In a world where traditional personality tests tell you which box you fit into, what if there was a tool that helped you discover your unique creative identity—one so individual that the chance of anyone else sharing your exact profile is virtually zero?
I recently had the privilege of hosting Lisa Johnson, founder of The Elements Kit, on the Bend Like Bamboo Resilience Podcast. Lisa's journey perfectly embodies what it means to bend like bamboo—transforming her own periods of uncertainty and feeling stuck into a revolutionary self-discovery system that's changing how people understand their authentic selves and unlock their hidden potential.
Beyond Traditional Personality Tests
Having worked as a design consultant for years, Lisa experienced firsthand the limitations of traditional psychometric tests like Myers-Briggs and StrengthsFinder. Whilst these tools categorise people into fixed types, Lisa observed something concerning. People struggled to remember their results, often received different outcomes each time, and felt constrained by rigid categorisation.
"What I was learning is that in that idea of really typecasting into those 16 types, people found it very challenging to remember the actual coding for themselves," Lisa explains. "Many people were experiencing getting a different result each time, which is not supposed to happen."
This realisation sparked Lisa's mission to create something fundamentally different—a tool that guides individuals to discover their own one-of-a-kind creative identity rather than fitting them into predetermined boxes.
The Power of Archetypes in Leadership
The Elements Kit combines the ancient wisdom of archetypes with modern self-discovery methodology. Archetypes—recurring patterns of characters found in stories across cultures and time periods—serve as powerful metaphors for human behaviour. We use archetypal language daily: calling someone "an angel" to describe benevolent behaviour or recognising the "warrior" energy in a determined colleague.
What makes Lisa's approach revolutionary is how it maps these archetypes across six distinct life elements:
My Personal Elements Kit Journey
As someone who has personally experienced The Elements Kit, I can attest to its transformative power. My discovery chart revealed fascinating insights about my creative DNA:
What struck me most was how the chart revealed both my Yang energy—the driving, entrepreneurial, challenge-the-status-quo aspects—alongside my Yin energy—the gentle, intuitive, healing qualities. Understanding this dynamic has been invaluable in recognising when to lean into different aspects of myself depending on the situation.
For instance, in a strategic business meeting, I might consciously access my Strategist and Challenger archetypes whilst allowing my Mystic to take a backseat. Conversely, when working with clients in my healing practice, I might lead with my Intuitive and Healer whilst my Entrepreneur supports from behind the scenes.
Transforming Teams and Organisations
Beyond individual discovery, The Elements Kit is revolutionising how teams work together. Lisa works with organisations through one-day workshops where team members complete their discovery charts together, sharing their authentic selves in a safe, guided environment.
"By the time you get to the end of a workshop, not only do people know each other fully and wholly, but they also have worked out how to use other tools in the elements kit to assemble each individual around whatever the team goals are," Lisa shares.
This approach is particularly powerful for teams with members spread across Australia, often meeting face-to-face for the first time. The process creates deep connection and understanding whilst aligning everyone around concrete business objectives and KPIs.
Uncovering Hidden Potential
One of the most profound aspects of The Elements Kit is its ability to reveal dormant potential—talents and qualities that may have been repressed through trauma, limiting beliefs, or societal conditioning.
Lisa shared a powerful transformation story of working with a 21-year-old autistic man who had lost confidence in himself whilst working in an unsuitable role. Through his Elements Kit discovery, he was able to understand and embrace his unique talents and archetypes, leading to a new role that brought him major fulfilment.
"This is very much about who are you in your own eyes, on your own terms, and what are the things that are not yet expressed within you that you want to bring to the fore," Lisa explains.
The Shadow and the Light
Like bamboo that needs both deep roots and flexible branches, The Elements Kit acknowledges that we all have shadow aspects alongside our strengths. Each archetype has a light side and a shadow side. For example, the Challenger archetype that helped me overcome my MS diagnosis and refuse to accept limitations can become problematic when it shows up as being overly argumentative or disruptive.
The key is developing awareness of when our archetypes are serving us versus when they're creating conflict—with ourselves, our teams, or our goals.
A Return to Self
As Lisa beautifully puts it, "The Elements Kit is a return to self—it's knowing what to let go of and knowing a way forward. It's understanding dormant potential that is often repressed from trauma or difficult times. It's discovering unseen treasure."
This philosophy aligns perfectly with the Bend Like Bamboo approach to resilience. When we understand our authentic creative DNA, we can navigate life's challenges with greater flexibility whilst remaining anchored in our core strengths and values.
Resilience Through Self-Knowledge
True resilience—the ability to bend like bamboo—comes from deep self-knowledge. When you understand your unique combination of archetypes, you can:
As Lisa wisely notes, "To know yourself is the key to designing a life that you love."
Moving Forward
Whether you're a leader seeking to optimise team dynamics, an individual navigating a life transition, or someone simply curious about your creative potential, The Elements Kit offers a pathway to profound self-discovery and authentic expression.
In our conversation, Lisa and I ...