Creative leadership is the mindset for the future

Changing our expectations of leaders from outdated models of yesteryear will be one of the most challenging yet transformational achievements in the workplace, argues the Royal College of Art’s Rama Gheerawo

We spend most of our time at work, either managing or being managed, applying frameworks from tiered hierarchies to flat organisations, from traditional structures to overstretched start-ups.

Work does not simply affect the organisation – it also conditions you as a human being. It can influence your behaviour, growth and health. When we want organisational transformation, we typically go to change experts such as management consultants or innovation gurus. Personal transformation shifts into the realm of self-focus, such as doing more yoga or eating healthier.

These two worlds should not be in opposition, but complementary and balanced. Creative leadership brings them together as a process of individual and organisational transformation. It sees work and life as a blend, not as separate and conflicted.

It is about evolving project management in such a way that it benefits everyone, at every level. Leadership is at the heart of good project management, and everyone has leadership potential – whether you are leading yourself or a Fortune 500 company, a family or an SME.

To date, the term ‘creative leadership’ has denoted a leadership strategy for the creative sector or engagement with an artistic mindset in management. For us at the Royal College of Art, it is a transformational process where you tap into your inner potential to lead yourself and others towards fulfilling the goals and vision of a group, organisation or project. It aligns to the core purpose of project management and enhances it. While it draws on practice from the creative industries, it transcends disciplines, roles and organisations.

Research here at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design has articulated three values that make up the qualities of a 21st-century leader.

First is ‘creativity’. This is the ability to develop solutions that positively impact project management, giving you a range of ways to deal with issues and achieve the project’s goals and vision. Second is ‘empathy’. This is the hallmark of 21st-century project management, making the needs and aspirations of clients, customers and colleagues core to your success criteria. Third is ‘clarity’, which aligns vision, direction and communication, all of which are essential in any project and for any team.

These three values are key to moving project management forward. Together, they inform approaches that have helped business, government, SMEs, the third sector and individuals internationally. Over the past three years, we have worked with over 500 individuals and companies to map how other people see and use these values. Over 90 per cent recognise and endorse them as baseline operational, management and leadership attributes.

Together with neuroscientists, we are measuring the three values across individuals and organisations and mapping discrepancies. For example, a project management structure that focuses solely on clarity will not support individuals whose motivations are biased towards empathy. We aim to bridge such gaps.

The need for empathic leadership is on the rise. Thoughtful, quieter and more collaborative management is important. Do not be afraid of considering the opinions of others on any project or workflow. Listen carefully, select wisely and act promptly. Do not be threatened by the abilities of colleagues. Surround yourself with the best people and enable them to do the best job.

A more creative stance can make project management more dynamic and multi-perspective than static. Clarity about your organisation’s direction and its relationship to personal perspectives can help roadmap project trajectories and outcomes with confidence.

Rama Gheerawo is director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at London’s Royal College of Art. The next creative leadership masterclass runs 28–29 November 2019