Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Jonathan E. Schroeder
University of Exeter
Ian Fillis
Stirling University
Forthcoming (2010) in
Research Handbook on Political and Civic Leadership
Richard Couto, ed. London: Sage.
Aesthetic Leadership
Jonathan E. Schroeder
Ian Fillis
DRAFT
This chapter briefly examines the literature on aesthetics and considers what can be
learned from the various interfaces aesthetics has with other domains, such as art,
philosophy and leadership. It begins with brief discussions of aesthetics, art and
to organizations are discussed, and the creative industries, an American artist, and an
Arab-Israeli orchestra are used as applied case studies of managerial, civic, and political
forms of aesthetic leadership. The chapter concludes with future directions for research,
and provides a list of additional entries in the encyclopedia, and well as references and
further readings.
slightly different conceptions of leaders and how aesthetics interacts with leadership..
distinct from traditional forms of leadership, and agree that it is a necessary complement
to those forms. In addition, they suggest that aesthetic leadership is closely connected to
2
civic, cultural and political arena than many models of leadership. However, no one
followers utilize aesthetic sense and judgment in working with leaders. They identify
aesthetic leadership and outline its’ ontological and epistemological assumptions, which
leadership, in their view, requires two enduring components: engagement of the senses,
and a focus on the experiential (Hansen, Ropo, and Sauer, 2007). In this approach,
of leadership in organizations.
leadership. They argue that leaders in business and art benefit by listening to each
other, and present research-based cases demonstrate how software programmers and art
curators, financial analysts and orchestra conductors, construction engineers and chefs,
share aesthetic leadership talents that hold the key to transforming the ordinary into the
Guillet de Monthoux and Gustafsson, 2007). This perspective focuses largely on the
interaction between aesthetics and management, and between artists and managers, and
3
argues for a vision of aesthetic leadership that promotes more effective and inspiring
leadership.
Schroeder has suggested that aesthetic leadership concerns the manner in which
artists, and other aesthetic workers, perform leadership functions within groups,
leadership from a civic, cultural and political dimension, turning to cultural producers
such as writers and artists as exemplars, and works within an expanded conception of
or business.
research, and outlines the assumptions and possibilities of aesthetic leadership. The
creative industries provides a case study where substantial evidence can be drawn about
the use of creativity as a form of leadership, which can be used to overcome resource
barriers and establish competitive advantage. Research and thinking about aesthetic
leadership spans several disciplines, and often encompasses management studies, art
history and sociology – aesthetic leadership represents one strand within the growing
Aesthetics
4
The concept of aesthetics originates from the Greek verb aisth (to feel) and relates to
the knowledge yielded by the sensory organs. Thus, aesthetics has particular
implications for the notion of aesthetic leadership where, rather than following a pre-
paths of action should be taken. There are also close connections here with
entrepreneurial behavior and decision-making. The term “aesthetics” was first used to
describe the area of philosophy relating to art and beauty in Germany in the 18th century
(1750) who promoted the value of poetic wisdom, or non-rational sensing, over the
example, think, behave and lead in non-rational ways as they sense opportunities and
exploit them. Baumgarten saw logic as the study of intellectual knowledge while
aesthetics was concerned with the study of sensory knowledge. Cultivating aesthetic
knowledge can result in fresh insight and awareness, irrespective of whether or not we
(Gagliardi, 1996). Consideration of the intellectual grounding around art, artistry and
beauty, or aesthetics, can help leaders to understand in a clearer way the complex nature
5
of today’s business arena (Ottensmeyer, 1996). On a basic level, it can be proposed that
those aesthetic values comprise an important subset of human values. For example,
therefore comprise part of the fabric of organizational experience and reality. Even if
– and many leaders reveal an absence of aesthetic insight – aesthetics are always
Early twentieth century philosophers such as John Dewey and Irwin Edman noted
that the field of aesthetics should include everyday experiences and activities. Edman
believed that there is little difference between the realms of art and everyday lived
experiences such as constructing a hut or a skyscraper (Edman, 1928). Art has been
which promote the nature of human feeling. The notion of making aesthetic experience
and emotion can be used to understand organizational processes. Long before the recent
were described as involving feeling, judgment, sense, proportion and balance and that
they were a matter of art rather than science, involving aesthetic rather than logical
influential views for present day management education from an aesthetic perspective
6
through his ability to stimulate our thinking from both scientific and artistic
judgment, and hence for leadership decisions. Aesthetic experience is manifested either
feeling. Strati (1999) believes that aesthetics now encapsulates the ways in which the
intuition and immersion. Aesthetics can then also be used to consider how these
constructs impact on leadership decisions, and how intuition relates to aesthetics. Three
levels of leadership intuition have been identified: 1) there are those individuals to
whom intuition comes naturally; 2) those who need training in order to acquire it; and 3)
7
few. The aesthetic aspect of organizational life has slowly become part of accepted
organizational theory, from its initial exclusion from the study of organizations to a
(e.g., Guillet de Monthoux and Strati, 2002). Aesthetics are used to study and
understand the organization, rather than merely adding value to organizational output.
