What do we mean, when we describe leadership as an art? How does the idea of leader as artist affect the way we think about, and practice leadership? When pondering on the idea of leader as artist and considering the parallel between an artist and the practice of leadership, provides some useful insights on leadership.
- Artists know themselves. Artists have a keen awareness of their strengths, weaknesses, when and where they do their best work. They have spent time thinking about who they are, what they want to create, what style they’ll be using to express themselves and how they will use their raw materials. As leaders it would serve us well to do similar thinking around who we are, Warren Bennis in On Becoming A Leader talks about the importance of using who we are, as the foundation of our leadership, “What is true for leaders is, for better or worse true for each of us: we are our own raw material. Only when we know what we’re made of and what we want to make of it can we begin our lives – and we must do it despite an unwitting conspiracy of people and events against us.” An understanding who we are is the foundation of all great leadership. How well do you know yourself?
- Great art is an act of self-expression. The primary drive of an artist is to express him or herself fully. The expression of one’s ideas and vision is and important step in creating great art. “…anyone who wants to express himself fully and truly must have a point of view. Leadership without perspective and point of view isn’t leadership – and of course it must be your own perspective, your own point of view….. It must be authentic, and if it is, it will be original, because you are an original.” – Warren Bennis, On Becoming A Leader. Artists and leaders strive to express their vision and purpose. It’s their driving passion and source of inspiration. Leadership is an act of creation, an expression of vision and purpose. The ability of leaders to clearly communicate, who they are, what they stand for and where they’re going, is a critical requirement, for building trust and creating an environment that supports aligned action.
- Great art is unique and valuable. Great art is original and unique, this makes it valuable. Nobody who can afford and original piece of art would settle for a copy. Likewise, leaders are originals, they are not imitators of others, they may learn from others, but they remain true to themselves. “To become a leader, then, you must become yourself, become the maker of your own life.“- Warren Bennis, On Becoming A Leader.
- Art is a skill that is attained by study, practice, and observation. One definition states that art is a “skill that is attained by study, practice, or observation“. Great artists don’t start out great. They’re born with potential and their skills are honed and developed over time. Art takes hours of practice, personal discipline, persistence and a strong guiding passion. It’s in this daily discipline and routine that great art is created. “Leadership like art can be demonstrated” – Warren Bennis, On Becoming A Leader. Like art, leadership, is a skill we can learn by leveraging the “passion-practice-performance” cycle. If art can be taught through practice, than so can leadership, and like art the daily practice of leadership is crucial. A leader who doesn’t practice is like a performing artist who doesn’t rehearse, in the end they both lose their audience. Leadership is not a right or entitlement, it must be consistently demonstrated, refined, and earned.
- Art can only be effectively taught by artists. You cannot give what you do not have. It takes an artist to teach art. Sure, you can learn art techniques from anyone, but the crucial attitudes and mindsets that separates a good artist from a great artist, is more caught than taught. Just as it takes an artist to teach art, it requires a leader to teach and coach others to become leaders. Leadership requires that we learn the practice from someone who has mastered the craft. It takes a leader to develop leaders! Are you learning your craft of leadership from another leader?
- Great art tells a story. Great art tells an authentic story that inspires and evokes emotion in the audience. Great leadership also tells a story. Great leadership tells an authentic story, gets people involved and involves them as part of the story.
As leaders we need to tell our leadership story. Annette Simmons says that there are at least six types of stories that leaders should telling to engage and influence others:
- Who I Am Stories
- Why I Am Here Stories
- My Vision Story
- Teaching Stories
- Values in Action Stories
- “I Know what you are Thinking” Stories
- Art is messy. The act of creating is a messy process. Great artists embrace the messiness involved in creating their master piece. Part of the messiness of art is the duality, paradox and tensions inherent in the creative process. Successful artists learn to work with contradiction and uncertainty by spending time in reflection and contemplation, considering how they might apply their skills. Thinking about what they want to create, and how they will need to work with their materials. Leadership is similar, although we would like to believe leadership is a neatly controlled process, it turns out that much of a leaders work is messy. They too need to contemplate how they’re going to work with their strengths, to influence, inspire and guide their people. If leaders want to effectively deal with this messiness, they too need to more spend time in reflection and contemplation and less time directing and controlling.
- Artists carefully frame their work. Artists select a frame that enhances their work, carefully considering their style, audience and social environment. Framing is about focusing people’s attention within a field of meaning. Framing theory suggests that how something is presented (the “frame”) influences the choices people make. Frames help to organize or structure social meanings and since much of art and leadership is socially constructed, framing is a crucial consideration. Effective leaders consciously frame their messages, their behaviour and their vision, to create meaning and inspire action.
Looking at leadership from the perspective of leader as artist, provides a useful and insightful way for us to understand more deeply the practice of leadership.
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