's not just the responsibility; the "buck stops here" factor. It's not just business experience and ability to "perform." Rather, there is a skill required in leadership situations - a very special skill - that very few have. So few people have this skill, really, that those that do command the most prestigious jobs. They have the most influence and leverage. While each of us creates a "ripple effect" in the world around us, those few people who have this unique skill have a "ripple effect" that can travel around the world (multiple times), and persist long after the person is still in place, carrying out his or her role. In some cases, the impact of these people lasts for centuries. They create true legacy.

This skill, I'm convinced, is not just the ability to deal with complexity, but something more complex in itself.

Imagine that you - or anyone whom you know - works within an "imaginary room." There are different "walls" in this room. Each "wall" represents a kind of interaction that is required for the job.

Suppose that someone has a relatively simple job, in terms of "interaction complexity." They might be doing a very highly skilled task - such as programming a complex system. But their "interaction complexity" is limited to just a few "walls." This person has their boss or team leader, their co-workers or those who are providing inputs to the system design, and - of course - the "system" itself. This person may be paid a great deal, depending on the complexity of the system that they're programming, and the level of insight and skill that they bring to the task. But there is a "cap" on their salary - and on their growth within the organization. This "cap" relates to the complexity of the "room" in which the person lives. In this case, their "room" has just three "walls"; team leader, co-workers, and computer system.

Now, think of yourself in a CEO (or similar leadership) role. Your job requires you to live in a "room" with very many "walls." There is your Board and the Board Chair, your direct reports, your clients, and - of course - the product or services that your company offers. Within the realm of "direct reports," there is further complexity. Marketing, for example, is a very different "wall" than is finance, which is different from operations, etc.

What makes your job both interesting and demanding is the need for you to "switch gears" as needed. Your job environment is the Swiss Alps race track; as described in a previous blogpost on Your V8 Power Car Engine.

The most effective, and successful, CEOs manage by calling on their different power modes as appropriate, and as needed.

One good example of this kind of power mode integration is described by author Michael F. Andrew, in his book, How to Think Like a CEO and Act Like a Leader. One of his first points is to "treat issues coldly and treat people warmly." This is direct advice to combine two power modes; your Emperor (your logical, facts-and-figures, results-oriented mode), and your Empress/Isis (your caring, feeling-oriented, relationship-building mode). These are entirely different modes of being. Successful leaders use both - and four others as well! (They also, for "filling their well," draw on their two reserve modes also.)



I know of several people who do this kind of "gear shifting" very well. Two well-known luminaries are current Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. (They are both profiled in Chapter 11: "Switching State" of Unveiling: The Inner Journey.

Closer to home, Maestro Dingwall Fleary, Musical Director for both Reston Community Orchestra and the The McLean Symphony, is an excellent example of a leader who can "shift roles" as need be. He finds this ability essential to his success in leading people and in bringing out their "best possible performance." And just as as business offers quarterly profits as immediate and direct feedback on the CEO's skill, a symphony's performance is a direct feedback on the conductor's skill. It's partly the quality of the musicians, and it's mostly what the conductor can get out of them.

For more, read Chapter 11: "Shifting State," in Unveiling: The Inner Journey.

Integration - The "Final Step" (of Your "Power Journey's" First Stage)

Integration Equals Mastery - The First Challenge of Your Adult Life Journey

Before you begin any difficult overland travel, the first two things you want to know are:

• Where am I going?, and
• What's the map?

Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? We need to know our destination. As Steven Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, states: "Begin with the end in mind."



Similarly for us. Our goal is total fulfillment of our human potential. The nature of this "potential" is unique for each of us. However, we share a common high-level roadmap in our adult life-journey.

Just as no child matures without going through the "terrible twos," and no teenager becomes an adult without some sort of angst; some sort of "identity crisis," as adults we face similar life-challenges. And the truth is, these are as well-known (in some circles) as are the "childhood development stages" first elucidated by Piaget.



As adults, we have similar growth challenges. The ancient Kabbalists understood these, and charted them as twenty-two pathways. These 22 paths became identified with letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and also with the Major Arcana in the Tarot. The first of these paths is the entry point. It simply means, "This is where you start." (More on this later.)

The remaining twenty-one paths or steps are grouped into three sets of seven. Each set of seven paths is a major adult journey. We need to take these in order; we really can't do the third "journey" until we've completed the first and the second.

For now, we focus on the first adult journey; integration.

"Integration of what?" you might ask.

Integration of your internal V8 power-car engine. (I introduced the V8 Power Car - analogy for life-mastery in the August 4, 2011 blogpost.)

The thing about this engine is: it doesn't well unless you can get each of the power-car "cylinders" (archetypes) to fire when and where needed.

The ancients understood the idea of eight powerful archetypes, all drawing one person towards a compelling goal. The Greek god of the oceans, Poseidon, was said to have a "chariot of the gods" drawn by eight immortal horses.

Goddesses also rode chariots drawn by powerful horses; Eos - the Goddess of the Dawn - is shown in a chariot drawn by two gorgeous Pegasi. (Reproduced with permission.)

Our cultural history is replete with this compelling image; a person driving a chariot pulled by two, four, or even eight powerful beasts - each with a determined mind of its own!

Our goal; the "end" that we have in mind at our "beginning," is to identify and harness and use each of these "beasts" or archetypes successfully. This is the completion of our first adult life-journey.

This goal - integration - access to and power over each of our core archetypes - is not trivial. In fact, it is one of mastery. However, it is one where we must succeed - if we are to progress further. This is the "end" that we must "keep in mind" (following Stephen Covey's prescription) as we begin our first adult life-journey.

(Reproduced with permission.)

Unveiling: The Inner Journey takes us through our core power archetypes. Both women and men need to learn, access, and use each of these archetypes - although we may individually do so with different proportions and emphasis.



In particular, two Unveiling chapters- Chapter 7: "A Real Woman's Path (Really Does Exist!)" and Chapter 11: "Shifting State" - describe these archetypes in detail. Succeeding blogposts will follow through with this theme.