Leadership as art - leaders coming to their senses

Abstract

In this article I explore the idea that leadership as art is characterized by leaders staying with their senses, rather than drawing on yesterday’s sense-making, and by sense-making being received through the senses rather than produced through an analytical process. Two simple models illustrating these opposing processes are suggested, showing how drawing sense-making from present sensing allows for greater flexibility in the assumptions we base our decisions on, and that this process cannot be done by using our conceptual mind. Key elements in this exploration are the distinction between sense-making and describing sense-making, and placing sensing at the centre of sense-making. I compare leaders to conceptual artists due to similarities in the mediums with which they work, and I discuss some practical implications for leadership.