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Although within the leadership literature there is a body of research concerning the physical attributes of leaders, close examination reveals that much of it offers a rather surface level of analysis. A number of studies, for example, attempt to correlate leaders’ height with their success, and attempts have been made to identify a relationship between leaders’ performance and their attractiveness. In this book, a range of scholars from differing perspectives delve below the apparent level of physicality to highlight its paradoxically ‘invisible’ aspects including: the impact of gesture, the way in which the physical is intrinsically interwoven with the social and the contradictory nature of bodily taboos. The book shows how each of these aspects plays an important role in the creation and maintenance of leadership relationships.

This chapter introduces three tussles we and our authors have faced in navigating this territory. Firstly, we have worked hard to find forms of writing which ‘point towards’ the experience of physicality. Realising that written language can never ‘be’ that experience (just as Magritte demonstrates with his painting, ‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe’ that the reproduction of the pipe is not the pipe itself) we have encouraged authors to contribute first-person accounts, in-depth case studies focused on individuals and even activities which involve the reader in order to evoke a sense of the physical. Secondly, we have endeavoured to distinguish the ‘inside-out’ phenomenon of ‘embodiment’ from the ‘outside-in’ occurrence of ‘physicality’. Finally, our authors have worked to reveal the mutual entanglement of social and material worlds, such that paradoxically, the physical reveals itself to be ‘in flow’ and continually in a process of ‘becoming’. After describing how we have sought to resolve these challenges, a taster from each chapter is offered. The chapter concludes by reasserting the importance of recognising the physical nature of the connection at the heart of human relationships experienced as leadership.

This chapter starts from the assertion that leading is a physically demanding activity. The challenges associated with it arise from at least three sources: as a response to ambiguous ‘wicked’ problems taking the lead necessitates moving into unknown situations; followers’ projections and the leader’s conscious or unconscious desire to fulfil them create psychological and emotional pressure and leaders often work in isolation. These realities of leading create physical stress that can result in disrupted sleep, digestive ailments and over-reliance on food and alcohol for short-term relief. Conscious breathing is introduced as a way of mitigating these physical effects. Such breathing can halt the vicious cycle of feeling stressed because one is breathing shallowly and breathing shallowly because of feeling stressed. Additionally, it can reduce the sense of time pressure by introducing an experience of greater spaciousness and provide a means whereby the leader can access her or his ‘best self’ in meeting the demands of the role. The ideas are illustrated through a case study of a senior executive who successfully used conscious breathing practices to transform the way in which he led his team.

This paper explores how organisations can become more sophisticated at supporting transfer of learning, by identifying the perceived barriers and facilitators to transfer of learning, by examining a range of individual characteristics and workplace features associated with these barriers and facilitators and then relating these to the type of programme that managers undertake. The longitudinal survey methodology and programme typology used in the research are described. Findings highlight 26 perceived barriers and 17 facilitators to the transfer of learning, significant associations are shown with particular features such as mentoring and personal values. The paper goes on to identify the characteristics associated with a lack of transfer and suggests a tentative model of perceived influences on transfer of learning. Based on this research, it is concluded that it is important to take programme learning design into account when considering support for transfer of learning from management development programmes back to the workplace.

This paper aims to explore the phenomenon of workplace bullying in response to recent calls for the development of different approaches and provide an exploration of artful approaches to intervention.

The paper offers a unique conceptualisation of workplace bullying and applies a phenomenological lens to the issue. A review of literature explores the potential value of artful interventions, and drawing on authors’ knowledge and experience with the targets of bullying, they design a forum theatre intervention for use in practice.

This paper argues that phenomenology offers a unique and valuable approach to understanding workplace bullying and its management. In turn, the authors propose that artful ways of engaging with workplace bullying could be an effective way of empowering workers in a “moment” of workplace bullying, and present a forum theatre workshop specifically designed for application in workplace contexts where bullying is prevalent. The three-phase workshop aims to help employees critically reflect on their current work practices and is intended for use in small group teaching.

The long-term impact of this intervention has not been evaluated against more traditional methods of addressing this problem. Future research should evaluate the efficacy of this, and other art-based interventions, in workplace settings.

Workplace bullying research is predominantly conducted from a functionalist perspective, and other methods of inquiry, such as phenomenology, are rarely considered. This paper argues for artful interventions and provides an original, tailored workshop designed to empower employees to recognise and respond to bullying in the workplace.

Precise and accurate observation, what we see, and the perception of emotion, what we sense and feel, lead to a more reliable evaluation and thus to better management of complex situations. Therefore, perception, observation and judgement are critical success factors in fostering innovation leadership at individual and team levels. This chapter outlines how these aspects need to be considered to facilitate the discovery, reflection and implementation of new ideas and solutions. We look at scientific areas such as neuroscience and positive psychology and apply the research to different professional areas. Based on this, we introduce ‘Coaching with Art’ as a method to train perceptiveness as a quality for self and team leadership to better cope with the challenges and opportunities of innovation processes.