The first volume of this ground-breaking book critically examines how and why arts-based methods such as choir conducting workshops and dialogue improvisation can make a difference in improving professional practice. Taking a ‘human-centred’ approach, it delivers an insightful account of what these approaches do differently to achieve a new mode of learning – ‘sensuous learning’ – that cultivates professional judgment to serve the common good, simultaneously supporting personal and collective growth. The chapters present cutting edge examples of multiple ways arts-based methods underpin learning arenas for expanding leadership and improving professional practice. The reflexivity cultivated through these learning arenas has the unique potential to improve professional practice, not merely by enhancing competence but also by cultivating character and conscience, which is central in making judgments that serve the common good. These benefits are relevant for professional practitioners sharpening the skills and behaviours needed in organisations, including creativity, diversity, imagination, and improvisation.
Steven S. Taylor is Professor of Leadership and Creativity at the Foisie School of Business, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA. His research is focused in two areas: organizational aesthetics and reflective practice. The former applies art-based scholarship and practice to management and organizations. The latter focuses on the ability to analyse our own actions and learn how to be more effective, ethical, and artful as managers and leaders.
Elena P. Antonacopoulou is Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the Management School at the University of Liverpool, UK, where she leads GNOSIS – a research initiative advancing impactful collaborative research in management and organization studies. Her principal research expertise lies in the areas of organisational change and learning and knowledge management, with a focus on the leadership implications. Her research continues to advance cutting edge ideas and thought leadership, as well as new methodologies for studying social complexity.