Moving Leaders : What insights do experienced leaders develop by training the language of the body through a combination of dance and phenomenological-inspired leadership stories?

Abstract

Our bodies sense and communicate throughout our daily lives, and research shows there is a clear connection between embodiment and leadership. This project was carried out in a publicly approved course in leadership education through an innovative collaboration between a leadership philosopher and a dance researcher. We investigated what insights experienced leaders developed by training the language of the body through a combination of dance and phenomenological-inspired leadership stories, which were both written during the movement sessions and in situations from their daily leadership practice. Twenty-nine leaders from two different groups participated in the project that included expressive and improvisatory dance teaching, which mirrored communication dynamics in the leaders' everyday practice. This article portrays the development processes of these leaders, who went through a challenging and touching journey. They became more conscious of their own feelings, physicality and sensuality, and learned how the combination of dance, leadership stories and an increased awareness of the language of the body could nourish their embodied leadership competence.

Even though learning from a course is in no way as complex as learning that takes place in everyday leadership experience, this project can contribute to the innovative research streams on movement, art and aesthetic practices as well as to understanding of the important role of experiential learning in the development of leadership.