The Leadership Labyrinth: a question of authenticity

This paper was written in order to share the research and Atypical leadership model by Dr Rhiannon Jones. The approach to set up alternative pathways into H.E for students, residents and communities. To innovate, research through practice and to measure and define leadership not only as administrative paperwork, writing of risk registers, managing teams, marketing, pitching, etc but being able to stand back, observe, see the potential in others and create the space for them to flourish. This blended way of making, learning bringing students into the city with staff to work with public, artists, schools – sharing in challenges we face and using innovation and research to blend with civic pedagogy to lead in that as the only way forward… to create new infrastructures, destabilise existing ones, use the S.H.E.D to create a new site, a new incubation space for learning, sharing, leading.

The work of CHEAD, of PolicyConnect and other key stakeholders and policy makers are actively engaging with Art and Design Educators with Higher Education. We know that we not only need to rethink and reposition the Art and Design sector, but its associated perception of value and how it sees itself. The role of artistic practice, education and research is extremely valuable to industry, and needs to be reconsidered for how it is written, constituted and engaged within law and policy and by its leaders. Whatever your job description or title, we are all leaders. We can amplify the impact of the work that we do, on changing pathways to education – through how we can engage early years those at risk of exclusion or who have lack of access to arts and culture – by working collaboratively, across disciplines and sectors - with business, the F.A and H.E. We need to create shared agendas, goals and to do this We need to integrate and collaborate. And we do this by how we can inspire people who are the decision makers and inspire people for whom the decisions are being made for to engage with that process. This is what my research, like the work of others is trying to enable. To be the bridge between those two, to speak openly, to create safe spaces for discourse – to turn and face one another and talk. We need to support Artistic practice that is actively seeking out new methodologies to innovate to blend research, with pathways to education and direct feedback and feedforward to policymakers, stakeholders and with the public and communities that we are engaging. Recently at Design for Planet, the Design Councils Summit at the V&A in Dundee individuals, such as myself, were called to action to put our communities at the heart of everything we do, and Jane Davidison (2021) reminded us that we need to design for living and back to first principles of design – beauty, utility and dudility. We need to establish a pipeline for alternative approaches to leadership, to facilitate room for roots to bed in, shoots to grown and for leadership in H.E to be led as examples of best practice from Art and Design.

"Leadership comes in many forms. Leadership is changing, but not quickly enough. Contemporary leaders bring something new to the table. Leadership is diverse and Leaders come from all backgrounds, disciplines, perspectives and experience. We need to support more art and design educators from underrepresented groups to achieve leadership roles. Do you identify yourself as a Leader or is the label of ‘Leader’ unappealing to you? This programme will explore traditional and evolving concepts of leadership within the context of art and design education and is designed to appeal to a wide range of art and design educators considering career progression, aspiring to leadership or keen to explore whether a leadership role is something you want in your next academic role" CHEAD, 2021.

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