Podcast Archive
Artful Leadership
In this podcast seminar Michael Jones considers the value of experience and the power of drawing on emotional and sensory experience alongside conversations in a commons forum to inform plans and outcomes and affect change
Take the Seminar!
In this podcast, Michael Jones illuminates the path of artful leadership, sharing its roots in an experience he had as a small boy; its re-emergence at critical times in his life; and, its current expression as a path of leadership based on sensing, imagination, and a willingness & patience to see with new eyes.
Here, Michael touches upon the qualities we can all find and nurture as we “write the new story” into the future.
Learning Objectives:
- To explore the distinction between traditional and artful leadership through metaphors
- To appreciate the richness of leadership in the contemporary world
- To think about the commons as a new place to engage with each other
On this page you'll find:
- Young People and Artful Leadership
- Leading in the Commons
- Creating the Commons in your Community
- Reflection Questions
- Links & Resources
- Meet Michael Jones
Young People and Artful Leadership
Barack Obama seems to intuitively tap into artful leadership, bringing imagination and creativity to an arena that had become dry. And he has issued an invitation to all of us to “write the new story.”
Young people are ready for that responsibility. They are waiting for someone to give them that possibility. This is the first time in history when, as Margaret Meade suggested, we are learning from our children, as well as from our parents or elders.
Their awareness and consciousness is different. There’s a new kind of social/emotional intelligence available, and they are open to a different way of knowing.
This kind of leadership can be a challenge for people who have been taught to lead by developing strategic plans, bold visions and expected outcomes. However, many respond intuitively to the wisdom of artful leadership.
The commons was always with us until about 100 years ago. We have the village green as a reminder. The new commons is a part of the evolution toward stewardship – and stewards are very attuned to the complex ecology of the community.
A public space comes into view as we begin to soften our focus and through the light of a candle see the gifts of a community: honoring a sense of rooted-ness, experiencing an organic sense of recognition, and welcoming the emergence of a collective community voice reflective of rich diversity.
The commons belongs to everyone. The energy of even two people creates an empty canvas with infinite possibility.
The place of “commitment to action” is further upstream. The working place of the commons is generative inquiry, mindfulness, aliveness to emergent possibility, and speaking “out of the centre rather into it.”
There is an abundant curiosity for exploring whatever is fresh and new.
Creating the Commons in your Community
Creating a commons is an organic activity.
It may begin with just a few people who get together on a regular basis to have conversations. In Michael’s case, there was a group of just four people, who after some time decided to place an invitation in the newspaper. 30 people showed up!
There can be smaller café conversations, too, especially for people who may not be comfortable with a larger group.
It helps to have people in addition to you who share an aspiration to have this sort of thing and to hold the space for it to happen.
In defining questions it’s useful to think of the ecology of a tree: there are branch, trunk, and root questions. Strategic plans are the trunk. In the commons, we explore the deeper root questions – the invisible structures that bring nutrition to the other things we do. Of course we do action planning, but we work from a deeper source.
Sharing of experience is a good way to begin. “Think of a time in your leadership when you felt you were making a difference” or “How can we re-enchant out environment?”
GOING DEEPER
- Have there been moments in my life when I have felt “something moving from the inside out rather than the outside in?” How can I nurture that capacity?
- Am I able to bring creativity and imagination to my current work? If not, why not?
- Who are the people I know with whom I could engage in the kind of commons Michael Jones talks about?
To reflect on these and other important questions, refer to the Resources and Links below.
Michael Jones’ website - Check out Michael Jones’ website for more on books, music, essays and musings on artful leadership and creating the imaginative life.
Leading by Candlelight: Re-mythologizing our World - Michael talks about the wisdom of sensing in the face of uncertainty, exploding and exploring a few myths and archetypes along the way.
Roots of Aliveness: Leading as a Living Process - The roots and soil of a tree are what gives it resilience and strength. So, too, we can give our attention to the ground of being beneath an organization or community.
The Leader’s Journey and the Imaginative Life - The life of the imagination and its relevance for leadership: “Who will play your music if you don’t play it yourself?”
Robert Frost's, The Road Not Taken - Read the whole poem by Robert Frost, with its famous line, “I took the road less traveled.”
Michael Jones - Michael is an accomplished pianist/composer, an evocative writer and storyteller, and a deep and thoughtful speaker who offers a uniquely creative, memorable and inspired experience to audiences both nationally and internationally. Author of Artful Leadership: Awakening the Commons of the Imagination, Michael has been engaged for over thirty years in transforming leadership through awakening the life of the imagination. He believes that in times of complexity and sudden change, we need to build bridges across different disciplines in order to see our familiar landscapes with new and fresh eyes. Read more here.
©2011 Tamarack — An Institute for Community Engagement