Leadership, linguistic ontology, somatics, and spirituality

Much leadership theory comes from psychology, or worse it is just made up. That is far too narrow a range of “sources” for a topic as important as leadership. In other publications, I talk about economics, neuroscience, sociology, and leadership. In this talk, given at the International Leadership Association in 2007, I introduce three other “sources” for ideas on leadership. First, linguistic ontology – how does language shape reality for leaders and followers. Second, spirituality – how does meaning-making, and the search “outside oneself” affect leaders and followers. Third, what role does the body play in leadership. The talk concludes with two case studies on somatics, ontology, spirituality and leadership.