Exploring the Artistic Elements of Leadership Effectiveness and How These Can Be Taught

• In Event: Learning to Lead: Exploring Leadership Development, Effectiveness, and Capacity in U.S. Schools

Abstract

Animated by a discontent with the status quo, questions regarding leadership program effectiveness have generated heated debates. What is effective leadership? What knowledge/skills does the leader possess? Can these be taught? If so, how? While knowledge about leadership is a necessary condition for effective leadership, it is insufficient for the development of competent practice. Effective leadership is a function of one’s ability to selectively synthesize and apply knowledge in protean ways. Using data from leaders, this study examines the artistic element associated with this synthesizing process. In making this argument it seeks to: explicate the cognitive synthesizing necessitated by this process; explore the artistic elements inherent in it, and 3) examine why this artistry is under-addressed in leadership preparation.

Author

• Bob L. Johnson, Jr., The University of Alabama