Creative leaders do things differently, according to Becky Bermont, writing for the Redesigning Leadership blog on harvardbusiness.org, and she gives four examples of how they put their different perspectives into practice.
The first example is that passion fuels the work of artist/leaders. She explains: "When artist and administrator combine, the passion that was once channelled into creating art is now poured into leading. The 80/20 rule is not the natural barometer; instead, the assumption is that by choosing to commit yourself to the work of administration, you've taken it on as 'your work' and chosen to commit to it fully."
Secondly, with creative leaders, form and content can't be decoupled: "Predictably, in an artist-led administration, there is much more careful attention paid to visual presentation of information."
Bermont gives the expectation of alteration as the third example: "In traditional work environments, the goal is for careful planning to precede thoughtful execution... Viewed through the eyes of a creative leader, though, tweaking a presentation at the last minute or reconsidering the order of an event that's about to happen is being alive to the moment and in tune to possibility."
Lastly, Bermond says that creative leaders "view failures as opportunities for course correction".
How Artist/Leaders Do Things Differently
Becky Bermont, harvardbusiness.org, 06/05/09
