The phenomenology of intelligences – connecting personal flexibility with corporate agility in complexity

This thesis is the unfolding of an inner dance that explores the evolution of physical intelligence as a vital component in understanding and developing leadership agility within complex organisational environments. Through an autoethnographic examination of three public works spanning two decades — a model for embodied leadership, a book on physical intelligence, and a digital cluster of educational works — the research investigates how embodied understanding of movement (patterns, rhythms, behavioural intentions and neurochemistry) can transform approaches to personal and cultural change. The investigation centres on the premise that contemporary leadership development requires a fundamental re-integration of physical intelligence with cognitive and emotional intelligences to meet the challenges of accelerating change and growing complexity. Drawing upon transdisciplinary perspectives including dance, neuroscience, phenomenology, and organisational development, the study reveals how conscious attention to embodiment and the lived experience of science can create new possibilities for organisational transformation. The methodological approach combines reflective practice with participatory observation, incorporating movement analysis techniques adapted from contemporary dance and somatic practices. Through analysis of case studies and personal experiences in both artistic and business contexts, the research documents the transformation of abstract movement concepts into practical applications for leadership development. This translation process demonstrates how movement-based understanding can enhance leadership practices and team and organisational dynamics. The findings establish several key insights about the nature of leadership agility. First, the research demonstrates that organisational cultures embody specific movement patterns that can either facilitate or inhibit change. Second, it reveals how conscious attention to these patterns and their neurophysiology through physical intelligence can create new possibilities for organisational transformation and a different behavioural neuroscience. Third, it illustrates how principles of movement can be effectively translated into business language and practice, creating a bridge between embodied knowledge and organisational strategy. The thesis introduces new theoretical frameworks including Neurophysiological Phenomenology and Expanded Leadership Intelligence (ELI) which integrate scientific understanding with lived experience. These frameworks provide practical tools for leaders to work with organisational dynamics using movement-based principles. The research also establishes new vocabulary for discussing organisational change that integrates embodied knowledge with traditional business concepts. The outcomes of this research have significant implications for leadership development, organisational change management, and cultural transformation initiatives. The study demonstrates how movement-aware approaches can enhance organisational adaptability, improve team coordination, and facilitate more effective cultural change processes. Future research directions include further investigating the role of neurochemical sequencing in leadership development, exploring the relationship between physical intelligence and artificial intelligence in organisational settings, and examining how embodied practices might accelerate the evolution of human consciousness in response to increasing global complexity. The findings also suggest practical applications for leadership education, including the further development of movement-based assessment tools, the integration of somatic practices into executive training programmes, and the wider application of standardised physical intelligence methodologies for coaching and organisational development. Through this exploration of the inner dance of organisational life, the thesis ultimately presents a new paradigm for understanding and working with cultural change in business contexts. It challenges traditional mechanistic approaches to organisational development and offers instead an organic, movement-based framework that acknowledges the dynamic, embodied nature of organisational culture and change. The research concludes by proposing that intentional resequencing of neurochemistry through embodied practice may contribute to a more positive direction for accelerated human evolution, particularly in terms of developing the flexibility and agility needed to navigate increasing complexity. Rather than treating science and culture as equal and opposite, ranged on either side of an arbitrary division between space and place, and between reason and tradition, a better way forward – I suggest – would be to acknowledge that scientific knowledge as much as the knowledge of inhabitants, is generated within the practices of wayfaring. For scientists are people too and inhabit the same world as the rest of us. (Ingold, 2022, p.189)

Name dc:type.qualificationname

DProf by Public Works

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

DProf thesis

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Middlesex University

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Dale, C.A.

• physical intelligence
• embodied leadership
• cultural transformation
• organisational change
• leadership agility
• neurophysiological phenomenology
• movement analysis
• somatic practice
• expanded intelligence
• complexity
• neurochemistry
• dance studies
• autoethnography
• transdisciplinary research
• phenomenology
• business transformation
• embodied cognition
• neuroplasticity
• corporate agility
• behavioural flexibility

Identifier

oai:repository.mdx.ac.uk:2x03v7

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.mdx.ac.uk:2x03v7