Where Art and Leadership Meet

Leaders have repeatedly been compared with artists. The way leaders see the world and create something new, how they integrate aspects of the status quo with their vision of the future and communicate their goals is indeed similar to the creative process of artists. Some authors* have tried to pin down certain factors in the work of leaders and artists that allow for this comparison. The existence of a vision is an obvious common factor; leaders and artists are more sensitive to the world around them and are able to envision the future in new ways. In both cases, having the vision is equally crucial as the process of its communication to others, and its practical implementation. Another similarity would be the act of composition, where the leader utilizes different sources for the execution of the plan, as much as the artist uses certain tools to create a tangible piece of art.

As opposed to looking at the ways leaders are artists, I would like to emphasize the way artists can be leaders. The way they are able to lead their audience is different from the typical request for followership by other leaders. In their own right, artists can be thought-leaders and do so most effectively when they are authentic.

Authentic art as invitation to follow

Leadership and art are both about effect. If an artist has created a piece of art that has an effect on the audience by provoking new thoughts or emotions, it is leading change. The artistic process results in the tangible expression of the artist’s inner life, so what we see or hear reflects the artist’s own feelings and thoughts in response to their experience of the world. At best, the creator’s authenticity shines through his artifact with a message and an unspoken invitation to follow.

Most recently I have come to know the work of American painter Joe Lovett. His latest painting is a meaningful masterpiece that tells his own take on the story of our time. In it we recognize another leadership aspect of art: artists, like leaders, can capture the world on our behalf and thereby create a feeling of solidarity through the embodied message. With “Stretch the Strangle Hold”, Lovett created a painting as much as a statement, one that respectfully disregards its audience and yet creates a home for those who feel the same. In many ways it provides an example for the way art can take on a leadership function, albeit it is claimed gently and cautiously.

Where art and leadership meet and part

Most striking for the analogy between art and leadership is the authentic persona that stands in the center of good art, and good leadership. Using my example, Lovett’s work is authentic and hence, effectual, mainly because it is a true representation of his personal worldview. Like with authentic leadership, authentic art depends on the creating individual:

“The artist’s own individuality as a person is a determining factor in this different view of the world; what is seen is modified by the artist’s thought, thus producing both a window to the world and a window to the artist’s mind.” **

Hence, art can teach us about leadership in terms of two important aspects: the awareness of one’s values, expressed through self-awareness, and the ability to communicate one’s world view effectively to others, otherwise known as transparency. Both are crucial for the effectiveness of the message that is to be brought across, by leaders and artists alike. Of course, there are limits to the commonalities between art and leadership, most fundamentally in terms of the nature of social interactions. Whilst both art and leadership require others to be recognized in their respective role, the need for functioning relationships is greater in leadership than in art. For example, as long as an audience recognizes the artist as such they also know that their input into the artist’s future work could be minimal. Taken to the extreme, this could put the artist at risk of self-absorbance because she does not require others as justification for her work. Leadership, on the other hand, entails not only the ascription by others but the joint journey of leader and followers.

Still, these differences should not distract from the notion that art can be an act of authentic leadership, and leaders can look at artists for guidance. In both cases, it will be up to the audience to follow.

Reference:

*Cadenhead, K., & Fischer, G. (2000). Leader as Artist. Journal of Leadership &Organizational Studies, 7(2), 75-87

** ibid. p. 76