Discombobulation
Artistic representations of the challenges of leadership
I recently facilitated a workshop for LeadDev’s LeadingEng for Directors, VPs and CTOs. My brain has been stuffed to the gills with a framework on leadership competencies, models for navigating organizational friction and the like. So, I’m gave my brain a much needed break from content creation. In the meanwhile, I can’t stop thinking about the identity shifts people undergo when they step into a leadership role.
Here are a few pieces of art that remind me of the discombobulation of transition and the corresponding identity shifts new leaders face.
I used this photo for a talk about the disorientation leaders face when taking on the role for the first time. It speaks to how bewildering this transition can be. How we can lose sense of who we are, the way we see our identity and the value we offer become fuzzy. How we sometimes don’t recognize ourselves when we look in the mirror, as we rethink our identity at work.
Frida Kahlo created this piece shortly after her divorce from Diego Rivera. There are many interpretations of its meaning, including those that focus on her lifelong pain and her identity. Personally, I see the different selves we inhabit as our lives progress. This happens in our work too. Part of being successful means adapting to these new selves.
I originally discovered this iconic painting from the surrealist era while watching The Thomas Crown Affair (the 1999 remake). Maybe you did too? In the film, this work stands in for generic business men, all the same. When I researched the origins, I discovered what Magritte said about the painting. This meaning resonates with how I see leadership.
“Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us. This interest can take the form of a quite intense feeling, a sort of conflict, one might say, between the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present."
I also really appreciate Magritte’s work Golconda which plays with line between individuality and group association. Here’s another interpretation.
I can’t stop thinking about this piece by Daniella Krtsch. That black mask over the facial features is haunting. It’s dark but resonates. For me, it illustrates the dangers of allowing your ego to rule or be completely subsumed by the role.
This work by Stefan Gunnesch (and all of the pieces) from his Hidden Identities exhibit reminds me of my experience of having two selves — the one we portray and the one that feels invisible or less seen. It speaks to the dissonance I felt when I was in a leadership. Here’s an interview with the artist about the series.
I hope you’ve enjoyed exploring this topic through art as much as I have.
Until next time,
Suzan
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