#169 - Leadership Begins in the Body with Croft Edwards

In this episode of The Personal Success Podcast, Ryan speaks with Croft Edwards, MCC, leadership and change coach, retired military officer, author, and President of CROFT + Company.

Croft has spent decades studying one central question…

What is leadership?

The conversation begins with a powerful distinction.

Management is authority granted by an organization.

Leadership is authority granted by the follower.

From there, Ryan and Croft explore what it means to lead from the body, not just the mind. Croft shares how his military background, early exposure to leadership through General Omar Bradley, and years of ontological and somatic coaching shaped his understanding of presence, trust, and authority.

The conversation centers on Croft’s book, The Liquid Accordion: A Somatic and Embodiment Primer for Coaching In, With, and Through the Body for Coaches and Leaders.

Croft explains the metaphor of the “liquid accordion” as the body’s constant expansion and contraction in response to the world. Every leader has a body. Every conversation happens through a body. And often, the body knows what is happening before the mind has words for it.

This episode is especially useful for coaches, leaders, executives, and anyone interested in the connection between leadership presence, emotional regulation, trust, and embodied awareness.

In this episode, we discuss

• Why leadership is granted by followers, not claimed by title

• The difference between management authority and leadership authority

• How Croft’s early life shaped his lifelong study of leadership

• What the military taught him about command, presence, and trust

• Why the body is central to coaching and leadership

• What somatic coaching actually means

• Why leaders often disconnect from their bodies

• How anger, tension, shutdown, and openness live in the body

• Why breath is foundational to regulation and leadership presence

• How teams move from cordial hypocrisy to authentic candor

• Why high performing teams need practice, not just strategy

• How the body can reveal what language hides

• Why our biggest leadership challenge is often ourselves

Memorable ideas from the conversation

“Management is the authority granted by the organization. Leadership is the authority granted by the follower.”

“The body is the holy grail.”

“If I want to be open in a conversation, but my body is closed, the conversation cannot fully open.”

“We are this liquid accordion, expanding and contracting to navigate the world.”

“Our biggest leadership challenge is ourselves.”

About Croft Edwards

Croft Edwards, MCC, is a leadership and change coach, retired military officer, author, and President of CROFT + Company.

He works with leaders, teams, coaches, and organizations to help them create more effective conversations, stronger trust, deeper presence, and higher performing cultures.

Croft is the author of The Liquid Accordion: A Somatic and Embodiment Primer for Coaching In, With, and Through the Body for Coaches and Leaders.