Introducing the Lighthouse Policymaker Archetypes
Policymaking is complex and nuanced, shaped by the personalities, behaviours, and decision-making styles of the people involved.
At Lighthouse, we’ve developed a framework to help make sense of this complexity: the Lighthouse policymaker archetypes. These archetypes provide a practical lens through which to understand how policymakers approach their work, grounded in five core traits.
While every individual is unique, our archetypes are typical examples of the most common approaches to policymaking. They offer a shared language for understanding how policymakers think and work—helping teams like yours collaborate more effectively.
The five traits
At the heart of our framework are five traits, each representing key dimensions of decision-making. Every policymaker embodies a unique combination of these traits, which shift depending on context and external pressures.
Vision: Creativity and ambition, versus rigidity and resistance to change.
Pragmatism: Actionable, results-driven solutions, versus idealism or impracticality.
Collaboration: Inclusivity and valuing diverse perspectives, versus isolation or a lack of stakeholder engagement.
Risk tolerance: Openness to calculated risks, versus risk aversion and fear of uncertainty.
Altruism: Fairness, equity, and societal benefit, versus self-interest or short-termism.
These traits are dynamic. A policymaker’s context—whether it’s political pressure, resource constraints, or public scrutiny—can bring different traits to the fore, influencing how they behave in the moment.
The five archetypes
Our five archetypes represent the most common combinations of these traits. While individuals rarely align perfectly with one archetype, these profiles provide useful shorthand for understanding different approaches to policymaking:
The Visionary: Bold, creative, and future-focused, Visionaries push boundaries and imagine transformative possibilities.
The Pragmatist: Grounded and results-oriented, Pragmatists prioritise what works and deliver tangible outcomes.
The Collaborator: Equity-driven and inclusive, Collaborators thrive on teamwork, trust, and shared solutions.
The Operator: Efficiency-focused and control-driven, Operators excel in structured, reliable delivery.
The Guardian: Cautious and equity-focused, Guardians prioritise stability, fairness, and the protection of societal interests.
These archetypes are not fixed labels. Instead, they are tools to help understand tendencies, identify strengths and watch points, and build better working relationships.
Why traits and archetypes matter
Understanding traits and archetypes is about more than categorisation—it’s about unlocking better collaboration. Policymaking teams are diverse, and recognising the different ways people approach challenges can bridge gaps in understanding, align goals, and improve outcomes.
By identifying traits—through tailored tools like trait maps—we can build a clearer picture of how individuals and teams operate. Equally important is understanding how context affects archetypes: political scrutiny, resource constraints, or public pressure can amplify or suppress certain traits, influencing behaviour in ways that shape decision-making and collaboration.
For example:
A Visionary might clash with a Guardian if their bold ambition feels at odds with a cautious focus on stability, particularly in high-pressure contexts.
A Pragmatist may find working with a Collaborator slower but more inclusive, leading to better long-term results under the right conditions.
An Operator might undervalue the creative input of a Visionary while delivering reliable outcomes, especially in a resource-constrained environment.
Recognising these dynamics enables teams to tailor their support for policy initiatives, ensuring alignment between design and policymaking goals. It also provides an opportunity to offset biases and heuristics, such as a Guardian’s omission bias or a Visionary’s optimism bias, by introducing effective counterpoints and strategies.
By understanding these dynamics and the influence of context, teams can identify synergies and address gaps, ensuring that everyone’s strengths are put to the best use.
Connecting with policymakers
Our Connecting with Policymakers capability building brings this framework to life, equipping teams with the insights and tools they need to work effectively with policymakers. Through tailored training, we help teams:
Identify their own trait profile and understand how it influences their approach to policymaking.
Recognise and adapt to the archetypes of others, improving communication and collaboration by aligning approaches.
Navigate context shifts, exploring how traits and behaviours adapt under pressure and what this means for effective policymaking.
Apply practical communication strategies, ensuring clear, effective dialogue that builds trust and understanding with policymakers.
Develop conflict resolution techniques, helping teams navigate differences in approach or priorities between archetypes.
Counteract biases and heuristics by building awareness and strategies to address common pitfalls in policymaking dynamics.
Work through scenario-driven exercises, applying these insights to real-world challenges in policymaking to build confidence and capability.
This training also helps teams address one of the most common tensions in public policy: the differing perspectives of policy and delivery teams.
By fostering empathy for policymakers’ broader responsibilities—such as managing portfolios, ministerial commitments, and public expectations—delivery teams can better align their work to these goals while ensuring user-centred approaches remain central to execution.
Empathy not only strengthens relationships but also enables delivery teams to anticipate challenges, respond more effectively to policy needs, and build mutual trust.
By embedding these insights and skills, teams can not only build stronger relationships with policymakers but also ensure that design and policy align for maximum impact.
Start the conversation
Our policymaker archetypes are just the beginning. If you’re ready to explore how this framework can transform your team’s approach to policymaking, get in touch.
Together, we can build stronger connections, better understanding, and more impactful policies.
