Title Embodied Leadership: The Somatic Approach to Developing Your Leadership
Author Pete Hamill
Publisher Kogan Page
ISBN 978 0749 46564 3
Usefulness ****
Somatics may be new to many leaders, but author Pete Hamill argues that learning through the body is one of the oldest, most effective and generative ways to create great leadership.
Embodied Leadership breaks down this complex subject into three parts. The first half of the book is an attempt to change commonly held ideas about leadership development. Hamill draws on neuroscience, philosophy, psychology and ancient teachings in his case for including the body in leadership development.
He moves on to illustrate the practical application of embodied leadership through the stories of two characters, John and Jane, based on compilations of participants in the author’s courses. There is an instructive section on centring, a guide on how to design a leadership declaration and a description of automatic or stress responses. The latter part of the book tackles both ethical leadership and 21st century leadership.
Hamill acknowledges a debt to his teacher Richard Strozzi-Heckler, whose ground-breaking work in somatics and leadership permeates the book. What Hamill’s work adds to it is a strong review of the neuroscience behind somatics, with practical suggestions for leadership development through somatics.
Dr Eunice Aquilina is director of eaconsult enquiries@eaconsult.co.uk
Coaching at Work , Volume 8, issue 5