Art of Leadership – Connecting The Dots | Alternative Fruit

Whether you're a boss or just in charge of your own direction, leadership is a skill we all have to employ from time to time. During our lives, occasionally the light falls on us and we have to take the role of leader. Maybe we know the most about something or perhaps we have a challenge that we must overcome. People who are employed to be leaders such as line managers, directors, and teachers, know that sometimes the right option is a new option. This takes an element of creative thinking, rationalising the most effective route through the various aspects of the problem.


Works of art, especially ones that have elements of the abstract, can help prompt us to see things in the way needed. Often the answer to our problems is brewing in the subconscious and with just a little nudge from our environment, we can get a brainwave to pop up like toast. We are used to taking inspiration from our environment, from construction to poetry, nature often already holds the key to perfection. It could be said that a leader's mind is geared up for looking to the world around them in order to gain the information needed to progress.


Of course, as art is always relative to the individual who is observing it, the information available from abstract and impressionist art will be respective to their own inner topography. Our motivations and inhibitions will guide our thinking process to see the relationships and patterns that make the most sense to us, even if in a non-tangible way.


Professional leaders are already being exposed to artistic based training in order to help them be more effective. According to Harvard Business School, two projects have recently been undertaken involving police officers, doctors, and FBI agents. This shows that there is real value in the use of art as a way to prompt our decision making and problem solving capabilities.


Replicating the way others do things is often a safe bet, if we want to do something we know is working then look to the people that have already made their way in this area. If you're looking for a colour for your new payment button, for example, then look to the big companies like Amazon, Paypal, and eBay, to see what their colour choices are. With more complicated and abstract challenges, try going to the local gallery or flicking through the pages of a quality book about art.


PS. Good job for those who took their Free course at Shaw Academy recently, how many of you took the accredited leadership diploma? There's still time if you haven't taken one yet.