A pioneering book on a new kind of leadership—one that draws on body awareness, ancient wisdom, and real-life corporate examples to empower the modern leader to “do well and do good at the same time" (James N. Baron, Yale School of Management). History is filled with accounts of great leaders, but how did they become so? Written for emergent leaders in any endeavor, this new work from renowned consultant Richard Strozzi-Heckler offers a new approach to leadership. The first book of its kind to base business and management strength on integral body awareness, the book presents key principles such as shugyo, or self-cultivation, as crucial in developing the individual responsibility, social commitment, and moral and spiritual vision required to lead with authority and efficacy. The Leadership Dojo is based on three questions: What does a leader do? What are the character values most essential to exemplary leadership? How do you teach these values? Drawing on the wisdom of ages from Plato to the Bhagavad-Gita, from Thucydides to the Abidharma, the book asserts that understanding and answering these questions holds the key to superior leadership skills. Strozzi-Heckler teaches with real-world examples based on his wide experience training decision-makers at companies like AT&T and Microsoft. The book’s multifaceted approach helps readers establish a powerful Leadership Presence, a platform from which they can take ethical action with compassion and pragmatic wisdom. “I would not dream of leading a team without relying on the teachings of Richard Strozzi-Heckler. It would be like skiing without the snow.” —Nancy J. Hutson, Senior Vice President, Pfizer Research & Development

The Art of Somatic Coaching introduces the concepts and principles of coaching with practices that include body awareness, bodywork, and mindfulness for both the coach and the client. Author and expert coach, Richard Strozzi-Heckler, PhD, explains that in order to achieve truly sustainable changes in individuals, teams, and organizations, it is necessary to implement body-oriented somatic practices in order to dissolve habits, behaviors, and interpretations of the world that are no longer relevant. He explains that these ways of being are integrated in the body--at the level of the musculature, organs, and nervous system. By implementing a somatic approach, these patterns can be shifted in order for transformation to occur. Opening with a discussion of the roots of Somatic Coaching, the book describes the emotional and physical cost of being distanced from our bodies. Originating from the rationalistic idea that the mind and body are separate, this sense of disconnection spurred the emergence of the field of somatics that views the body as not just a physiological entity, but as the center of our lived experience in the world. Out of this philosophy, Somatic Coaching was developed as a way to cultivate the self through the body. Methods in this book include: • Somatic awareness--becoming aware of sensations • Somatic opening--includes bodywork to release held patterns in the body • Somatic practices--meditation, movement, and being present in everyday life The social context in which one is raised, the supportive, healing force of the outdoors and nature as well as acknowledgment of the spirit are also woven into the practice. Through these practices, a rhythm of unfolding occurs in what Strozzi-Heckler describes as an Arc of Transformation--moving in stages from conditioned tendencies to a new satisfying and fulfilling way of being that is fully embodied. Contents: Introduction; Chapter One: A Short Distance but a Big Cost; Chapter Two: Coaching; Chapter Three: Somatics and Somatic Coaching; Chapter Four: The Methodology; Chapter Five: The Rhythm of Action; Chapter Six: The Somatic Arc of Transformation

Silicon Valley wunderkind Rayona Sharpnack has been a schoolteacher, tennis champion, manager and player for a women's professional softball team, and a celebrity who coaches some of the most successful leaders in business. Trade Up! draws on Sharpnack&'s experience, as well as stories of successful leaders she has worked with, to reveal how leaders limit themselves by holding on to ideas or assumptions about ourselves—what she calls your “context” —that are no longer valid. Trade Up! outlines the 5 steps to help leaders gain awareness of these assumptions and trade up from limiting beliefs and behaviors to those that will help them change the world. The 5 steps are Reveal your context: what do you believe about yourself? What holds you back? How do you impact others? Own your context: take stock of the upside and downside of your context, and examine the intended and unintended consequences of it! Design a new context that gets you what you want: begin by asking yourself "how good are you willing to have life be?" Sustain your new context: develop new practices to get this new context to stick! Activate your context and engage with the world: move out of your own concerns and into partnership and community with others to help change the world around you!

As in all his books, Heckler draws from personal experience: training his horse, cultivating presence in aikido dojos, consulting with business executives, raising children. A masterful and encompassing book, Holding the Center develops from the fulcrum of the self in the natural world. Many of Heckler’s lessons arise from his life as a householder and father. Community is a larger family—we make alliances to “take care of what matters to us.” But, as Heckler teaches, that takes listening to others with an open heart, and learning what the needs of others are.The world can be a sanctuary, if we find a balance between instinct and choice. Richard Strozzi Heckler sounds an important call about the interplay between power and generosity in these subtle and luminous essays.

We don't need leaders who know about leadership - we need leaders who embody the capacity to lead in the midst of ambiguity and complexity. The concept of embodied leadership is derived from somatic coaching, a unique approach that brings the body forward as an advocate in creating a place for change and transformation. It brings together language, action, feeling and meaning and is based on the idea that the mind and body are inextricably linked: to develop one, you must cultivate the other. Embodied Leadership deconstructs our thinking about the body using key discoveries in neuroscience to demonstrate the uses and benefits of a somatic approach, particularity in the area of emotional intelligence.There are practical exercises throughout to develop embodied leadership skills and personal development.

Transforming a company's digital product development capabilities is a monumental task that can leave even the most seasoned leaders feeling completely overwhelmed. Traditional approaches to training often fail to have their desired impact. Instead of transformation, you get piecemeal improvements that don't lead to significant change. Here's the truth: if you want learning that sticks, you need a dojo. In Creating Your Dojo, experienced dojo coaches Joel Tosi and Dion Stewart guide you through creating a dojo--an immersive learning environment-- within your organization. A dojo enables your teams to learn new skills within the context of their real-world work. You'll create a thriving product development culture where team members feel empowered to solve their own problems. Your organization will improve the quality of the products they deliver, reduce delivery cycle time, and create innovative products with better product/market fit.

The body’s innate capacity for feeling, intuition, and compassion can enable us to heal our physical and emotional wounds. In The Anatomy of Change, Richard Heckler draws on Aikido and Lomi Body Work to demonstrate how a set of practices can bring new awareness and choice into our daily life.