Leadership Framed by Art
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Leadership Framed by Art

Iris Lavy
CreateSpace, 2017
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

What can the world of art reveal about the best leadership practices for the 21st century business world? Management consultant Iris Lavy offers a creative method for cultivating the attributes leaders need in these times of constant change. She introduces popular management theories in short, clear sections, bolstered by discussions of the ways artists leverage similar ideas to achieve innovation. Her analysis of artists’ methods, and her highly original use of specific artworks as references for business practices, provide visual analogies to help readers better understand popular leadership strategies – and perhaps see them in a new light.  

Summary

Organizations need to think like the artists known as Modernists.

In the middle of the 19th century, artists started shedding the structured, hierarchical rules of the dominant art academies. Artists in previous eras – such as the Renaissance or the Baroque periods – aimed to depict their subjects with life-like accuracy. In contrast, the Modernists embraced revolutionary ideas and techniques. They focused on groundbreaking creativity rather than on imitating the past.

Innovation drives business success today. Organizations must adopt a Modernist attitude to handle the “Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity” (VUCA) that characterize modern commerce. Just as Modernism spawned many art movements, companies must deal with many diverse strategies, even as they all aim to lead in innovation and to succeed commercially.

Start by making a planning sketch.

Sketching is standard practice for artists developing the composition for a new work. Likewise, good leaders take the time to consider multiple possibilities before establishing a mission and path for their business...

About the Author

A management consultant with a background in art history, Iris Lavy writes and speaks about how the world of art informs business practices. 

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