Moreover, aesthetics offers more than mere inspiration or “creative” insight – aesthetic
and leadership studies. Although thinking aesthetically offers the researcher and
There is a history of incorporating art and its artistic forms within organizational
Overington, 1987), the manager as artist (Hatch, Kostera and Kozminski, 2004) and the
managers want to learn lessons from theatrical managing, then they should dismiss the
doctrine of logical management thinking and embrace the process of making art. The
literature on strategic vision and leadership has tended to adopt what has been called a
Monthoux adopts an understanding of strategy, with strong links to art and aesthetics. In
this way, aesthetics can be used to ‘see’ in a way that is missed by conventional
managerialist perception. In his view, this is the true value of aesthetic leadership.
8
Recently, there has been a growth in the consideration of business management
as a form of art, while creative artistry is now viewed as a form of business activity
(Guillet de Monthoux, 2004). Discourses, rather than decisions, seem to matter more for
construction involving small talk, conversation and storytelling. The narrative paradigm
in management studies has caused serious cracks to appear on the façade of managerial
rationality. From this perspective, rationality remains as only one of many social
information processing where individuals are able to distinguish, define and link
through syllogisms. But when the situation is linked with genuine uncertainty, bounded
Noting that aesthetics are broadly concerned with knowledge created from
sensory experiences, thoughts and feelings, Taylor and Hansen (2005) carried out a
four areas of intellectual analysis of instrumental action, using artistic form to examine
instrumental issues, intellectual analysis of aesthetics and the adoption of artistic form
to understanding aesthetic issues. They note that during the Enlightenment period of the
9
18th century, it was common to divide the world in an analytical sense into the three
theorizing has tended to focus largely on efficiency and effectiveness, rather than
Much prior to the current debate on rational versus irrational ways of knowing in
management studies, Vico (1744) and Baumgarten (1750) promoted poetic wisdom, or
the study of intellectual knowledge while aesthetics involves the study of sensory
knowledge. At that time, of course, the rational doctrine of the Enlightenment tended to
perspective still dominates, despite increasing evidence to the contrary. So, having
aesthetic knowledge can result in fresh insight and awareness; irrespective of whether or
not we can actually express what we experience. Scientific management still has an
efficiency.
Watkins and King (2002) utilize the arts in order to gain understanding of
organizational performance, drawing on visual art and literature. They note that the
the adoption of set rules which are to be followed. In the same way that much marketing
management research is still concerned with attempting to represent the world using
10
frameworks initially constructed some time ago, so too do organizations which insist on
a linear/rational perspective. Watkins and King note that areas such as the arts have long
moved on from this position and therefore suggest that we should analyze successful
artistic performance in order to draw both inspiration and direct comparison with
Art and aesthetics can be used to inform and create a discourse which can then
critical leadership research. Carr and Hancock (2003) believe that investigating the
relationship between art and aesthetics can help us to shape alternative ways of
knowing, while also allowing us to reconsider what may have been missed by the
adoption of logico-rational method alone. Although their work refers to the study of the
organization, it can be readily adapted for wider studies of leadership. This view fits
comfortably with the Fillis and Rentschler (2006) paradigm of creative marketing where
artistic, situation specific solutions are seen as the most appropriate for the smaller firm
Aesthetics are a form of knowledge, which have their own truth, since each
organizational context is specific and special. There are links between aesthetics and
organization can focus a number of issues – including cultural values, identity and
image and style. Aesthetics as style can therefore relate to instilling and practicing a
creative, entrepreneurial form of marketing. Björkman (2002) notes that the nature of
markets throughout the world is changing, with product overload and consumer
11
alienation. A response to this is to introduce products, which convey feelings as well as
the core product benefits. The adoption of the notion of the aura helps consumers to
feeling and emotion as response to creative marketing efforts. Being able to ‘see’ the
aura means that the customer must have experienced the beauty of the product, service
or brand. Björkman proposed that a company could evolve into an aura-company via its
inherent ability to create its own ways of communication with its customers, as well as
to attract them in the first place through to purchasing its products and services.
