reflation essay

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Activity Reflection Essay

The event I would like to describe is my first day at the theatre training course. Initially, I

chose it in order to fight my fear of performing and limitations of my mind that reflect in my body

and affect my persuasiveness. According to my previous discoveries, leadership skills are mostly

gained, not given. Moreover, public presentation is one of the focuses in leadership education. The

course focuses on public speaking and self-reflection techniques. The students were organised in

groups. Although it is a class that requires the sense of community, it is important to develop an in-

dividual attitude towards the tasks.

The first situation proving some of my previous observations was when our curator pre-

sented the first task and addressed the question about the motivation and definitions to the partici-

pants. My previous self would be eager to respond right away, but I decided to first observe the

group and propose a reserved, well-thought through opinion on the matter, that would not be satis-

factory exclusive for my ego, but possibly useful for my classmates in the group. In addition, being

aware that a leader is someone who notices the abilities of others and delegates the responsibilities

accordingly, I tried to navigate the group in the way that everyone would be able to show their abili-

ties and creativity (Bauriede et Jeff). In that way, by restraining myself and making a conscious de-

cision about my leadership method, I could demonstrate innovativeness and sensibility.

In addition, one of the important points was the discussion and the theoretical part of the

class. I learnt that there are many similarities between the theatrical roles and the leadership behav-

iour. It is almost impossible to imagine a leader without other people; however, the strength must

come from the inside and not the external approval. Charisma and self-confidence are interdiscipli-

nary and universal traits that work for winning an attention of the people around and influencing

them (Biehl-Missal). Currently, aesthetic elements of theatre can be found in the diversity of organ-

isational behaviour, taking into account the top managers (Biehl-Missal). Whether it is a theatrical

play or a jazz analogy, modelling and simulating are the closest practices to real life than any other

textbook-based course. Moreover, acting and pretending the confidence until feeling it is the first

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step to design the road to becoming a leader. Upon developing the charisma, one might own any au-

dience he or she needs to convince for achievement of the leadership goals. As I knew that leader is

a person that treats the situation responsibly and gradually, I was less intimidated of taking the risks

of what is known as an unknown art of acting.

To conclude, having a practical experience of acting for leadership was not only useful to

try the theories in life, but also a very approachable way to learn naturally and open new vectors of

my individuality and learning capacity. Even when I faced the difficulties of opening up or navi-

gating my anxiety, I knew that there are certain techniques that can be learned with continuous

practice. All in all, understanding of my character traits, frustrations and even talents is the only

way to develop as a true leader in personal and professional life.

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Works Cited

Bauriede, Quinn, Klein, Jeff. “Collaborative Creativity: Leading High Performance through Thea-

tre”. The European Business Review. leadershipcenter.wharton.upenn.edu/uncatego-

rized/collaborative-creativity-leading-high-performance-theatre/

Biehl-Missal, Brigitte. “Hero Takes a fall: A Lesson from Theatre for Leadership”. Aberystwyth

University, UK. www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/api/datastream?publicationPid=uk-ac-man-

scw:198900&datastreamId=FULL-TEXT.PDF