Emotional Experiences and Reflexive Leadership Development

Abstract

In this paper we ask: “What patterns of formational leadership learning are developed through reflexive engagement with emotional experience, and how do these patterns vary within the dimensions of individual versus dialogic engagement, and everyday versus confronting emotional experiences”? We employ a relationally reflexive method in which the authors take dual roles as researcher participants. We build on a framework of emotional experiences and reflexive learning that is comprised of: attention to emotions as triggers of reflexive practice; discussion, as reflexive engagement to explore and open up aspects of emotional experiences; transgression, experiencing extreme emotional experiences that disrupt everyday attention; and realization, recovering from traumatic circumstances through reflexive personal emotional work. We conclude that difficult emotional experiences are likely to have the potential to support useful leadership development learning, but learning from them requires resilience to ‘stay with’ distressing experiences longer than would be normal and that this can be aided by the engagement of others who are supportive, yet constructively critical. The leadership development lessons that can be supported may be closely tied to difficult contexts as the development of personal resources to cope with and lead others in coping with in similar traumatic circumstances. But perhaps more usefully, individuals may develop better practices of attention that enable them to address situations – at least sometimes – before uncontrolled, traumatic circumstances can unfold.