and note that the fact that the arts are being applied in business settings in new ways.
This could potentially mean the evolution of a new research field and a new trend of
aesthetic thinking and learning. A variety of terms have been adopted to describe more
art as a way of knowing, and creative learning. Being able to manage requires a variety
of types of knowledge, and not just the linear rational form. Nissley, for example,
identifies how aesthetic epistemology, or aesthetic ways of knowing, is now being used
to inform the practice of management education, drawing from a variety of art forms
including music, drama and art (Nissley, 2002). Duke provides a model of aesthetic-
based leadership within education, focused on how leaders manifest aesthetic properties
(Duke, 1986).
discussion on organizational aesthetics, not because they have not been acknowledged
12
as legitimate inputs into the organizational process, but rather that they are difficult to
study using accepted mainstream scientific methods. Warren and others are beginning
perspectives based on aesthetics and sensuality (Warren, 2008). There has been some
which still result in relevant and interesting data, such as sex and eroticism in
organizations (Brewis and Linstead, 2000), or humor and fun. It is hoped that these
leadership. Importantly, Warren comments that people display the same capacity for
emotional and aesthetic experience, irrespective of whether they are inside or outside
Aesthetics has generally been concerned with questions of beauty and the notion
of universal tastes. The philosopher Immanuel Kant argued that human response to art
is disinterested, which led to an ongoing debate about the relationship with visual
culture. Others have argued that there is a distinct aesthetic realm, which allows people
to respond to beauty in terms of color and form. Recently, artists have been called upon
inspirers (e.g., Austin and Devin, 2003; Hatch, Kostera and Kozminski, 2004;
Schroeder, 2006; Taylor and Ladkin, 2009, for a review). Thus, aesthetic leadership
13
need not refer merely to creativity or vision; rather aesthetic leadership may emerge
social injustice or crucial cultural concerns, or, at a more general level, providing
alternative ways of seeing problems, history, or received wisdom. In this way, aesthetic
leadership may either complement or contradict more traditional leadership forms, such
its power from the position of the aesthetic producer outside conventional leadership
positions.
Death of Marat (1793) catalyzed support for the French revolution by shrewdly mixing
fine art with propaganda. During the bloody 18th century uprising, David reorganized
disseminating cultural and political opinions and trends – and he produced many
spectacular propagandistic events, eventually being imprisoned for his political views.
repression in the former Soviet Union, and helped make the wider world aware of the
gulag, the forced labor system, and spent a writing career pointing out injustices, for
Another example concerns the Asian-American sculptor and architect Maya Lin,
especially Vietnam veterans and their families – begin to come to terms with a
14
undergraduate university student at the time, steadfastly refused to compromise her
aesthetic principles during a bitter battle over her minimalist design, held to her strong,
clear vision, as described in the Academy Award winning documentary of the rancorous
campaigns, as artistic and cultural production is readily harnessed for persuasive ends
(see Schroeder, 2005). For example, Couto has argued that ‘third sector’ organizations,
such as voluntary associations and political action groups, play important roles in civil
society (Couto, 2001), and moreover, often capitalize on what might be called aesthetic
organized by a consortium of political groups intent on ratifying the Good Friday Peace
Accord of 1998, which was aimed at halting the long-standing “troubles” of Northern
Ireland. The campaign utilized the Saatchi and Saatchi advertising agency to present a
unified message, based around a simple image that resembled a traffic sign: voting yes
was associated with an arrow suggesting free flowing traffic, voting no was represented
by a red ‘T’ sign – a dead end (Couto, 2001). In this case, civic issues intersect with
aesthetic leadership via third sector organizations, political issues, and advertising
professionals.
