Finding Your Groove

Barry van Zyl is a world-renowned musician with over 30 years of experience in the creative sector, from performance and production to education, strategy, and business development. Having toured the world for 21 years with South Africa’s most famous export, Johnny Clegg, and while working with artists such as Annie Lennox, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Peter Gabriel, and Die Antwoord, Barry completed an Executive MBA at Henley Business School and is now focused on executive education in the areas of personal development, entrepreneurship, and innovation.Chris Dalton is Associate Professor of Management Learning and module convener for Personal Development (PD) at Henley Business School. A creative tutor, he was recognised with a University Teaching Fellowship (2022) from Reading University. His research is focused on the use of reflection in personal development in post-experience management education. Chris has over 29 years of experience in management education and training. He is a certified coach and online tutor and has trained as a systemic constellations facilitator, regularly working with the public and private sector.

“How do you:Hack your Flow?Get into The Zone?Move with The Force?Written by Barry Van Zyl (my favorite drummer on the planet) and Dr Chris Dalton, Finding Your Groove explains how.”NINJA (Die Antwoord), Multi-platinum international recording artist, South Africa“Barry van Zyl is one of those rare individuals who has managed to balance the magic of the heart with the logic of the head. By merging his deep musical experience gained from years of touring as an internationally acclaimed drummer, with his and Chris Dalton’s combined passion for the harmonic development of human beings within a volatile and uncertain corporate world, they have found a unique insight into how leaders and teams can find their groove."Pepe Marais, Co-Founder and Group Chief Creative Officer at Joe Public“In Finding Your Groove, celebrated rock/jazz drummer Barry van Zyl and business educator/scholar Chris Dalton explore the power of rhythm in leadership and life. Part memoir, part jam session, this inspirational yet practical book introduces the notion of groove as a metaphor for the practice of effective leadership. The roles that discipline, narrative-building, and resonance play – combined with the aptitudes of reflection and adaptability – are central themes that drive this joyful, innovative book. It is all about leadership with swing, soul, and – at the risk of sounding playful – the art of not missing a beat!”Anant K. Sundaram, Clinical Professor of Business Administration, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth“Finding Your Groove is a riff session between a world-class musician and a world-class business mind, the two of them jamming on notes universal to music and organizational theory. It’s an improvisation—their minds leaping across keys and chords to explore the connecting patterns within us, between us, and all around us. Contrary to the popular idea that the world is disconnected, Van Zyl and Dalton illuminate a world that is whole; a world from which we have fallen out of relationship. We find our way back to connection by finding our own unique pulsating groove that resonates in harmony with others and that world. Like the conversations that make up this book, we discover ourselves in the back-and-forth of dialogue.”Jim Ferrell, bestselling author of You and We: A Relational Rethinking of Work, Life, and Leadership

• Chapter 1: Foundations of Groove, 1.1 Introduction, 1.2 One Question, Two Approaches, 1.3 The Essentials for Finding Your Groove, Chapter 2: Notes on Individual Groove, 2.1 Just Turn Up. And Start., 2.2 Say Yes and Figure It Out, 2.3 The Art of Practice, 2.4 Multi-Level Groove, 2.5 If You Can Sing It, You Can Play It, 2.6 The Power of Words, 2.7 The Groove of Physicality, 2.8 The Theory of Reassembly, 2.9 The Balance, Chapter 3: Notes on Group Groove, 3.1 From Big Band to Genuine Brand, 3.2 Forming the Band, 3.3 The Pain of Failure (When the Student Is Ready, the Teacher Appears), 3.4 The Rehearsal Trap, 3.5 A Freelancer’s Medley: Talent + Hard Work + Authenticity, 3.6 Tempo of Leadership, 3.7 Voice(s), 3.8 Vibes Don’t Lie: Find Your People, Find Your Edge, 3.9 The Super Groove, Chapter 4: Notes on Universal Groove, 4.1 Breath and Beat: the Universal Groove, 4.2 Finding and Feeling Groove, 4.3 Change Pain, 4.4 The Frequency of Resonance, 4.5 Cultural Authenticity, 4.6 The Beatles, Bieber, and a Tree, 4.7 Shaking Things Up, 4.8 What Moves You (On)?, 4.9 Disconnected Leadership in a Resonant World?, Epilogue – the Coda Appendix: Universal Values Questionnaire