Creative Leadership: leading your staff out of the box
Innovation – in 2009 it’s not just a word to be bandied about. The economy is forcing us to get creative. Innovation could be just what we need and it could be very good for business.
What exactly is creative leadership? It’s not an easy question to answer, but Ralph Kerle is one person who is well qualified to offer an answer.
Ralph is the Program Director of the AGSM Executive Programs Leading for Creativity and Innovation program. He is also the Executive Chairman of the Creative Leadership Forum and Founder of the Creative Skills Training Council, Asia Pacific.
If asked to define creative leadership, Ralph can conjure 1001 different definitions off the cuff. When asked to pick just one, he chose the following:
Creative leadership is the ability to lead others into a new, innovative and unknown future.
Ralph compares creative leadership to the process of sculpting or playwriting.
The artist begins with an idea. Through reflection, revelation and the capacity to let go of things past, the artist is able to navigate challenge and move beyond the limitations of precedent.
Creative leadership is centered on gaining insight through reflection, exploration of new techniques and tools, and an aesthetic approach to situations and challenges.
Creative Leadership versus Traditional Management
As a specialist in the field, Ralph Kerle suggests that the global economic crisis is a perfect example of where creative leadership and traditional management are very different.
Ralph posits that at the core of the crisis is stasis in global thought. While traditional management theory might not have been the catalyst of the crisis, it’s likely to have been a root cause. The crisis has made it impossible to deny the obsolescence of the way that many of us approach business and leadership. We’re risk averse and we overtax the left sides of our brains. And it’s not working anymore. The simple truth is that our business paradigms have failed.
How can we become more creative and innovative as leaders?
It’s difficult to imagine creativity being taught. But when teaching leaders, Ralph practices what he preaches. He is constantly thinking of innovative ways to help leaders tap into their creativity.
Just last week, he completed the development of the Creative Leadership Index. This index is based on his findings from a national study that reached over 30,000 people and explored the question, ‘Is Australian Management Creative and Innovative?’
The purpose of the Index is two-fold. Firstly, it’s a diagnostic tool to help leaders understand the creative and innovative components within their organisations. Secondly, it draws out themes about industry and workplace practice.
The Creative Leadership Index will be available to all participants of the AGSM Executive Programs Leadership for Creativity and Innovation program.
Where will you be when the worst is over?
It can be difficult to see the silver lining of an economic crisis. After all, we’re terrified of failing. This is understandable, until you look at the grand scheme of human endeavour. Innovation, progress, ideas and leaders that have truly shaped the world have very often been born of ‘failure’. Artists are much more attuned to this reality than we are in the business world. At the essence of art is curiosity. It’s no coincidence that this is at the core of innovation too.
As recently as early 2008, words like “creative leadership” were good for instantly glazed-over pairs of CEO eyes. But finally everyone’s sitting up and listening. Ultimately, it will be up to you what you make of the recession. You can hold on for dear life, or recognise the crisis as an opportunity.
Words to the wise
Ralph had the following advice for leaders.
“I’m frequently told I work with the soft stuff – the people, the behaviour. This is just not true. I work with the hard stuff. Focusing on the measurements, the numbers – this is what has failed us. In the vast majority of cases, once you get the people and the behaviour right, the rest will follow suit.”
Miriam Cha
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 12:17PM