The Problems With Stage Four of Tribal Leadership
|
Posted by Jo Murphy Feb 7, 2009 |
Think of the Art World is as being like a set of little Russian Stacking cups as pictured on the Matrushka toys website. Perhaps the Russian inventors were trying to portray global inter-relatedness. The creative art world is like this; smaller groups exist within other larger groups that operate within online global community interconnectedness.
If throughout the world artists were to operate as one, would the creativity of the world will be lifted? Can we as a global artistic community be harnessed to pull together as one? An example of one such enlightened community is EnlightenNext. Through an online portal great creative thinkers of the world join forces in a community to which one can subscribe.
In the book Tribal Leadership, [Collins Business 2008] researchers Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright found that tribes are not only powerful, but that tribal dynamics can be mapped. This understanding can assist arts teachers talk with students about how they perceive success.
Changing the Way Students Think about Success
The saying “The higher you climb the harder you fall,” evidences a way of thinking prevalent in some artistic communities. The idea is that if what you want to be the best in your field, you are naturally come up against opposition. This paranoid way of thinking evolves in competitive cultures cultures. It is natural to assume that there will always someone else who wants top position too. It is reasoned therefore, that it is necessary to always be working harder faster and in a cut throat mode of survival.
Negative Aspects of Competitive Cultures
Self interested competition is counter productive to the creative arts classroom.
If students see others in their field as "the competition," this outlook can be counter productive because it is:
- counter productive to harmony
- most likely be counter productive to the school ethos
- possibly detrimental to the mental health and spiritual wellbeing of many of the students
- likely to be counter productive to the synergy and harmony of the creative arts classroom within broader community involvement
Management of Leadership Stages
Tribal Leadership [ibid] is about helping members of groups move through stages of development and self awareness. Hopefully they will arrive at a level of co existence that is proactive, productive, harmonious and enlightened. For "Stage 4" to turn into a productive and healthy learning platform it must be managed proactively and overtly with the cooperation of the students involved.
 |