“There’s an unfortunate misconception that business and the arts operate in separate domains that seldom, if ever, overlap.

Boardrooms are for strategic planning, tough negotiations, and deep-dive analytics of data-driven numbers that speak to revenues, expenses, profits, and the like. The arts might have a role in those discussions, but only if the arts in question are part of the business — like with a movie studio or the work of advertising and marketing departments. Then the focus is on things like costs or return on investment, not the actual art or the process of artistry.

I see this as unfortunate because we can learn a great deal in business from art and artists, especially when it comes to leadership.

Think about the world’s greatest artists, regardless of their genre. The best of the best typically have a way of tapping into the shared experiences of humanity and projecting them back in ways that help us better understand ourselves and the world we live in.

And shouldn’t leaders want to do the same thing? Shouldn’t we share visions for our organizations and teams that connect deeply with the people we count on to help us bring that vision to life?”