Hello and welcome to the Shadow Self Leadership course. Whether your interest is personal, professional or you’re simply curious to learn more, we’re pleased you could join us!
The following Shadow Self Leadership course offers a unique blend of leadership information for men and women who wish to lead more effectively in a workplace, business, family or other relationship. It has a particular focus on heart and head-centred leadership styles, culminating in soul-centred, true leadership as described by the founder of analytical psychology, Dr Carl Jung.
HEART, HEAD AND SOUL-BASED LEADERSHIP
Dr Toula Gordillo’s Shadow Self Leadership course is built on the integration of three essential ways of leading ourselves and others:
- heart-centred leadership
- head-centred leadership and
- soul-centred leadership (integrates the heart, head and body)
Heart-centred leadership focuses on empathy, care and emotional connection. It helps leaders understand their own feelings and the feelings of others, building trust and meaningful relationships. This is the part of us that listens, supports and creates a sense of safety.
Head-centred leadership brings logic, structure and clear decision-making. It supports planning, problem-solving and setting boundaries. This aspect helps leaders think clearly, stay organised and make sound choices, especially under pressure.
Soul-centred leadership goes deeper. It connects us to meaning, purpose and inner wisdom. It invites reflection on who we are, what we value and why we lead. This is where intuition, insight and a sense of direction come together.
In Story Image Therapy, Shadow Self Leadership *or Soul-centred true leadership* recognises that these three ways of leading are often shaped by our unconscious patterns. By working with symbolic stories and images used as prompts for self-reflection, individuals can learn to recognise, embrace and integrate these hidden parts of themselves in any leadership role.
Balanced soul-based leaders, for example, are able to respond effectively, enhancing their own and others’ emotional resilience, and looking for opportunities to learn, rather than simply reacting. They lead with clarity and compassion, making decisions that support everyone’s wellbeing.
THE FOUNDATION OF SHADOW SELF LEADERSHIP
Shadow Self Leadership is about learning to lead yourself first before you lead others. It recognises that every leader carries unseen thoughts, emotions, fears and habits—the Shadow Self—that quietly influence decisions, reactions and relationships.
When the Shadow Self is unrecognised, it can show up as stress, over-control, people-pleasing, defensiveness, burnout or conflict with others. This affects not only leaders, but also teams, organisations, families and communities.
Shadow Self leadership is different from regular or ‘surface’ leadership in several ways. Essentially, it combines practical skills with inner awareness so a leader can live, love and lead more authentically, thus creating more sustained personal and professional health and wellbeing.
Shadow Self leadership is grounded in Dr Toula Gordillo’s symbolic method of Story Image Therapy (SIT®), and its deeper counterpart, SIT Shadow Work™. Evidence-based shadow work, grounded in Story Image Therapy, empowers individuals to lead not just through explicit skills or knowledge, but through tacit intuitive understanding.
Two Main Archetypes
To aid understanding, Dr Toula uses two primary archetypes in Story Image Therapy. These are used describe the connection between human behaviour, levels of caring, mental and behavioural health. The archetypes include a fearful frog and stinging scorpion, and they are grounded in the work of Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology, Dr Carl Jung. According to Jung, can be helpful aids to facilitate deeper insight and awareness.
Leadership is never just personal; our inner world shapes the emotional climate around us in all areas of life. This includes when we lead ourselves and other individuals at work, within our family, or every relationship with others.
Shadow Self Leadership takes a psychospiritual approach. In simple terms, it helps people understand what is happening inside them—their mind, emotions and sense of purpose—so they can act with greater clarity and integrity.
By using stories, images and self-reflection, people learn to recognise their hidden patterns gently, exploring the deepest part of themselves without blame, shame or guilt.
Learning about Shadow Self (psychospiritual) leadership matters because conscious leadership creates healthier relationships, better decisions, and more grounded authority. When people lead from inner awareness rather than unconscious reactions, they build trust, resilience—workplaces and lives—that feel more authentic, balanced and humane.
HOW THIS COURSE WORKS
This Shadow Self Leadership course is designed to follow the Shadow Self Support course. Both courses can be completed together (called the Shadow Self program) for a full comprehension of the shadow self and its influence.
Some individuals may wish to complete the only the Shadow Self Support course, while others may prefer to complete the whole program.
The Shadow Self Leadership course is self-paced. You can complete the activities in your own time and at your own convenience.
If you would like to stop the course at any time, you can simply log out and then log back in when you are ready to resume. You will automatically be guided to where you left and can then commence once again.
The course is divided into five parts, with each section corresponding to the symbolic rooms in a house. Each part of this course has a downloadable e-book. You will need to download each e-book at the start of each section as there will be questions (in the form of a multiple choice quiz) for you to complete based on the information provided in each e-book, as well as each section of the course. *Alternatively, each ebook is also available as a printed book on Amazon for you to purchase and read at your convenience if you prefer a hard-copy version.
CERTIFICATION
Please also note that this a certified course, meaning that you can receive a certificate in Psychospiritual Leadership upon completion of the course. You will need a 70% pass rate in order to meet the requirements of the course and receive your certificate. (Please note, you may repeat the assessment if you do not meet the pass rate to receive your certificate).
