The Wounded Healer: Laurence Barrett on Resilience, Risk and Transforming Leadership

Welcome to another episode of The Secret Resume, hosted by Melody Moore. In today’s conversation, Melody sits down with Laurence Barrett, founder of Heresy Consulting and a passionate advocate for the transformative power of Jungian psychology in leadership and organisational development.

Laurence opens up about his unconventional upbringing, from a childhood shaped by a police officer father with a knack for spotting “gaps in the system,” to formative experiences living in Hong Kong. He discusses how a sense of outsiderness and resilience, rooted in his family’s traveller background and his own early disruptions, propelled him towards questioning systems and ultimately forging his own unique path in both corporate life and coaching.

Together, Melody and Laurence explore the interplay between personal history, purpose, and professional practise - delving into everything from Marxism and the influence of Angela Davis, to the power and mystery of Dordogne cave paintings. Lawrence also shares how his journey led him deep into Jungian psychology, both as a lens for understanding human systems and as a practical toolkit for developing leaders and coaches.

Whether you're curious about the secret motivations behind great coaches, fascinated by the subtle differences between coaching and therapy, or interested in the profound impact of noticing and self-awareness, this episode is rich with insight, personal stories, and thought-provoking reflections on what it means to lead, learn, and help others grow.

 

You can connect with Laurence here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurence-barrett/

 

Buy his books here (A Jungian Approach to Coaching, and his new one, Coaching The Unconscious, which is out in November 2025): https://amzn.to/4mFN1Ru

 

Laurence's book recommendations: 

1. 1. Memories, Dreams, Reflections by Carl Jung - https://amzn.to/3WgRSxy

   2. The Middle Passage by James Hollis - https://amzn.to/3VE93Jl
   3. The Myth of The Goddess by Anne Baring and Jules Cashford - https://amzn.to/48CTc5h

 

If you want to take our Entrepreneurial Leader Diagnostic, you can do so here: https://liberare-el2.scoreapp.com

 

The transcript that shows on your screen is automatically generated, therefore we cannot guarantee it is 100% accurate.  You can access a copy of the full transcript here: https://shorturl.at/VWUAZ

 

The Secret Resume podcast is a Liberare Consulting production.  You can contact us at podcast@liberareconsulting.co.uk and can buy Melody's book 'The Inclusive Team: How to Build and Develop Inclusive High Performing Teams' or a copy of our Inclusive Teams conversation Cards here: https://shorturl.at/XspUX  Use the code podcast10 to get a 10% discount on all of the items on our product page.

 

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