Leadership does not come naturally, although it sometimes seems that way. After a certain number of years of service, or a few nice successful products, you climb up the ladder and start leading. However, it is not always the case that you are cut out for such leadership. Examples abound of how it does not work. Of people who took or were given leadership without having it. Or who had leadership but didn't get it, or got it but didn't take it.
The same is true in the arts. There you have business leaders and artistic leaders, and these roles do not always speak for themselves. That is why Utrecht University developed the programme Leadership in Culture (LinC) now also expanded to include a special programme for artistic directors. People from media studies and philosophy are also taking part in this, and it promises to be spicy.
Podcast
In this podcast, I talk to Marjolein Verhallen and Paul Adriaanse from Public Administration, Nanna Verhoeff from Media and Cultural Studies and Iris van der Tuin from Philosophy and Religious Studies, plus artistic directors Lars Ebert and Jente Hoogeveen about what that is: leadership. And we talk about how you can learn it.
The outcome will surprise many: leadership begins with yourself. As the ancient Greeks said: 'Know thyself' and Rousseau expanded that to: 'those who do not master themselves master others.' The programme, which consists of about six 'labs' or master classes, starts with self-knowledge, and leads via about four dimensions (Where are you, where are you going, who are around you and what is your real goal?) to much more self-knowledge, after which - believe me, I did the programme in a slightly different form as well - you will be better placed in the world.
But you should mostly check it out for yourself. And along the way, learn a new language, as you can hear in this extraordinarily engaging podcast.
Good to know
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