Listen "When You View Leadership as Art: Implications"
Episode Synopsis
Implications of Viewing Leadership as Art
Last week we began parsing the definition of leadership which I developed 20 years ago: Leadership is the art of rallying people around a shared purpose, then motivating them and mobilizing them to achieve it..
In that episode, we examined the import of the terms "people" and "shared purpose." This week we take up a third term: "art."
Last week we examined two key terms from my definition of leadership. This week we take up a third term, "art." Leadership is far more akin to an art than a science.
And because it is, there are no objective measures by which to judge a leader's work, no more than there are objective measures by which to judge an artist's work. People either like it or they don't.
In fact, people might like the results a leader gets, but dislike the leader's style or personality. And since their judgment of the leader is entirely subjective, it is not easily refuted.
Leaders must therefore have a strong enough sense of self that they are not knocked off course by criticism that is uninformed, mean-spirited, or the product of personal prejudice.
A transcript of this episode is available at https://www.upsizeyourleadership.com/episodes/2403-leadership-as-art.htm,
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Last week we began parsing the definition of leadership which I developed 20 years ago: Leadership is the art of rallying people around a shared purpose, then motivating them and mobilizing them to achieve it..
In that episode, we examined the import of the terms "people" and "shared purpose." This week we take up a third term: "art."
Last week we examined two key terms from my definition of leadership. This week we take up a third term, "art." Leadership is far more akin to an art than a science.
And because it is, there are no objective measures by which to judge a leader's work, no more than there are objective measures by which to judge an artist's work. People either like it or they don't.
In fact, people might like the results a leader gets, but dislike the leader's style or personality. And since their judgment of the leader is entirely subjective, it is not easily refuted.
Leaders must therefore have a strong enough sense of self that they are not knocked off course by criticism that is uninformed, mean-spirited, or the product of personal prejudice.
A transcript of this episode is available at https://www.upsizeyourleadership.com/episodes/2403-leadership-as-art.htm,
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More episodes of the podcast Upsize Your Leadership
Business Scorecards Have a Blindspot
30/10/2025
Trust: The Key to Customer Loyalty
03/04/2025
Postwar Ukraine: The Challenges
19/03/2025
To Climb the Ladder, Change Your Mindset
14/02/2025
Four Pillars of Pacesetting Leadership
05/02/2025
Seven Things Good Managers Don't Forget
24/01/2025
As a Leader, I Don't Want Buy-In
02/01/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.