An Evolving Man Podcast
An Evolving Man Podcast explores leadership, emotional intelligence, trauma, healing and peak performance.
Hosted by Piers Cross, the show features conversations with leading psychologists, psychiatrists, executive coaches, authors, researchers and high-performance leaders, alongside solo episodes on leadership, resilience, relationships and personal transformation.
Drawing on the latest research in psychology, neuroscience, attachment, trauma and human performance, the podcast helps leaders develop greater self-awareness, emotional intelligence and the capacity to lead with clarity, compassion and courage.
Whether you are a CEO, founder, entrepreneur or aspiring leader, each episode offers practical insights to help you thrive professionally while creating a more meaningful and connected life.
An Evolving Man Podcast
5 Reasons We Need to Stop Sending Future Leaders to Boarding School
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Prince George is set to attend Eton College, continuing a long tradition of future leaders being educated in elite boarding schools.
But is this really the best way to prepare someone for leadership in the 21st century?
In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I explore five reasons why we need to stop sending our future leaders to boarding school.
Drawing on modern leadership literature, boarding school syndrome research, attachment theory and the work of writers such as Nick Duffell, Joy Schaverien, Sue Gerhardt, Richard Beard, Louise Champion, Daniel Goleman, Antonio Damasio, Kouzes and Posner, I ask whether boarding school really creates the qualities we need in leaders today.
We explore:
• Why great leadership needs love
• Why boarding school often teaches children to live without love
• How emotional repression affects decision-making
• Why emotional intelligence matters more than ever in leadership
• How boarding school separates future leaders from the people they will one day lead
• Why secure attachment supports a flexible brain
• Why resilience is not the same as dissociation
• The difference between confidence and a survival mask
• Why command-and-control leadership is no longer enough
• Why future leaders need compassion, connection and emotional maturity
This is not simply about Prince George.
It is about what kind of leaders we want to create.
If we continue sending future leaders into environments where love, vulnerability, emotional expression and ordinary human connection are removed, should we be surprised when those leaders later struggle with empathy, intimacy, transparency and care?
The future needs emotionally intelligent leaders.
Leaders who can listen.
Leaders who can feel.
Leaders who can connect.
Leaders who understand the people they are here to serve.
#BoardingSchoolSyndrome #Leadership #EmotionalIntelligence #Eton #PrinceGeorge #BoardingSchoolTrauma #CompassionateLeadership #FutureLeaders
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
00:35 Prince George, Eton and future leadership
01:10 Why this conversation matters
01:55 The five reasons we need to rethink boarding school
02:45 Reason 1: Great leadership needs love
04:20 Boarding school and the absence of love
05:25 Reason 2: Emotional repression
06:30 Why leaders need emotional information
07:15 Reason 3: Separation from those they will lead
08:05 Reason 4: Secure attachment and the flexible brain
09:15 Reason 5: Confidence, resilience and dissociation
10:35 Why command-and-control leadership is no longer enough
11:10 Final reflections and invitation to comment
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Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems.
He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man.
He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1
For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross
For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic
For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community
Many blessings,
Piers Cross
http://piers-cross.com/