Systemic awareness coaching: Film as a coaching tool for leadership development

This chapter considers the translation of leadership theory into practical coaching processes for leadership performance. The authors utilise film as a means to develop a leader's awareness capacities. Specifically, the method called 3M (model + movie + metaphor) is introduced to deepen a leader's systemic awareness. The movie, Rabbit Proof Fence (2002), is used as an example of how the 3M Method can be applied in a coaching context. This powerful movie, which in many ways exemplifies positive leadership, tells the story of how three indigenous girls survive a 1500 km walk through the hostile Australian outback to escape being institutionalised and removed from their families. The girls' survival graphically portrays the importance of systemic awareness. The girls demonstrate their self-awareness, their collective (interpersonal) awareness, and their awareness of the environment. Most importantly, the movie models how each of these three kinds of awareness connect as a system.