skill or vision, yet remains elusive, and difficult to categorize or contain (see Ladkin,
2008). Often, aesthetic leaders have trained in areas somewhat distant from typical
leadership or management disciplines – literature, art, or theatre, for example – and this
15
training may offer a capacity for innovative insight. However, insight or vision alone
determination, and drive, along with a prodigious aesthetic gift. This is not to suggest
that aesthetic leadership need recapitulate a trait-based model of leadership (cf. Wood,
create mainly to express their subjective conceptions of beauty, emotion or some other
aesthetic ideal.
Thus, artists, often excluded from the canon of leadership, perform leadership
nature of what they do and how they do it means that their actions cannot be
Smith and Wright (2000) distinguish between those who create and those who lead
through their ability to transform the world by their deeds rather than by their ideas or
both through the development of creative philosophies which result in insight, change or
understanding.
16
The creative industries emerged over the last thirty years as an important and
dynamic industrial sector. Creativity is not just applicable to the arts and the artistic
product but should also be viewed in a wider sense where it embraces entrepreneurship
and innovative leadership within the context of the wider social environment. It
contributes to the unconventional behavior of a leader and has most impact in today’s
constructed, rather than textbook replication forms of planning and strategy are often
chaotic market conditions, strong leadership is needed in order to create new customer
bases and establish creative solutions to perceptual and physical barriers. Given these
Contemporary literature locates the crafts industry as part of the greater cultural
industry, comprising designer trades, book publishing, the music industry, television
and radio broadcasting, independent film and video, the art trade and cinema. General
definitions of the creative industries include advertising, architecture, the art and
17
antiques market, crafts, design, designer fashion, film and video, interactive leisure
software, music, the performing arts, publishing, software and computer services,
television and radio. These industries can be seen to embrace heritage and tradition,
In the United Kingdom, recent figures suggest that 1.4 million people are
employed in the creative industries and that the economic contribution is more than 90
billion pounds sterling per year. In the US, those working in the creative sector
comprise more than thirty percent of the overall workforce, with a collective income of
around $1.7 trillion per year (Florida, 2002). This growing creative base and its
associated alternative value system and aesthetic mean that we ignore the creative
industries and its innovative leadership at our peril. There are inherent difficulties in
considering those entities, which comprise the creative industries as being part of the
wider economy where enterprises follow the rules of market orientation and customer
wishes.
entrepreneurship, leadership and change management, Fillis and Rentschler (2006) add
competencies can help shape leadership in the small and medium sized enterprise. The
arts and crafts firm is typically a small enterprise where the owner/manager leads
through creative, entrepreneurial thinking and practice. There is also a growing history
of research into the overlap between leadership and entrepreneurship; for example,
Cogliser and Brigham (2004) consider how leadership studies can inform the much
18
younger discipline of entrepreneurship. They identify a number of conceptual overlaps,
climate, leadership style, organizational culture, resources and skills and the structure
and systems of the organization are the most influential factors in enhancing creativity
creative individuals.
Providence – a fire sculpture, mystical musical experience, and art installation – which
Providence’s three rivers, completed in 1995 as part of a ten-year project. Staged every
two or three weeks, usually on Saturday nights, WaterFire draws thousands of people –
Providence to experience this public event, steeped in the ancient elements of water,
fire, and music. Many local restaurants set up street side tables and a variety of food
and drink is available. But mostly WaterFire is about viewing dozens of ritual fires that
are stoked until midnight by volunteers who cruise the river dressed druid-like in black
19
on a black boat to the sounds of an evocative and ethereal soundtrack of sacred and
ARTnews, and has been hailed as the key to bringing people back to the once moribund
Providence downtown, and spurring economic and cultural development. One reviewer
concluded: “this cross-bred urban renaissance may be one of the most inventive uses of
socializing. Its innovative combination of basic elements such as fire, water and sound
spiritual associations beyond mere material context” (Branham, 1999) offers leadership
lessons.
