How to Hold Power: A Somatic Approach to Becoming a Leader People Love and Respect by Pavini Moray PhD

Essential skills for today's leaders: learn how to embody your ethics, earn your team's trust, and dismantle toxic work culture

Leaders and managers everywhere are learning the importance of creating safe, satisfying workplaces rooted in principles of social justice. But many of us who try to lead with ethics and integrity struggle with embracing a position of power and authority. You might worry about “being bossy,” unintentionally disrespecting others, or making the wrong call—and in the process, put your mind and body under so much stress that you burn out.

Somatic educator and coach Pavini Moray argues that the secret to being an ethical, inspirational boss is rooted in our own bodies. In more than 30 simple exercises, reflections, and daily practices, you’ll learn how to:

• Nurture trust with clients and coworkers
• Ground and re-center when you’re thrown off by a mistake or problem
• Soothe the “Ouch!” of negative feedback
• Break away from grind and hustle culture
• Turn workplace conflict into a source of positive change and growth
• Help your employees voice their own needs and feel heard
• Understand the nuances of consent beyond contract negotiations
• Gracefully acknowledge mistakes
• Repair relationships with employees, colleagues, and clients

Drawing from client case studies and their own experience as a manager, Moray teaches foundational embodiment practices—breath, grounding, observing, centering, and moving—through concrete examples that show how to use these skills in a variety of common workplace settings. By learning to practice embodied leadership presence, you can become a boss who truly listens to your employees; leads with inspiration; and brings your whole self to work every day.