The Arts and Science of Successful Leadership

Dear reader,

As we head to the November election, all sides are raising arguments about character's importance (or unimportance) in this hyper-political period. Does it matter? And if so, why?

We want to trust those we place in power, and character speaks to things like integrity and values. On the other hand, we are looking at people who will enact policies and drive legislation that will address our problems, concerns, and hopes for the future. Does character equal effectiveness? Depending on who you believe, maybe or maybe not.

The questions are the same when driving business results. Do we need leaders who are inspirational exemplars of integrity or simply people who cut through the crap and get stuff done?

I believe we need both.

And I think the answer to our problems has everything to do with understanding why we combine "arts and sciences" in our framing of academic pursuits. It all comes down to the difference between management and leadership, as described in this week's essay below.

Have a great week ahead!

The Arts and Science of Successful Leadership

There are two critical ways leadership differs from management. One is that leadership relates to people, and management pertains to things. The other is that management is science; it can be measured and employs methods that can be repeated to deliver consistent results. It can also be expanded and improved through experimentation and research. Leadership is an art. The qualities that make people effective scientists differ from what makes great artists. It may be why there are more brilliant scientists than great leaders and why so many people in leadership roles fail.

Art connects with emotions, while science tends to be unemotional and unbiased. Scientists aim to discover, illuminate, and clarify what is factual.? However, great scientists are also emotional. They are passionate about their research, are intoxicated by their discoveries, and can often see aesthetic beauty in things they observe that are invisible to the untrained eye.

Intellectually, scientists require a high degree of core intelligence to grapple with complex reasoning, mathematical computation, the rigorous examination of behaviors and relationships, and discern slight variations in what is being observed. Artists deal more with time and space, texture and color, perspective and nuance.

Artists create an impact that might be different for anyone who experiences what they make. Scientists seek to prove theorems to be beyond reproach and have their findings be universally accepted.

The emotional demands are more aligned. Scientists and artists require curiosity, courage to be innovative and relevant, and imagination to fuel abstract thinking. Both scientists and artists must be emotionally intelligent to make their work relatable to their audiences. Imagination is as foundational to science as it is to art.

People tend to be more perplexed by art than science. Science is seen as complex and technical. It involves discreet activities that may be difficult to understand, even unimaginable, but it produces things that enhance our quality of life.? People don’t need to understand science to appreciate the benefits.? However, art is easily dismissed as irrelevant or frivolous, lacking meaning they can recognize. The appreciation of art is based on individual tastes or sensibilities.

Unsurprisingly, business schools churn out highly competent managers. We should be able to measure the competence of these managers easily by assessing the results they drive. But it’s more complicated than that. In business, only a small percentage of managers are not required also to be effective leaders. You can design a perfect system, develop a brilliant strategy, and build a robust organization. Still, how people perform makes these things work (or not) and makes organizations successful. The problem with most struggling businesses isn’t the need for more science; it’s the need for more effective leadership.

Leadership is a performing art that requires many of the same qualities as the visual or performing artists. Yet, we focus very little on developing leadership competence and expect management to fix the problems. Perhaps we should look to art schools rather than business schools to prepare our leaders to solve the issues we must address.

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You can access over 150 other pieces on business leadership and related topics at the ALPS BLOG atALPSLeadership.com.

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