Providence created an art enterprise zone in 1994 to attract artists to live and
work in the downtown area. Like many U.S. cities in the 1970s and 1980s, Providence
was severely affected by suburban flight by both residents and businesses, highway
construction, and economic downturns. Along with many once proud industrial capitals
in the Northeast, Providence had fallen on hard times, shedding manufacturing jobs,
factories, and skilled workers, and its decaying downtown had lost much of its’ allure
and attraction. A major effort was initiated to recover and reclaim the three major rivers
that run through Providence, which were critical to its importance as a colonial port and
major industrial center through the early 20th century. The river restoration project was
20
completed in 1995, and WaterFire Providence has been instrumental in bringing people
from around the state downtown in a unique public spectacle. Local businesses joined
the event by hosting outdoor dining and entertainment, increasing opening hours, and
advertising WaterFire night specials. Regional and national conventions held at the
Providence convention center also sponsor WaterFire. Several other U.S. cities,
including San Antonio, Texas have started similar events, advised by Evans.
ingredient in the revitalization of this well-preserved New England city. It has sparked
visits to Providence even on nights when it is not performed, and has become an icon of
people – who wonder aloud what it is, or what it means – and it remains a powerful
work of civic art that is profoundly changing Providence. Although he holds no official
title, and he had to create his own organization of volunteers and a small paid staff,
Evans’s vision provided an artistic and civic vision that spanned artistic, cultural and
economic realms, and cut across aesthetic genres of sculpture, installation and urban art.
conjunction with traditional forms of power, such as civic leaders, businesses, and local
government officials.
21
The West-Eastern Divan orchestra was founded by musician Daniel Barenboim
piano prodigy and orchestral conductor with roots in Argentina and Israel, and Said –
who died in 2003 – a Palestinian and Professor at Columbia University in New York,
well known for his work on Orientalism, recruited young musicians from Israel and the
Arab world to play together. Barenboim “sees the orchestra as a model for dialog in the
Middle East – an example of how to break the wall of hatred between peoples” (Clark,
2009, p. 3). Via aesthetic experience, making music together, and interacting, this the
Divan orchestra goals include civic and political engagement between long standing
antagonists.
Named after a collection of poems by the German writer Goethe that imagines a
Western awareness of Eastern culture, the West-Eastern Divan orchestra has enjoyed
tremendous success and critical acclaim. The orchestra meets for a month every summer
near Seville, Spain, and tours around the world, members sharing accommodation, food,
and travel arrangements. The orchestra is often called upon to make statements about
events in the Middle East, and Barenboim has emerged as a kind of ambassador for the
troubled region. Their appearance in war-torn regions, contested territories, and highly
symbolic religious centers has fueled their fame. One member of the orchestra Nabeel
Abboud-Ashkar, asserts that “the miracle of the world that Daniel Barenboim and
Edward Said created–the world of the Divan–lay in the opportunity for individuals to
meet outside of their environments to find a new equilibrium, perhaps even a new
identity that went beyond their national identities” (in Cheah 2009, p. 46). Barenboim
22
and Said’s vision of aesthetic encounter producing political change is of course, not
complete, but it remains a shining example of the possibilities and potential of aesthetic
there are important differences between aesthetic leadership models, all emphasize the
aesthetic, sensory dimension, and all draw upon artistic or intuitive processes of
leadership. Further, the role of aesthetic insight, as distinct from rational thought
provide unites these perspectives. These disparate examples serve to illuminate how
aesthetics operates as a form of civic and political leadership. Aesthetic leadership may
be seen as only one aspect of a broader turn toward aesthetics and art within leadership,
the organization where emotional expression, ethics and values are promoted over
23
contribution of disciplines such as the humanities to understanding the aesthetic
dimension of leadership.
Barnaby Evans, and Daniel Barenboim provide vivid examples that leadership is not
transcends traditional categories of leadership studies. Aesthetic leaders like these often
succeed not from following rules and rational procedures, but by sharing an aesthetic
vision. In this way, they function as exemplars of leadership in their own right, and also
be seen, then, that positioning research and practice within an aesthetic framework can
facilitate alternative ways of ways of knowing which both compliments and challenges
work of aesthetic leaders in the creative industries, the cultural sector, and the wider
24
References and Further Readings
Austin, R. & Devin, L. (2003). Artful making: What managers need to know about how
Barnard, C.I. (1938). The functions of the executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Culture, 5, 69-78.
