IN THE OLYMPIC BATTLES OF BUSINESS, EVERY WOMAN IS A GODDESS

Artemis personifies the independent female career woman. She is the goddess of the hunt and of the moon, and is always in pursuit of her objectives. She is not afraid of the judgment of others. She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and she helped her mother (immediately after childbirth) by midwifing her twin brother Apollo while her mother suffered from the wrath of Zeus’ jealous wife, Hera. Artemis’s symbol is a bow and arrow. Artemis can concentrate intently on her many earthbound goals and makes an excellent saleswoman. I see her being the type of salesperson that easily overcomes that early state of apprehension that occurs when we are entering the sales role, being the type of person who gets the job done without distraction or need for guidance. I have worked alongside the goddess Artemis in various companies; she is always prepared well beyond expectations with her customer history and excellent product knowledge. She has her data and resources always ready. She works harder than all others in diligent planning, preparation, and follow-up and takes no prisoners when anyone stands in her way. Artemis can be overly affected by stress and anxiety when her extensive efforts do not bear proper fruit. She might allow her other attributes, such as connecting and love, to balance her—as her attributes of power and insight are already quite developed. She can benefit from dropping a ball every now and then, and allowing for a bit more balance.

Hermes is clearly not a goddess; however, I believe that he embodies the archetype of connecting perfectly. Hermes was born to Zeus and Maia. He became the messenger of the Olympic gods because of his ability to sweet-talk and negotiate his way out of trouble. He earned the right to travel between the upper and lower worlds, to guide and protect travelers, and fluently speak the languages of all that he encountered. Hermes’ symbol is a winged staff with two snakes. I have worked with many a highly interpersonal Hermes in my career, and I do like to associate myself in this category. Hermes walks through a room and can speak with anyone in her path, naturally. It’s as though the walls between us have always been absent for her. She feels other people’s emotions and is extremely sensitive to their approval and their rejection. She likes to build emotional connections with people and provide help to anyone who truly shows her respect. She has the gift of gab, creativity, play, and of course, deep compassion for others. She is extremely non-judgmental, as she likes to see the world through the eyes of those that she is connecting with. She disdains details and data and has probably been extremely successful at completely avoiding these demands in life, so much so that her call reports are almost never completed and reports are procrastinated upon until the utter end. She is typically excellent in delegating or sweet-talking her way out of handling the details, unless she is forced to comply by the needs of her customer. I often think of my son Liam when I ask him to do his homework: “Mom, I want to play.” Liam, Mom wants to play too. This goddess should always try and find resources to help with organization and time management. While she does not need to be told how to act with any customer type (she hates to be micromanaged), she should be careful of selling to another Hermes, as the work will often take a back seat to play. She also needs to be very careful of her boundaries, as her compassionate attention can be easily taken advantage of.

Themis was an ancient Titan and the goddess of justice and order. She counseled Zeus on rules, fate, and prophesies and controlled the Oracle of Delphi prior to Apollo. Themis’s symbol is the scales of justice. Themis is responsible for balancing power with compassion and seeing where responsibility must be taken. She sits in meditation and looks out into the future of options and opportunity. I have worked with impressive Themis as she rises high into the atmosphere to truly see the big picture and give perspective as to how my actions relate to the company’s strategies. She is the highly erudite strategist that graces us with her presence and regales us with her insight. I embrace this oracle, and at the same time, I am afraid of her. She can see right into the future and right through my crap! I invite her to join me when I need to take my ego out of the picture and look critically at what I am spending my time on. Themis as an archetype must be grounded or balanced with Artemis, lest she fly off into the ivory tower of her mind. I’ve worked with Themises who could spend hours pondering strategy while the walls crumble around them, having abandoned their day-to-day responsibilities. Make sure you’re doing the nuts-and-bolts tactical work, not just the cerebral strategic portion of your role.

