ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role of movement in leadership practices that are embodied, and draws on the concept of kinaesthetic empathy from dance studies, linking to phenomenological approaches to leadership. It presents further thoughts on the kinaesthetic feedback loop, followed by a comparison of leaders and actors in the context of 'leadership as an art' that point to the necessity of an increased aesthetic and kinaesthetic awareness. Dance studies as the discipline primarily concerned with human movement and its impact can help to develop our understanding of the kinaesthetic dimension in leadership situations and, beyond this, points to the improvised, relational and co-created spaces in leadership interaction that emerge and cannot be fully controlled. Movement is a factor widely recognised that influences how an audience reacts to a leader or a speaker on the business stage, or a performer in the theatre. Recent studies put an emphasis on the relational processes between conductors as leaders and the orchestra members.
