From Theory To Practice In Leadership Education: Developing Self-Awareness Through Role Play

This paper presents Leading Without a CEO, a postgraduate leadership activity that links leadership theory to enacted behaviour. Students adopt one of five leadership styles and respond to sequenced crises in a structured role play. The design integrates behavioural practice with guided reflection to cultivate self awareness, emotional intelligence, and adaptability. Psychological safety is established through explicit norms, role protection, and a debrief protocol that converts experience into insight. The activity functions as a developmental exercise or as a graded assessment, supported by a rubric that evaluates recognisable style enactment, ethical reasoning, and interpersonal impact. Materials, timing, and facilitation scripts are provided to enable replication in large cohorts and online settings. By combining style theory, real time social feedback, and structured reflection, the activity advances a practical pedagogy for helping students translate leadership concepts into credible practice in complex organisational contexts.