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Richard Olivier Receives BPI’s 2013 Top Thought Leader Award
Richard Olivier, the founder and artistic director of Olivier Mythodrama, was honored with the Best Practice Institute's 2013 Top Thought Leader Award. The award recognized his groundbreaking approach to leadership development, which leverages the works of Shakespeare to explore modern business challenges. The presentation took place at the world headquarters of GlaxoSmithKline in London.
The Olivier Mythodrama Approach to Leadership
Olivier Mythodrama was founded in 2001 with the mission "to develop world class leaders." It employs unconventional tools for the corporate world, including mythology, archetypal psychology, philosophy, and drama. Through this methodology, leaders explore complex issues and develop a deeper understanding of their roles.
A typical Mythodrama session involves executives actively participating in scenes from Shakespeare. Afterward, they analyze how the scene's characters and conflicts relate to their own professional situations. This process provides fresh perspectives on timeless issues of leadership, competition, and ethics. The approach has been utilized by major corporate clients like Microsoft, Walmart, GlaxoSmithKline, and AXA, as well as by organizations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
Why Use Shakespeare for Modern Leadership?
Louis Carter, founder and CEO of Best Practice Institute, described Olivier's work as "insightful and compelling." Carter noted, "Shakespeare had a lot to say about issues such as leadership, competition, ethics and courage... Richard is taking Shakespeare into the boardrooms, and it has had a profound impact on how some leaders perceive and approach their roles."
The effectiveness of this method lies in its appeal to human nature. As Olivier explains, "Human beings are coded to remember images, pictures and symbols a lot more clearly and for a lot longer than they will remember facts, figures and numbers. So we draw on that." By embedding leadership lessons in memorable stories and archetypes, the learning becomes more profound and lasting.
Origins of the Mythodrama Method
Richard Olivier, son of acclaimed actors Sir Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright, began his career as a theatre and film director. A pivotal experience was directing "Henry V" for the opening of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in 1997. During the 1990s, Olivier became a prominent figure in the Mythopoetic Men's Movement in the UK, which explores masculinity through myths, legends, and archetypes. It was within this context that he first used Shakespeare as a source for this work, which eventually led to the creation of Olivier Mythodrama for business leaders.
Olivier also serves as an associate fellow at Saïd Business School and Templeton College, University of Oxford, where he teaches classes applying Shakespeare's work to leadership.
About the BPI Top Thought Leader Award
The BPI Top Thought Leader Award is a prestigious honor recognizing significant contributions to leadership and organizational development. Nominees are put forward by the BPI Senior Executive Board, which is composed of top talent management executives from 20 of the world's largest corporations. BPI's broader membership of 10,000 provides feedback before the final honoree is chosen by the CEO.
Carter selected Olivier because the work of Mythodrama aligns closely with BPI's core mission to transform leaders and their organizations. Previous recipients include:
- Edgar Schein, for his work on corporate culture.
- John Kotter, for his work on leadership and change.
- David Noer, for his work on organizational change. '''