Susan Britton MCCICF Award-Winning Coach Educator, Neuroscience-Informed ICF/SHRM Coach Training, INSEAD Executive Masters in Change, Advocate for Evolutionary Shift from “Red Zone” to “Blue Zone” for Leaders, Coaches & Fellow Humans

Wicked Movie: Masks We Wear

Name: Wicked Movie: Masks We Wear
Uploaded: 2026-02-25T06:00:11+00:00
Duration: 1 min 40 s
Channel: Susan Britton MCC
Description: In this brief talk, Susan Britton MCC reflects on the themes of persona and shadow as illustrated by the characters Glinda and Elphaba in the film…

25 Feb 2026 · 2 min

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1:40

In this brief talk, Susan Britton MCC reflects on the themes of persona and shadow as illustrated by the characters Glinda and Elphaba in the film Wicked. She describes Glinda’s early reliance on a socially‑approved ‘mask’—a persona focused on external validation—and how her friendship with Elphaba forces her to confront her shadow, the uncomfortable parts of herself tied to duplicity and complacency. Susan explains that Glinda’s eventual integration of both persona and shadow enables her to act authentically while still doing good. She invites listeners to bring this awareness of masks, shadow work, and integration into their own coaching and leadership practices, using questions and reflective techniques.

Chapters

Susan with the Academies and another walking tip from the movie Wicked. So I really appreciated seeing some of the concepts like persona and shadow that were present in the movie. For example, Glinda is completely persona at the beginning, beginning of the movie where she's really focused on external approval and wearing this mask that's going to make her popular and the center of attention and liked by everyone. And we can certainly put on a mask at work where we want to make sure that we're protected and liked, but really not ourselves and not able to deal with the complexity of our whole behavior. And then at some point she has the friendship with Elphaba, and that forces her to kind of look at her own shadow. And the shadow piece is the place that she's not comfortable with, the places in herself where she recognizes that she is part of some of the duplicity and complacency that's happening with things that are not going well. But she doesn't want to rock the boat and ruin her status, of course. So being able to integrate that persona and shadow piece is part of what happens for her ultimately towards the end of the movie, where she is able to hold both the good and the bad and figure out how to be in the midst of that and still do good. So that's a fun integration and maturation that she, she comes to as a result of all of her experiences. So fun insights from Wicked. Think about how you can incorporate them with awareness and, and questions into your coaching and your leadership.