The illusion of leadership : directing creativity in business and the arts

People need a degree of free choice for creativity and change to happen. But they must also have boundaries. At one level this is what politics and business are all about. Too much of the wrong sort of control and the system becomes bureaucratic or tyrannical, too little and it becomes arbitrary and chaotic. Content: Cover; Contents; List of Figures; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Chapter 1 Creativity -- Myths and Legends; Chapter 2 The Illusion of Leadership; Chapter 3 Project-Managing a Work of Art; Chapter 4 Great Directing: A Case Study; Chapter 5 Hierarchy and Status Games; Chapter 6 Masks and the Sense of Self; Chapter 7 Creativity in Groups; Chapter 8 Creativity, Innovation and Leadership; Chapter 9 Live Communication: The Business of Theater; Chapter 10 Giving Presentations: The Theater of Business; Chapter 11 The Script; Chapter 12 Rehearsing for Business and for Life. Abstract: People need a degree of free choice for creativity and change to happen. But they must also have boundaries. At one level this is what politics and business are all about. Too much of the wrong sort of control and the system becomes bureaucratic or tyrannical, too little and it becomes arbitrary and chaotic People need a degree of free choice for creativity and change to happen. But they must also have boundaries. At one level this is what politics and business are all about. Too much of the wrong sort of control and the system becomes bureaucratic or tyrannical, too little and it becomes arbitrary and chaotic. What we are looking for in business or in politics, is a process for directing the creativity of complex systems with a right balance between control and freedom; between clarity and mist; between fecundity and death. Managing these paradoxical forces is what artists do. Artists know that in making a vision manifest in the real world, it will change and adapt. Paintings, books and plays are made - they are not designed and implemented. Along the way there is room for continual adaptation and openness to the continuous possibility of a better manifestation of the vision. And in the collaborative arts, there is a wealth of skills, practices and tacit knowledge for performing this complicated balancing act between getting creative innovations and staying in control of the project.--Résumé de l'éditeur Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction....Pages 1-4 Creativity – Myths and Legends....Pages 5-8 The Illusion of Leadership....Pages 9-21 Project-Managing a Work of Art....Pages 22-29 Great Directing: A Case Study....Pages 30-34 Hierarchy and Status Games....Pages 35-50 Masks and the Sense of Self....Pages 51-62 Creativity in Groups....Pages 63-73 Creativity, Innovation and Leadership....Pages 74-84 Live Communication: The Business of Theater....Pages 85-93 Giving Presentations: The Theater of Business....Pages 94-100 The Script....Pages 101-109 Rehearsing for Business and for Life....Pages 110-118 Training for Creative Leadership....Pages 119-124 Art in the World....Pages 125-128 Why Artists Should Rule the World....Pages 129-146 Back Matter....Pages 147-157 People need a degree of free choice for creativity and change to happen. But they must also have boundaries. On one level this is what politics and business are all about. Too much of the wrong sort of control and the system becomes bureaucratic or tyrannical, too little and it becomes arbitrary and chaotic. This book covers these key issues surrounding leadership Piers Ibbotson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.