The Role of experiential learning environments in developing paradoxical leadership

Although scholars have long attended to the competing tensions facing leaders, paradox studies have focused specifically on tensions that are at once directly contradictory yet interdependent. These paradoxical tensions are increasingly central to managerial practice in innovation, social entrepreneurship and change management, yet the implications for management education and leadership development in particular have been under-examined. We adopt two case studies – one from field and one from the classroom – to examine how these programs seek to teach and instil learning on paradoxical leadership. We contribute to a richer understanding of the learning capabilities involved in paradoxical leadership, and examine how experiential learning environments may be organized to encourage learning on paradoxical leadership.