THEATRE4BUSINESS AT BANFF CENTRE FOR LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT
Powerful Expressions: Acting Like a Leader
Led by Diana Theodores,PhD and Nick Nissley, EdD
This is part of a series of highly dynamic short programs designed to increase the effectiveness of how leaders express themselves and communicate with others. Communication is the foundation of personal and professional success in business. One of the most powerful forms of communication is our ability to be an inspirational storyteller. During this three-day program you will develop your leadership presence and messages through the rehearsal and performance of your stories.
Return on experience:
Be able to:
- Communicate your vision, values and message with passion and precision
- Generate new ideas and material on your subject
- Increase your openness and listening skills for your own performance
- Connect your body and voice for compelling communication
- Receive feedback on your style and impact
Special program features:
- Small class size to ensure a rich learning experience
- Use of theatre and performance coaching methodologies to anchor key
- leadership learning
- Outdoor time to avail of the inspiration that is the Banff landscape and relate it to the leadership learning
Acting Like a Leader and Theatre
As a leader you are constantly in the spotlight, with everything you do highly visible and subject to interpretation by all those with whom you interact: your team, your public, and your clients. From research we also know that the culture of an enterprise is determined very largely by the perceived behaviour of its leaders – how you behave therefore sends powerful messages to those you wish to lead and inspire, the influence of a leader is determined significantly not just by what you say but by how you say it.
The title of this program is Acting Like a Leader because it draws upon theatre as the source of its inspiration and for its powerful, practical tools for application. When we think of theatre we can all relate to great performances that have inspired us. That is because actors have learned how to be ‘expressive instruments’ of communication – to connect their body, voice and energy, to communicate their story compellingly, to put their belief behind their words and to act “as if.”
The role of the theatre director is to enable actors to “grow” to their maximum potential in the roles they perform. The theatre director achieves this by asking questions that trigger the imagination, by giving enabling feedback and by helping actors to make meaningful, personal connections to the material they are performing.
Theatre is the arena of rehearsal and performance. In rehearsal exploration is key. Surprise and wonder are great allies. In performance being in the moment with flexibility and flair is key, as is loving the spotlight for its warmth versus fearing its glare.
In Acting Like a Leader we will learn about being director and performer of our own stories. We will explore how we present ourselves to the world. We will discover what is beneath our walk and behind our talk. We will practice being seen, being heard and being inspirational.
Pre-course Reflection Questions
“The truth about stories is that that’s all we are.”
Thomas King (2003)
Stories, the explanations that give meaning to life and formulate our realities, are the life-blood of our personal and organizational lives. It is through our stories that we decide to act or not. They give us direction; they map out our lives. Thus, as Jim Loehr (2007) maintains, “it’s imperative that we do everything in our power to get our stories right” (p. 5).
To help prepare for the program we would like you to consider the following questions as you go about your daily activities. We encourage you to take notes or journal your observations and to be prepared to share some of your thoughts and insights with participants during the program. Loehr suggests that we tell stories about five basic topics. By examining these five stories we can then begin to understand the dynamics of who we are and how we are in the world. The five topics are listed below as questions:
- What is your story around work? How do you characterize your relationship to work? What compels you to get up every day and go to work?
- What is your story about your family life? How important is family to you? How well is your current story about family working?
- What is your story about your health? What value do you place on your
health? What are you doing to look after your health? - What is your story about your happiness? What’s the role of happiness in your life? What is it that brings you genuine happiness in your life?
- What is your story about friendship? How important are friends? How fully engaged are you with them?
- Think about a performance, a public speaker, a presentation that you have heard that has been truly inspirational to you and make a note of some observations on how they use their voice, how they use their physicality, and how they delivered that particular piece.
References
King, T. (2003). The truth about stories: A native narrative. Toronto: House of
Anansi Press.
Loehr, J. (2007). The power of story: Rewrite your destiny in business and in
life. New York: Free Press.
MORE INFORMATION: http://www.banffcentre.ca/departments/leadership/programs/