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Directing creativity: The art and craft of creative leadership

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Piers Ibbotson  and
Lotte Darsø
Piers Ibbotson
Affiliation:
Creative Economy Research Group, Faculty of Business and Law, University of Kingston, London, UK
Lotte Darsø
Affiliation:
The Creative Alliance, Learning Lab Denmark, Danish School of Education, University of Aarhus, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Abstract

In this article we will argue that leaders facing complex challenges can learn from the arts, specifically that leaders can learn by examining how theatre directors direct creativity through creative constraints. We suggest that perceiving creativity as a boundary phenomenon is helpful for directing it. Like leaders who are caught in paradoxical situations where they have to manage production and logistics simultaneously with making space for creativity and innovation, theatre directors need to find the delicate balance between, on the one hand, renewal of perceptions, acting and interaction and on the other, getting ready for the opening night. We conclude that the art of directing creativity is linked to developing competencies of conscious presence, attention and vigilance, whereas the craft of directing creativity concerns communication, framing and choice.

Keywords

creativityleadershipcreative constraintsartstheatre directorsboundary phenomenon
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 14 , Issue 5 , November 2008 , pp. 548 - 559
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2008

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