Existential Leadership – bringing philosophy into the business world

Forelæsning — n this presentation Monica Hanaway looks at what is meant by ‘leadership’, and the psychological and societal reasons we have leadership. She gives an overview of different leadership styles and introduces the concept of ‘existential leadership’. To understand this, she considers leadership through the lens of existential issues such as authenticity, relatedness, meaning, values and beliefs, time and temporality, and uncertainty. She explores how the existential dimensions (social, personal, environmental, and spiritual) are important in the business world. Finally she looks at how leadership and business coaches can formulate insightful questions to use with their clients which are based on existential concerns, and she leaves us to consider the existential impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on leadership going forward.