Athena is a warrior goddess, wise and strong. She is a planner, a commander, and the most archetypical business leader in Mount Olympus. Zeus is her father, and although he is by her side, she maintains her own power with her thunderbolt and aegis. Her mother did not exist, as Athena was born from Zeus’ head, fully grown. Athena’s symbol is an owl. Athena always did well in school and took charge in all matters since she was a child. She was that girl who liked to tell the others what to do. She wears her armor proudly in the form of achievements and maintains great pride in her accomplishments. She is natural at facilitating customer groups and formal presentations, and she writes beautiful reports for all to benefit from—but equally for her to feel the satisfaction of her success. She is very aware of right and wrong and detests when rules (which she may have written) are broken. I have always been impressed by the goddess Athena and try to invite her into my own style. Unfortunately, she can sometimes rub connectors like me the wrong way, as we perceive her behavior as competitive and judgmental. I try to see past that (and my own insecurity) and respect the leader that has emerged from this archetype despite the years of patriarchal business culture that we have been raised in. Athena is well positioned to move up in any organization, but she should always remember to have compassion for her fellow women, who may shy away from her dominance and intellect. I know Athenas who have the Lover as their other archetype, and they are the most powerful women in the world. I would recommend that Athena build compassion as her complimentary strength if she does not have it. With both, you do us women very proud.

Hecate was an only child to her parents Perses and Asteria. Hecate embodies many of the strengths of the other goddesses; she has a tender heart and is associated (I’m sure you will appreciate this) with barking dogs. She protects, fights, and speaks with spirits. She was idolized by Zeus to further emphasize the power that this goddess had. Hecate’s symbol is a key. I see Hecate as a creator and diviner of success, as she could see the past, present, and future. She is the goddess of magic and protects all that is new and born. Hecate is enlightened, compassionate, and wise. Baba Yaga is an Eastern European version of Hecate. She is seen as a haggardly grandmother who can shift into any form that she likes, which includes all of the archetypal images that we have discussed. She either will help you or hurt you, with incredible endless power. Neither of these women need men (they aren’t married or coupled), and I like to see them as protectors of achieving whatever you set your sights on, for those whose intentions satisfy them. Simply put, the belief that you create your own reality, your own success, is a protected force for women. We might believe this to be true, but we so often struggle with our own inability to receive the praise or compliments that enable seeing our true goddess selves that we don’t stand a chance of manifesting them. If I were Hecate or Baba Yaga, I would put anyone who stood in the way of a goddess in his or her very place, for fun. I wish I could say that I have had many experiences with this lady at work, but I haven’t. Let’s bring her into our work places!

Demeter is the primordial mother goddess from Mount Olympus. She personifies love, dedication, and protection for her children and those she cares about. She feels pure love for the object of her attention and wants to deeply understand and heal the needs of those that she focuses on. Demeter’s symbol is a cornucopia. Demeter is the salesperson who will truly understand the needs of her customer. She will take classes in her industry and become an expert at understanding everything that she finds value in. She listens deeply because she truly cares and makes their priorities her priorities. She builds incredible trust and lifelong loyalty with her customers because she values them above her own (or her company’s) needs. She can be an overprotective Mama Bear. I always appreciate working with the mature mother goddess Demeter, and I am always humbled by the amount of respect and closeness that she has with her customer. She defends her customer’s needs and acts like the true “voice of the customer” brilliantly. She has a great deal of substance and experience and doesn’t allow a less experienced sales goddess to frazzle her complete dedication to her customer. The goddess Demeter can easily pigeonhole herself into being too customer-focused, not equally advocating for her company’s strategies. She feels the loss of a customer or position so deeply that it can be traumatic. She can be an incredible teammate to less experienced goddesses as long as they see her for the mother figure and leader that she truly is. I would always recommend that the goddess Demeter build up her other strengths, such as leading and speaking, so strongly that she can always fall back on her less emotional skills when being called out for her passion (which infuriates her, as it does for most goddesses).

Peitho has a terrible reputation, but who can blame her? The daughter of Aphrodite and wife of Hermes, she was known for powerful persuasion, presentation, and (blush) seduction. Peitho’s symbol is a white dove. I have seen this personality type several times in female sales professionals. It is pretty amazing stuff—ladies that can sell you anything. They know their information, they want to teach it to you, and they know how to position their products. They have some incredible natural talents, such as a presence that is hard to ignore. They may be regarded as the lone wolf, which is a shame. I think that this type simply knows that the information is useful to you and is not afraid to communicate. They may appear to be challenging, but they are simply taking the moment to exchange information very seriously. Their passion is all about sharing the best, most powerful insight. I would say that Peitho could use some compassion or grounding, but really, she does not. She is absolutely fine on her own, as she is incredibly successful at what she does. On the other hand, if she did want to become part of a team, she would need to hold her tongue and allow for the slightly less verbose ladies to get their ideas out as well.