Aesthetic Intelligence by Rochelle Mucha

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Reframing Authenticity

Authenticity is a popular topic amongst leadership pundits. Unfortunately, much of the dialogue has been misleading, absent the critical conversation on role and characterization appropriateness. To be authentic, is not just to be who you are, flaws and all, flaunting ‘self’ regardless of circumstance. Rather, it is about clarity of intention, and drawing on oneself to deliver on that intention.

Think of the wide range of interactions and relationships you have each day: peer, manager, leader, member. Amongst these roles, you will be asked to facilitate, report, influence, respond.  Striving for authenticity forces you to reflect on how you need to be experienced, heard, seen, and paves the way for you to act with intention to deliver appropriately for each situation. To be authentic builds on being present, identifying intentions, and assuming the role required to achieve the objective at stake at that time, at that place, with that audience.

Leaders have much to learn from artists on how to achieve authenticity. One actor plays many different characters. One musician participates in a range of symphonies. A dancer moves to a variety of choreography. And for each role, the individual must bring himself or herself authentically and deliver the performance authentically for their audience, using their vast reservoir of personal experiences and then morphing his or her skill sets appropriately. Artists begin their process by deeply understanding what they bring to a given piece of work, and the influence that will bear on their performance. They seek to get inside the character, the meaning behind the script, score, or movement. They draw on their experiences. They guard against over stating, or compromising the author’s intent.To be in an organization is to always be interacting, implicitly and explicitly.  Authentic performance integrates the highest levels of knowing and feeling, scripting and improvisation, in order to bring meaning, message, and connection to our roles and our work relationships. Authenticity is a moment of choice, and you must be believable. Are you clear about your various roles and their characterizations? Are you believable?

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Inner Work of Leadership

There is little doubt that self-awareness is the pivotal foundation of several popular leadership capacities such as Emotional, Social, Cultural and Aesthetic Intelligence. Self-awareness promotes self-inquiry; challenges to the mindless habits that define how we think and behave. A range of experiences (sensory, cognitive and emotional) coupled with various methods (journaling, storytelling, aesthetics) are being utilized to help leaders get in touch with who they really are, understand how they are currently experienced and determine how they want to be experienced in the future. It is what Howard Gardner calls developing our “identities” and what Edgar Schein calls deepening our ability to “listen to ourself”. So, my question is…what ‘inner work’ have you done as an individual, or as part of a group, to deepen self-awareness and secondly, how have these learnings been integrated with your daily work life and influenced your impact as a leader?

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The ‘when’ and the ‘what’ of leadership

‘When’ is different from ‘What’.

‘What’ suggests a thing, an item, an object, something that may easily be defined, observed, measured. ‘When’ suggests a time, an experience, a feeling. Whereas ‘what’ may be short-lived, ‘when’ is ongoing.

You hear the ‘when’ of leadership if they are as present greeting a colleague good morning as they are when addressing key stakeholders. You feel it ‘when’ they are experienced as authentic by others whether leading an enterprise wide initiative or a company picnic. You experience it ‘when’ they absorb, assimilate, and act appropriately to crisis, as well as words unspoken in a routine conversation.

The ‘When’ of leadership is seen, heard, and felt on a daily basis.  The ‘What’ of leadership is a checklist. Are you a ‘When’ or ‘What’ leader?

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Reclaiming the Power of our Senses

Have you ever witnessed a young infant smile at a stranger? The parent might turn and say, “She likes you”. How does that infant know that this is a person to smile for, or sometimes do the opposite - - turn away and cry. Babies do not read or write. They rely on their senses for information, and decide accordingly. Sensory knowing defines how we learn through our toddler years, and then slowly through socialization, we relinquish the power of our senses to conform to traditional ways of knowing and being. Our dependency on technology has further dulled our senses. I suggest it is time to reclaim the power of our senses, and cultivate that, which has atrophied. Time to understand that a conversation that leaves a ‘bad taste in your mouth’, is telling, beyond uncomfortable taste buds. Time to absorb, assimilate and synthesize our daily experiences into meaningful knowing, being and doing. Are you sensory intelligent? What is your aesthetic intelligence?

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Learning form Artists: Listening

‘Listening’ is a wildly popular and tenacious term in business. When we listen, we are available to new ideas, accessible to others, self-aware and aware of what is happening around us. As such, ideas grow, conflicts are avoided, problem solving ensues, and all this paves the way for creativity and innovation. Regardless of how coveted - - - in truth, we do not listen well. In the performing arts, actors, musicians and other artists do listen well - - they are masters of being ‘present’ and I suggest the world of business has a good deal to learn from the world of the arts. Performers come to their ensembles with the question of “What could be?” prepared to explore possibilities. And often, business folks come with the question of “What should be!” prepared to defend their predetermined conclusions.

So, what do you think? Ready to learn how to listen from a performing artist? What possibilities do you see?

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Aesthetic Intelligence: A Leadership Capacity

Introduction to Blog

This is a place to explore the emergent field of Organizational Aesthetics and the capacity, Aesthetic Intelligence. To date, artistic metaphors and methods have been employed by business to dramatize culture, instigate imagination, enhance teamwork, and challenge traditional models of leadership. But there is more the world of business can learn from the world of the arts, beyond metaphor and method. Some of the topics to be explored are: Artistic Mindset which enables business to apply artistic sensibilities to daily and strategic behavior and process; Aesthetic Intelligence, a capacity defined by presence, authenticity and the ability to synthesize; Artful Conversation, interaction which chips away at entrenched ways of thinking, being and doing. This blog will encourage dialogue to explore the possibilities of Organizational Aesthetics, and discuss ways of developing and embedding Aesthetic Intelligence for individuals and organizations, large and small.

Aesthetic Intelligence, A Leadership Capacity

Aesthetic Intelligence, a capacity that defines the underpinnings of the world of the arts, emerged from my work with several theatre ensembles and my collaboration with Constance Goodwin. Aesthetic in this context refers to the full use of all of our senses, including the undeniable, 6th sense. The fundamental elements of Aesthetic Intelligence are presence (in the moment, available, accessible), authenticity (drawing on oneself to assume the role one needs to respond to the person, situation and topic at that time) ,and synthesis (absorbing and assimilating what is happening (intrinsic/extrinsic) and responding in the moment.  This is a brief explanation, but I am curious....What do you think? How does this play out in what you know and what you experience with leadership?