Using drama in training and development is not new, and here Mike Brent explores how the works of the Bard might be used in leadership programmes.

The physicist and management educator Ned Hermann, author of The Creative Brain, has written extensively about left and right dominance in the brain. The left brain, which he says has dominated our thinking in the west, is responsible for facts, logic, rationality, theory , detail and order.

That seems to be the preferred style of many managers, and often we approach executive education from a left brain perspective. Over the past year, I have often heard statements from clients like, ‘Make sure you work them hard’, or ‘They work hard and play hard – make sure you keep them busy’, or ‘ I don’t want you to involve them too much, or do team stuff, just give them lectures and theory’. Clients like the ones above want structure, timetables, objectives, outcomes, return on investment figures and so on. But is this the way people learn?

The right hand brain, in contrast, is responsible for emotions, empathy, art, holism, flexibility, imagination and synthesis, all of which are valuable to learning. The question is, how do we bring a right-brain perspective into our training?

In my years of being a consultant and trainer I have come across many ways of doing this, ranging from sculpting, painting, outdoor learning, dance, using music as a metaphor, visualising, and yoga. Often there is a degree of cynicism among participants when faced with these types of activities. In many cases, the connection between this and what they face in their organisations is tenuous at best.

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