Fear, Stress, and Second-Guessing in Leadership Decision Making: Using Interior Monologues, Reflective Nonfiction, and Spiritual Approaches

Abstract

Personal fears surrounding leadership decision making can lead to dysfunctional stress within leaders. Psychological hardiness and coping strategies can be taught using interior monologues of fictional leaders like Hemingway's Robert Jordan, passages from autobiographies and memoirs, student "leadership logs," and spiritually oriented readings like Leading With Soul. Pedagogies are placed in the context of recent leadership theory.