Work @ TAFE

No, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I’m the essence of wisdom… or that I’m a great leader… (or good at art for that matter!). A friend of mine (John) asked me recently to participate as a guinea-pig in a course that he’s preparing to run called The Arts of a Wise Leader, which has forced me yet again to consider how crucial conversation is - not just for leadership/management - but in all spheres of life!

The Queensland Education department has had some involvement with this course, you can read about it on the testamonial page.

The arts

The course provides a completely refreshing view of leadership/management, focusing not on cold processes, tasks and resources, but instead on the more humane ‘arts’ of leadership: Story, Brilliance, Promise and Grace (as depicted in the graphic above).

Using them is a matter of art not science, of subtlety and humanity, not process and formula.

The arts carry a very different focus from traditional management methods. Rather than focusing on efficiency or control, the arts focus on enabling people (employees) to live (and work) well. That’s not to say that traditional management methods aren’t useful, but rather to emphasize that people are at the centre of leadership/management, not tasks, processes or outcomes.

For example, it’s through story that we all understand our own situations - we know our own (hi)story and our current situation. Through conversation we build a story of a future that unites our own individual stories with shared meaning or purpose. Interacting with each others’ stories (irrespective of position or rank) allows us to discover brilliance in each others lives.

The use of the word ’story’ confused me at first, but I think it’s just being used in place of ‘communication’ to emphasise that people/characters converse to create ideas and meaning, rather than just communicate meaning. This is captured really well in the course with the statement:

Communication is the sharing of created meaning.
Conversation is the creation of shared meaning.

I won’t go into detail about the other ‘arts’ but just to tickle your curiosity, to lead with grace could mean to subvert systems that create distinctions between people just to hold rank, spending time with the workers at the coalface, getting to know them and discovering their brilliance. Leading with ‘promise’ entails realising the effect that our words can have on others and therefore speaking with intention and integrity. All of us are leaders in certain situations and all of us are followers in other situations, but it is important to remember that when we are leading, we are leading on behalf of others.

I guess these are the things that stuck out to me during our discussions (and some reading/reflection) - the course is not itself about providing nice definitions of leadership/wisdom/etc., but rather it uses heaps of individual and group activities (mind-maps, presentations, discussions, videos etc.) to create conversations about leadership.

Reflections and feedback

As we were just guinea-pigs in our group, we only had a 1-day taste of the 3-day course, so although we got a taste of the different aspects or ‘arts’ through the group’s interaction and conversation (as well as through John’s facilitation), we didn’t get to see the full course.

There were many things that stood out as useful to me. For example, identifying someone who has had a big impact on my life - in leading me - and creating a mind-map based around that person’s influence was really helpful for me to identify what was important in leadership from my own perspective (relationship).

Another interesting part of the day for me was looking at why we in western society try to fill projects or systems with lots of facts, processes and tasks without considering the stories of the people involved. It’s as if we think by breaking everything down to the n’th degree we can define the pure essence of management or devise the perfect management strategy, but at the same time we can lose much of the human creativity and brilliance through the process. We become so focused on getting the process right that we don’t often take the time to see how individuals might be able to create and contribute with their own brilliance. Again, the course was not trying to imply that traditional management techniques are bad - but rather to highlight a possible imbalance.

As I mentioned at the beginning, the biggest point that was reinforced for me was how crucial the ‘art’ of conversation is, in all spheres of life. I think this is particularly pertinent to me as it’s an area where I feel I need to learn from people around me… I can so easily sit and stare out a window at breakfast, or be so focused on work while colleagues are chatting over morning tea, or try to keep a meeting so focused on task that conversation is stifled. I’m starting to see that I’m often missing out on the real learning - the conversation and creation of shared meaning. That’s something that I’m now beginning to enjoy…

So thanks John for the opportunity to be a part of such a worthwhile course!

(Ad: you can read testimonials from people more important than me on the course’s website )