The Consultant

If we want to make a decision, we need alternatives. Do I stay at home because I can pursue my hobbies there, or do I go to work because I can meet my colleagues there? Different areas of the brain are involved in these decisions. We can understand it emotionally: In order to be able to live, we have to fulfill different and even contradictory conditions. In deep motivation, we talk about basic needs. We have the choice between these extremes:

• Either we seek belonging in a circle of fellow human beings to whom we adapt.

• Or we keep ourselves at a distance so that we are sensed as an individual and find recognition.

• Either we have a secure foothold for our safety so that we sensing danger in good time.

• Or we want to take care of ourselves with enforcement and develop our abilities.

• Either we are cool and curious about rationality: We want to orient ourselves in reality.

• Or we use empathy to empathize responsibly with effects.

In our dreams, fantasies or thoughts, we can sensing these opposing forces as persons or personality traits. C.G. Jung described them as archetypes, which have been sensed in this way by people across cultures at all times. For example, the type responsible for communication in Greek mythology is Hermes, the messenger of the gods, in Norse myths it is Loki and the Romans knew Mercury, the bearer of news. This deity is responsible for the communicative side. Our need for belonging is vital because we would not survive alone. Other examples are Thor, Mars or, among the Greeks, Ares, who as gods of war represent the sometimes quick-tempered assertive side. Without sufficient care for ourselves, we would soon perish.

In our fantasy or dream world, we let these personified basic needs come together in an old knight’s hall, as the band around King Arthur once did. In a ‘consultant’ type personality, belonging, perhaps represented by Mercury, and empathy, as radiant Venus, will sit at the head of the table.

The opposite poles to the two are rationality and recognition. They sit opposite them. Safety sits between belonging and recognition because it wants to ensure reliable relationships. The need for assertiveness is oriented towards empathy and recognition in order to intuitively take advantage of opportunities.

As safety and enforcement sit opposite each other, they will be able to work together to ensure feasible strategies. The task of the consultant is to responsibly align this inner team and to find a self-image (identity) that integrates all basic needs.

So we need a mental construct that powers us to feel good all round. When we say: ‘I am a consultant’, this can refer to situations in which we feel good. As a concept for the direction of our feelings, we need it to be a little more specific, preferably as a mental image that we can empathize with and sense with all our senses. For some consultants, this is associated with personal coaching or therapeutic work, while for others it is attractive to work in schools, kindergartens or in a professional environment as a customer advisor. This self-image is motivating in the sense of all basic needs if they can support each other and contribute to the common work. Each of these shares brings different experiences and skills that can benefit everyone.

• Belonging (yellow) ensures commonality through coordination. It takes care of communication.

• Empathy (white) examines the effects of our behavior. It wants to act responsibly.

• Safety (green) is an attentive observer. It recognizes risks and ensures order and reliability.

• Enforcement (red) fights to achieve goals. It has visions and takes spontaneous action when we can win something.

• Rationality (black) analyzes situations and ongoing change processes. It wants sensible solutions.

• Recognition (blue) strives for the best, compares and evaluates alternatives. It makes suggestions for action.

A common orientation is sought with which all six opposing basic needs are satisfied. …