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Leadership Learning from Vulnerable Experience: On the need for reflexive dialogue

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Sharon MavinORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

We approach this essay as individuals who have (sometimes painful) experience of vulnerable leadership and a desire to learn from this experience. We root our work in debates about dialogue and its relationship with reflexivity. We establish, through building on the relevant literature, how shared dialogue and reflexivity can support learning from vulnerable leadership experiences – and how these learning experiences can involve moral emotions, particularly shame and guilt. We use vignettes constructed through our own reflexive dialogue as illustrations to show how the process of learning from reflexive dialogue can play out. Overall, our essay outlines a pedagogy and principles for vulnerable leadership learning, both in the context of formal programmes and in ongoing practice.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Mavin S, Beech N, Hibbert P

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: British Journal of Management

Year: 2026

Pages: Epub ahead of print

Online publication date: 29/07/2026

Acceptance date: 12/06/2026

Date deposited: 31/07/2026

ISSN (print): 1045-3172

ISSN (electronic): 1467-8551

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd

URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.70098

DOI: 10.1111/1467-8551.70098

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