The Alerter

To be alert is to be awake and watchful for potential threats and opportunities around us. People who score highly on the Alerter Shadow Type usually have a strong tendency to be aware of potential dangers and threats. As a group, Alerters typically have clear, sharp intellects and strong powers of perception. Being alert by nature, they often see things that others miss. They also tend to be critical thinkers who question anything that seems too good to be true. Thus, they are often the skeptics in the crowd or the devil’s advocate. They are actually serving as watch dogs for the group, warning of possible dangers that others may not have considered. They also tend to be suspicious of authority because of the potential damage that power can cause. For this reason, they may be reluctant to step into positions of authority themselves.

People whose primary type is the Alerter seem to carry a wound that says, in effect, “deep down, you are a bad. There is something wrong with you.” By extension, if something is wrong with them, then something could be wrong with others, too. After all, if I can be bad inside, so can you, and therefore I need to guard myself from both. Alerters respond to this fear by maintaining vigilance for anything that might go wrong. Fundamentally, they are striving to create safety for themselves and others by pointing out fires so that they can be extinguished before burning anyone.

One way to help Alerters feel safe is to provide some kind of intellectual knowledge. In particular, the knowledge that is most helpful is the understanding that what others may consider negativity in them is actually their efforts to protect people from the potential harm that could come if they proceed naively, without scrutinizing for potential threats first. In essence, this understanding helps to lift the shame off of the criticisms they are likely to have heard from others for appearing to be ‘naysayers.’ Pretty much any way of transforming what looks bad about themselves into something good can be useful, so long as the portrayal of good is sincere.

For people whose primary type is the Alerter, the sovereign archetype is their kryptonite and therefore likely to be in shadow. Thus, the final step on the pathway for these people is likely to be into their sovereign energy. To take this step, they usually need to learn how to access the gold inside what appears negative so that they can hold a positive vision of what they might have to offer from a sovereign role of leadership.

Note: If you are wondering how high, or how low, you might be in Alerting, then do our Survey, and talk with one of our certified Practitioners. If you want a more in-depth understanding of the Alerter (and the 11 other Shadow Types), then please attend one of our Trainings.