This post is the first part of a series on identifying the Organisational Shadow, and how those who design, build, and operate their systems may actually be in the best position of doing so.
C.G. Jung defined the psychological shadow as aspects of ourselves that we’ve pushed away into the unconscious to protect our ego, often due to societal pressures or personal discomfort.
These hidden parts don’t simply disappear; they influence our actions in subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle ways.
“Whatever is rejected from the self, appears in the world as an event,” Jung wrote, and this insight proved surprisingly relevant to my work in platform engineering.
My journey with this concept started personally, and without veering into the oversharing territory, certain life events led me to work on ‘integrating’ my own shadow, primarily through ‘shadow work’ with a licensed therapist. These experiences helped me grow and understand myself better.
I know I’m not alone on this shadow work journey. Some of you are probably nodding along, thinking, “Yep, been there, done that.”
Once you start this work, it’s hard not to see it everywhere.
To illustrate, in the 2024 film, Dune: Part Two, Villeneuve visually captures shadow work masterfully. After consuming the Water of Life, Paul confronts his heritage in a sequence where the cinematography literally darkens, and he emerges wearing a black cloak. It's a visual metaphor for integrating one's shadow as he shifts from a conflicted heir into an authentic leader who has embraced his identity's light and dark aspects.
What fascinates me most is how the shadow manifests differently across individuals, teams, and entire organisations while following consistent patterns. As engineering leaders, we often encounter these patterns in our systems and teams, though we might not immediately recognize them for what they are.
While most tech companies focus on the obvious technical challenges, I’ve found that the real barriers often mirror Paul’s journey - they’re about confronting the parts of ourselves, and our organisations, that we’ve been avoiding.
This moment highlights how embracing our shadows can lead to personal growth and resilience.
What is an Organisational Shadow?
An organisational shadow refers to an organisation’s unconscious, hidden aspects contradicting its stated values or self-image.
These shadows often surface in group dynamics or decisions, revealing deeper tensions.
Jung observed that our shadow aspects become particularly visible in these environments:
“The Shadow is exposed to collective infections much more than the conscious personality. When a man is alone, for instance, he feels relatively all right….. [But when in a group] he [can] give way to impulses that do not belong to him at all.”
For instance, Amazon’s return-to-office mandate illustrates this concept.
While CEO Andy Jassy envisions Amazon “operating like the world’s largest startup,” their return-to-office policy and traditional workplace norms reveal something deeper about their organisational psyche. Jassy explains,
“We’ve observed that it’s easier for our teammates to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture; collaborating, brainstorming, and inventing are simpler and more effective; teaching and learning from one another are more seamless; and teams tend to be better connected to one another. If anything, the last 15 months we’ve been back in the office at least three days a week has strengthened our conviction about the benefits.”
Jassy’s comments clearly reference the “Invent and Simplify” principle in Amazon’s Leadership Principles. It states, “Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by ‘not invented here.’ As we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.”
This situation raises important questions: Is it genuinely innovative for Amazon to follow the trend of other large organisations implementing return-to-office mandates that lack flexibility?
Does reverting to pre-pandemic work norms signal creativity, or does it reflect a reluctance to adapt to the ’new normal’ of remote work?
Consequently, is Amazon potentially losing out on innovative ideas by not fully embracing new work paradigms?
These contradictions are not unique to Amazon; they are common in organisations striving to balance identity, culture, and change.
How does an Organisation perform Shadow Work?
“For some individuals, the assimilation of the Shadow becomes vital in the attempt to achieve psychological balance and readjustment. For some organisations, likewise, the Shadow might present an equally menacing and immediate problem.” - M. L. Bowles, The Organization Shadow (1991)
Organisations, like individuals, must confront their hidden aspects. The stakes are high; ignoring the organisational shadow can lead to everything from team distrust to moral injury when people feel their values have been betrayed by the institutions they serve.
This shadow often manifests through projection onto specific groups (or sometimes an individual), but more typically, HR or legal departments shoulder what we might consider the organisation’s “dirty work.”
These teams frequently navigate ethical conflicts between assigned tasks and stated company values. Yet paradoxically, this position gives them unique insight into the organisation’s shadow aspects and perhaps even an obligation to challenge them (though that is outside the bounds of my experience and I’ll gladly leave it to those professionals to work that out!).
One of the key aspects of performing one’s own shadow work is the task of identification, which involves uncovering emotional triggers and reflecting on patterns of behaviour.
The most difficult step for me was expressing my emotions through my body; such as putting my hand on my chest as I talk through an experience. When the emotion became intense, my therapist would pause and ask me to name the core emotion (anger, sadness, fear, disgust, contempt, joy) and, most importantly, where I felt it. With practice, I felt these emotions progress further down my body and was surprised how many of them were being ‘stuck’ around my shoulders and teeth. At the very least, I now know why I’m so bad with grinding my teeth!
This process felt like a systematic way of approaching my emotions that I hadn’t thought about before.
Since then, I’ve reflected on how this may link to how platform engineers approach systemic issues within their organisation. They’re often responsible for finding ways to reduce toil, setting standards for operational resilience, and assisting in incident response and management. They could be seen almost like front-line teams helping to identify triggers and patterns within an organisation; providing that first step into identifying the shadow.