CUES CEO Institute III Day 4: Leadership Is A Performing Art

This may very well be my favorite of all the deep thinking statements made by Professor Horniman this week.

If you happened to meet Wikipedia on the street and asked him what performing arts was, he would likely tell you this:

Performing arts are art forms in which artists use their body, voice, or objects to convey artistic expression—as opposed to visual arts, in which artists use paint/canvas or various materials to create physical art objects. Performing arts include a variety of disciplines but all are intended to be performed in front of a live audience.

I do see leadership as a performing art. As leaders we use our body, voice, and objects to convey our artistic expression on how we lead the people we serve. This is to be performed in front of a live audience, meaning that leadership cannot permanently live in the words we provide in our emails or texts.  It must be done face to face.  Like performing artists, when we are on stage, leaders must be willing to always try out best, as we can't afford to take a minute off. As we build and master our routines in leadership, we must be willing to be open to trying something new.  While this will take us out of our comfort zone, and we may experience some short term set backs as we learn to lead differently, we must understand that what made us successful yesterday, may not work tomorrow.

What does "Leadership is a performing art" mean to you?

Devin