Women Embodied Leaders


Book Description

Why has embodied somatic leadership more recently become highlighted, and what conditions in the world have brought this approach to leadership under study and scrutiny? Women Embodied Leaders answers these questions, analyzing models of embodied somatic leadership, and how women use this leadership from a number of perspectives.




Embodied Leadership


Book Description

We don't need leaders who know about leadership - we need leaders who embody the capacity to lead in the midst of ambiguity and complexity. The concept of embodied leadership is derived from somatic coaching, a unique approach that brings the body forward as an advocate in creating a place for change and transformation. It brings together language, action, feeling and meaning and is based on the idea that the mind and body are inextricably linked: to develop one, you must cultivate the other. Embodied Leadership deconstructs our thinking about the body using key discoveries in neuroscience to demonstrate the uses and benefits of a somatic approach, particularity in the area of emotional intelligence.There are practical exercises throughout to develop embodied leadership skills and personal development.




Stepping Into Your Power


Book Description

An embodied approach to developing women leaders which invites us to re-write our interpretation of power, from the prevailing ‘power over’ to ‘power with’ developing a felt sense that the whole is greater than any one individual. This is the pathway to creating organisations that work for everyone. The book integrates different perspectives and theoretical frames with the author’s own experience of working with women leaders in organisations combined with action research. It sets out how women are able to dismantle the internal barriers that maintain the status quo and become a powerful force for change. The book gives voice to some incredible women who bravely step out of the shadows to let themselves be seen. They each share honest and often moving accounts of how they have reclaimed themselves as women and now embody a strong leadership presence. These stories weave together to inspire, provoke and empower. Individual and collective transformation are interdependent and inseparable. When women come together and support one another it is possible to transcend the norms and social forces and shift the prevailing culture. We can create more inclusive cultures where everyone, women and men, can participate and contribute to the benefit of all. It’s time to rewrite our interpretation of power, it's time to make a difference.




Breaking the Fine Rain of Death


Book Description

In 'Breaking the Fine Rain of Death', Emilie Townes focuses on the health care issues affecting African Americans and does so from a womanist perspective by paying attention to race and class as well as gender. Townes describes the lamentable history of health care in African American communities and the disease that affect African Americans disproportionately ÐÐ diabetes, hypertension, low-birthrate babies, and drug-related illnessesÐÐas well as cultural, genetic, and socio-economic factors that account for them. Townes then offers models of care that have worked in some African American communities and that need to be used on a broader scale. She explores healing models sensitive to class and cultural context, and provides practical recommendations relevant to the needs of the Black Church and the African American community.




Paradox and Power in Caring Leadership


Book Description

Why does it matter that our leaders care about us? What might we reasonably expect from a caring leader, and what price are we prepared to pay for it? Is caring leadership something ‘soft’, or can it be linked to strategy and delivery? International scholars from the fields of ancient and modern philosophy, psychology, organization studies and leadership development offer a strikingly original debate on what it means for leaders to care.




Guts and Grace


Book Description

Guts and Grace addresses common themes that women leaders at all levels still grapple with today: confidence, executive presence, balance, joy, intuition, saying no, purpose, conflict avoidance, and more. It's your roadmap on how to step out of internalized, patriarchal programming and finally bring your whole self to work.




Leadership Embodiment


Book Description

Many leadership books present models for thinking and speaking, but very few address the role of the body in leading effectively. Yet, a great deal of the effect we have on others is carried by our physical presence. Our body postures hold the key to lowering emotional reactivity, while increasing our power, resilience and flexibility. Leadership Embodiment delivers a practical "user's guide" for effective embodied leadership, enabling practitioners to: -Project a powerful, open and expansive leadership presence -Create an inclusive atmosphere for collaboration and team work -Receive feedback and listen from a place of open curiosity, and -Stand their ground and speak the truth in the face of pressure Leadership Embodiment techniques are based on principles from the non-aggressive martial art of Aikido, mindfulness practices, and posture awareness. They are designed to mitigate the impact of the stress and intensity inherent in leadership and daily life-like getting through a traffic jam, a promotion, a wedding, the loss of a job, winning a competition, making a production deadline, rallying a team after a loss, or making a product pitch. All leaders, be they CEOs, line supervisors, parents, consultants, care givers, administrators, teachers, coaches . . . can use these simple practices to learn to act with power, skill, and compassion. In part one of the book, Wendy Palmer offers simple postural practices that broaden our perspective, enhance interconnection and build confidence, accompanied by illustrations by Jen Mahoney. In part two, Janet Crawford pulls from cutting edge research in neuroscience and evolutionary biology to offer a biological explanation for the efficacy of the Leadership Embodiment techniques.




The Embodiment of Leadership


Book Description

Covering leadership in the arts and humanities, this volume integrates critical theory with authentic leadership development, exploring the notion that leadership is both a discursive practice and a performative identity. Each year the International Leadership Association publishes a book that captures the best contemporary thinking about leadership from a diverse range of scholars, practitioners, and educators working in the field of leadership studies. In keeping with the mission of the ILA, the International Leadership Series Building Leadership Bridges connects ways of researching, imagining, and experiencing leadership across cultures, over time, and around the world. Praise for The Embodiment of Leadership "Read this book to experience an artistic and more robust sense of leadership; to rise to the challenge to gain alignment in mind, body, and spirit; and to heed the call to heal the shadows we as leaders sometimes cast over our collective humanity. Read this book to become more whole. " Shann Ray Ferch, professor of leadership studies, Gonzaga University "For once leadership experts consider the mind-body problem from the perspective of the latter the body. Those with an interest in how the body is brought to bear on the exercise of leadership would do well to explore The Embodiment of Leadership. " Barbara Kellerman, James MacGregor Burns Lecturer in Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University "The Embodiment of Leadership goes beyond the banal by using our body experiences as the point of departure in deciphering the leadership conundrum. Anyone interested in the study of leadership would do well to pay attention to this book. " Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, Distinguished Clinical Professor of Leadership and Organiza-tional Change, The Raoul de Vitry d'Avaucourt Chaired Professor of Leadership Development, INSEAD "Leadership is a social construction. The Embodiment of Leadership presents a multifaceted approach to understanding how we, as a society, define, create, and contend with leaders and leadership. Serious scholars and students of leadership need to read this." Ronald E. Riggio, Kravis Leadership Institute, Claremont McKenna College




Woman's Embodied Self


Book Description

Using various psychological theories, this book examines women's complex relations with their bodies and how attitudes toward the body affect women's sense of self. It also suggests ways to achieve a positive embodied self




Sufi Women, Embodiment, and the ‘Self’


Book Description

This book is an ethnographic case study of Sufi ritual practice and embodied experience amongst female members of the Naqshbandi community. Drawing on fieldwork in Cape Town, South Africa, and Lefke, Cyprus (2013/2014), the author examines women’s experiences within a particular performance of Sufi tradition. The focus is on the ritual named hadra, involving the recital of sacred texts, music, and body movement, where the goal is for the individual to reach a state of intimacy with God. The volume considers Sufi practice as a form of embodied cultural behavior, religious identity, and selfhood construction. It explains how Muslim women’s participation in hadra ritual life reflects religious and cultural ideas about the body, the body’s movement, and embodied selfhood expression within the ritual experience. Sufi Women, Ritual Embodiment and the ‘Self’ engages with studies in Sufism, symbolic anthropology, ethnography, dance, and somatic studies. Contributing to discussions of religion, gender, and the body, the book will be of interest to scholars from anthropology, sociology, religious ritual studies, Sufism and gender studies, and performance studies.