PROSE AND PURPOSE: USING FICTION TO TEACH LEADERSHIP LESSONS

Abstract

Leadership education traditionally emphasizes formal case studies, theoretical models, and empirical research. Although effective, these methods often underplay the emotional complexity and ethical nuance central to leadership practice. Fiction, in contrast, offers rich narrative contexts where learners can explore moral dilemmas, human relationships, and conflict with depth and empathy. This chapter argues that fictions like novels, short stories, and plays can significantly enrich leadership pedagogy by cultivating narrative intelligence, ethical reasoning, empathy, and reflective judgment. Through engaging fictional characters and their experiences, learners are invited to analyse leadership choices, grapple with uncertainty, and inhabit diverse cultural perspectives. Drawing on both classic and contemporary literature, as well as cutting-edge pedagogical theory, the chapter illustrates how fiction complements conventional leadership education by providing emotionally resonant, morally complex scenarios. Fiction enhances learners’ abilities to create meaning, articulate vision, and navigate ambiguity which are the vital qualities in effective leaders. By integrating fiction into the classroom through discussion, reflective writing, role-play, and comparative analysis, educators can foster deeper self-awareness, ethical sensitivity, and adaptable leadership thinking. In positioning fiction as both mirror and laboratory for leadership, the chapter highlights its transformative potential for developing leaders who balance strategic acumen with human-centred values. Ultimately, storytelling in prose becomes a purpose-driven means of cultivating thoughtful, empathetic, and morally grounded leadership.