FutureSYNC Consultant – May 2019
We have many templates for creativity, one of which is Frida Kahlo, the artist who refused to become a victim. Instead, painting became a way to transform discomfort and pain into art. She crafted herself with intent, leveraged her emotional and physical pain, and in an acute state of vulnerability, she found her Muse.
I recall the time when my highly-educated and 30-something, CEO son proclaimed, “I’ve learned more from the pain of dysfunctional leadership than from a leader who performed it well”. Interesting sentiment indeed.
The self-awareness of Frida has much to offer in terms of our leadership “points of view”. Her life recommends that difficulties can become the strategic fuel of leadership.
NeuroScience is shedding a much needed light on the patterns of the “tortured artist’s mind”. Distress can be marshaled into a mechanism capable of channeling our creativity and advancing our thought leadership. Specifically, in regard the art of leadership, consider the following assets:
Creativity does not enact on its own. It needs a powerful stimulus. And then, it requires a vent.
The creative mind explores vulnerability. It then”saddles it” for the rocky ride.
The mind of a creative leader questions the status quo, organizational norms, and at times, gravity itself. This leader understands that, what got them “here”, won’t get them “there”. As a result, their creativity over comes organizational lethargy, creates, and then releases powerful visions and the mindful mechanisms that get things done.
A leader’s creative mind is dependent on emotional excavation, self-awareness, examination, and then the release of ideas into possibilities.
During times of both personal and organizational pain and stress, your Muse is just around the corner. Your Muse invites you into “intelligent creativity”. It embodies both your intelligence and your emotional pains and gains. Your Muse paves the way for personal and professional growth. It insists on the means of expression. It insists on release in pursuit of the solve. And, here is the most interesting part, your Muse will both sooth and enable your emotional needs while generating and delivering organizational outcomes.
Pain can indeed enable your leadership art. If we operate with emotional intelligence, pain can become the safe haven of creativity.