Why Art May Matter to a Leader?
Summary: Create space for art at your workplace. If that is not in your control, then at your work desk! Engage in something that brings you back to loving yourself and spending time with yourself. Something that inspires you, lets your thoughts and ideas flow freely, energizes you and makes you want to show up as your best self, a star leader. May your heart be filled with wonder, may you set yourself free.
Did you ever realise that some pastimes offer benefits beyond simply allowing you to relax after a long day at work? Many leaders acknowledge that their pastimes have contributed to their professional success.
Leaders understand that being cooped up in the same place doing stressful things repeatedly needs a break. While simply relaxing and taking time to rest is important, engaging actively in something that gives aesthetic pleasure goes further, spurring your effort into something that both re-energizes you and that you can be proud of.
David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, has more than one place where he wants to excel. When he is not doubling profit margins and raising sales by 70%1, he is playing in music festivals and clubs in Miami and New York under the nickname DJ D-Sol2. Somehow, his creative persona features in the workplace for anyone who looks for it: he secured the IPO of a company once by coming to the meeting dressed in a maroon blazer and sweatpants to show a sample of the company’s clothing!
Here’s what art has to teach anyone who is, or wants ever to be a leader:
It teaches you to have an open mind
Businesses rely on experience teaching you right and wrong, to avoid making the same mistakes and doing what you know works already. However, for true growth, businesses also need to be able to take bold risks and be able to accept new ideas that others may not. It is easy to understand why: business is usually technical, but art is about experimentation. Artists have to learn how to control that inner dialogue which is sad because you are not immediately amazing at everything and keep trying out different things.
It helps you in thinking up newer, creative solutions to a problem
Art teaches you practice deliberately
Experts spend years learning techniques, practising, failing and keeping at it till they create something they can be satisfied with. You develop a certain artistic muscle over the years which helps you see obstacles as challenges that instead of frightening you, get you excited to overcome them. Leadership employs the same principle. It is this deliberate practice that leads the way for one to become a star leader in their field. By engaging in a hobby,4 leaders have reported that they feel much more energetic and persistent.
Impact on Leadership
3 Immediately Applicable Action Steps
- Take any artform that makes you let go: could be writing, visual art, music, dance, or anything else you enjoy.
- When you feel stressed or stuck, come back to your choice of art and allow your mind to open up creatively.
- Consistently go back to art, to yourself. In time, you will notice how your art becomes second nature while you are at work
References
- Hoffman, L. (2018, March 15). The Gamble That Put David Solomon on Top at Goldman Sachs. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-gamble-that-put-david-solomon-on-top-at-goldman-sac hs-1521123442
- Meyersohn, N. (2018, March 14). Goldman Sachs’ next CEO is a part-time electronic dance DJ. CNN Business. https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/14/
news/companies/new-goldman-sachs-ceo-david-solo mon/index.html - Kuepers, W. (2004). Art and leadership. Encyclopaedia of Leadership. 47-54. https://www.researchgate.net/
publication/284495629_
Art_and_leadership - Bunea, E., Lysova, E. I., & Khapova, S. N. (2018, October 8). Why CEOs Devote So Much Time to Their Hobbies. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/10/why-ceos-devote-so-much-time-to-their-h
Authored by Coach Vikram
Vikram is an Executive Presence Coach who supports CXOs and senior leaders to make an impact, influence, and lead with ease. He advises C-level leaders and teams to strengthen business performance through their executive presence and star leadership.
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