Notes, 7, 1-4.
Brewis, J. & Linstead, S. (2000). Sex, work and sex-work: Eroticising organization,
London: Routledge.
Carr, A. & Hancock, P. (Eds.). (2003). Art and aesthetics at work. Basingstoke, UK:
Palgrave Macmillan.
25
Clark, A. (2009). Peace and harmony: Daniel Barenboim on hip-hop, conducting, a
Jewish joke – and how an orchestra could be a model in the Middle East. The
771-799.
Couto, R. (2001). The third sector and civil society: The case of the “YES” campaign in
Crossan, M., Lane, H., & White, R. (1999). An organizational learning framework from
Darso, L. & Dawids, M. (2002). It’s time for the artists to help the poor business people.
22, 7-27.
Edman, I. (1928). Arts and the man: A short introduction to aesthetics. New York:
W.W. Norton.
Press.
Fillis, I., & Rentschler, R. (2006). Creative marketing. An extended metaphor for
26
Florida, R. (2002). The rise of the creative class, and how it's transforming work,
Gagliardi, P. (1996). Exploring the aesthetic side of organizational life. In S.R. Clegg,
C. Hardy & W.R. Nord (Eds.), Handbook of organization studies (pp. 565-580).
London: Sage.
Guillet de Monthoux, P. (2004). The art firm: aesthetic management and metaphysical
Guillet de Monthoux, P., & Sjöstrand, S-E. (2003). Corporate art or artful corporation?
Guillet de Monthoux, P., & Strati, A. (Eds.) (2002). Aesthetics in organization, Special
Hatch, M. J., Kostera, M., & Kozminski, A. K. (2004). The three faces of leadership:
Hansen, H., Ropo, A., & Sauer, E. (2007). Aesthetic leadership. The Leadership
Höpfl, H. J., & Linstead, S. (Eds.), (2000). The aesthetics of organization. London:
Sage.
Klein, L. (2001). Review: Bonfires of urbanity: the public art of Barnaby Evans. PAJ: A
27
Ladkin, D. (2008). Leading beautifully: How mastery, congruence and purpose create
the aesthetic of embodied leadership practice. The Leadership Quarterly, 19, 31-
41.
159-172.
Minahan, S., & Wolfram Cox, J. (Eds.) (2007). The aesthetic turn in management.
London: Ashgate.
Wankel (Eds.), Rethinking management education in the 21st Century (pp. 27-
Ottensmeyer, E. J. (1996). Too strong to stop, too sweet to lose: Aesthetics as a way to
Queensland Press.
Ropo, A., Parviainen, J., & Koivunen, N. (2002). Aesthetics in leadership: from absent
28
Grounding leadership theory and research: issues, perspectives, and methods
Samier, E., & Bates, R. (Eds.). (2006). The aesthetic dimensions of educational
Schroeder, J. E. (2005). The artist and the brand. European Journal of Marketing, 39,
1291-1305.
99.
Sjöstrand, S., Guillet de Monthoux, P., & Gustafsson, C. (Eds.) (2007). Aesthetic
Macmillan.
Smith, C. D., & Wright, L. (2000). Perceptions of genius: Einstein, lesser mortals and
Taylor, S. S., & Hansen, H. (2005) Finding form: looking at the field of organizational
Vico, G. (1744, reprinted in 1948). The new science of Giambattisto Vico. T. G. Bergin
29
Warren, S. (2008). Empirical challenges in organizational aesthetics research: Towards
Watkins, C. & King, I.W. (2002). Organisational performance: A view from the Arts.
42, 1101-1121.
Milan. His Ph.D. is in Social Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.
and serves on the editorial boards of Advertising and Society Review, Critical Studies in
30
and Marketing Theory. He is a founding member of the International Network of Visual
Ian Fillis is Senior Lecturer of Marketing at Stirling University. He received his BSc in
University of Ulster and a Ph.D. on the Internationalisation Process of the Smaller Firm
external bodies including the ESRC, the Arts Council of England, Scottish Enterprise,
31