Creative Space in Organizational Learning and Leadership: 21st-Century Shapeshifting

Abstract

The chapter compares the author’s leadership experiences in both group art studios and higher education, asking whether the creative space of the former, defined as a psychological state enhancing authentic expression, risk taking, and making new relationships between previously separate phenomena, can be realized within organizational settings. The mythological function of changing physical appearances through “shapeshifting” is approached metaphorically to suggest how leadership can alter roles and perceptions in order to encourage new possibilities for creative activity. Organizational silos that generally present obstacles to creativity are viewed as potential centers of creation that can influence other sectors of organizations. To demonstrate objective physical factors of expression, Rudolf Arnheim’s spatial concept of “the power of the center” in artistic compositions (The power of the center: a study of composition in the visual arts. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1988) is adapted to organizational experience.