What are the emotional characteristics that a successful artistic leader should possess?

Abstract

This study is aiming to assess the importance of Emotional Intelligence in the artistic environment leadership in a descriptive and integrated approach, critically analysing and comparing theories associated with the causality of success due to Emotional Intelligence use in the artistic field. Emotional intelligence has not always been regarded as an essential trait that guided leaders in affecting change leadership, especially in an artistic environment, highly specific and prone to changes, even though there have been various proof underlining its importance. The literature review highlights the most important hypothesis and research fields from the moment that the concept was established on a wider scale and evaluates incidences where emotionally intelligent leadership is necessary by depicting the creative work environment. Further, the present study examines the traits that an emotionally intelligent leader should have and the nature of the work environment that would necessitate Emotional Intelligence. It also catalogues the theories discussed or proposed in international academic and non-academic environments, classifying them by intended outcomes and assess if Emotional Intelligence is indeed a vital success factor in the researched field: arts. The research aims to break down and assess each theoretical view through methodical conceptualisation theories, breaking and converting research ideas into common meanings, aiming to develop an agreement among the users and ultimately leading to the creation of a solid new theory, to identify impacts and ramifications of the concept and to outline that measurements based on reliable data and methodical approach are indeed possible and relevant for this type of study. The findings will also inform managers and business leaders on the need to incorporate Emotional Intelligence in their work culture for a pleasant working climate in their organisations, but even more importantly, they gather support and theoretical reasoning for the introduction on a larger scale of Emotional Intelligence testing by any Human Resources department dedicated to hiring artistic leaders. As limitations, it is quite clear that the artistic world is vast and comprises several areas. This is why, it could be argued that the importance of EI could entail variations, depending on the artistic environment research sample. For example, if a study is conducted using feedback from the music world, the results might be different than if the research is conducted in film or mural arts. Additionally, the sample for this research is quite small and might not be representative from a local demographic perspective, different cultures potentially being more or less inclined to specific answers. Ultimately, the study is mapping out the theoretical framework interdependencies and their interaction with a personally conducted mixed methods research, using primary data collection, integrating this way the system components in order to assess their value against wider. The result is a highly detailed and thoroughly documented study, compiling a monographic view of the importance that is or should be given to Emotional Intelligent Leadership in Arts, to inform future debate and development of the skillset required when hiring Artistic Leaders. Keywords: emotional intelligence (EI), artistic leadership, working climate, quantifiable emotional characteristics, validity, reliability. 1. Introduction Changes happen in a workplace environment; a leader should always be ready to be part of such changes, inform them, or reject them altogether (Miao et al. 2016). These hurdles and pressure that may present at the workplace need a leader who can preempt such changes or have qualities that can impact the changes (O’Connell, 2019). The ability to inform such changes lies in an individual’s capacity of decision-making. Leadership roles encompass many aspects of the work environment; thereby, a leader is expected to have traits that enhance the team’s capacity towards the realisation of set business goals. Leaders need to identify their own emotions and those of others to make informed decisions in any workplace environment (Sony and Mekoth 2016).The capacity to understand and manage emotions is called Emotional Intelligence (EI) and the concept entails some primary skills, such as self-awareness (the primordial step in attaining a high level of emotional intelligence is understanding oneself), self-regulation (discipline being essential in everything that requires introspection), motivation, empathy(taking in consideration other people’s feelings, and social skills (Goleman, D. 1995). Most of the research that was conducted to this day on EI, was massively directed from a health and well-being perspective, envisioning EI as the essential precursory of health and well-being or simply studying the interconnectivity between the two as a consequence of EI usage in different life or work situations. However, there is no extensive research related to its role in obtaining success and especially not enough conducted in the field of Arts. Artistic management leaders’ work entails constructing the best ways to express their feelings to others, perceive others’ feelings, and initiate an interaction with others in the best way (Petrides et al. 2016). An artistic environment requires creativity, which comes about by understanding the thought process and how it can be tweaked to present an ideology that everyone at the workplace identifies with. Leaders in the artistic climate leverage their ability to manage their emotions and feelings, giving them the strength to lead (Di Fabio and Kenny 2016). By deploying both quantitative and qualitative research methods to understand how emotional intelligence influences the manager’s roles and ability to perform better, this study aims at attaining evidence-based support for emotional intelligence (Rusu 2017). Again, leaders can learn to identify their emotions and perceive others’ feelings as a way of communication. Referring to the research conducted within EI field, we can easily observe three research streams that have been determined and classified by scholars. The first one reveals the connectivity between individual particularities in EI and social, health and psychological factors, that are essential I our day to day life, the second stream details the ways how EI has crucial influence and relevance in a work environment and the third one, that particularises and categorise EI models and patterns, referring heavily to psychometrics (testing of theories’ accuracy, authenticity, association with multiple psychological compounds). The following research is aiming to assess the importance of emotional intelligence (EI) in the artistic environment leadership and to conduct a study case on how EI can massively influence the activity and success of artistic manifestation, therefore, it should be highly considered in the hiring process for artistic leaders and entail specific testing or interviews. The research includes a short overview of the study case’s relevance, followed by practical, academic and personal justifications for the research. It also includes a literature review, that underlines the terminology, the processes observed by scholars over time and the evaluation of accepted theories in the light of specific variables. The research’s aim and objectives are interconnected to the theoretical bias, followed by the research narrative and data collection procedures (Saunders et al., 2012). 1.1. Significance of topic 1.1.1 Practical importance Practical significance indicates whether the effect of the research is large enough to be important in the debated field (Yin, 2014). If the EI component will prove itself vital in the proposal’s research area, the entire artistic leadership might be reconsidered, more emphasis will be placed on emotional factors and a different approach will be practiced in the future top executive artistic hires. Furthermore, the study continues to examine the consequences of emotional intelligence on leadership effectiveness, from both an efficient and an effective perspective, comparable to Nabih et al. (2016), that limited the analysis to a non-global research. 1.1.2 Academic importance Even though scholars have analysed Emotional Intelligence for decades and from several perspectives, trying to understand its limitations and quantify its influence especially at a top executive level, where decision-making takes place, the artistic leadership however, was not in the centre of their attention. Additionally, a clear skillset related to EI and mandatory for arts executives has not been theoretically classified and it is not used in the recruitment process of artistic leaders nor included in human resources strategies, therefor the augmentation of the scholarly literature providing empirical evidence is relevant and necessary and nevertheless, further research is required in order to observe the extend and complex implications (Gondal, Husain 2013). 1.1.3 Personal importance I am a Television and Film Professional, with extensive experience in media, having worked on national and international markets, partnering with major cable television networks. Therefore, my professional expertise has always been in close connection with the artistic environment and included collaborating with various artists and art creators. My background is international and as a producer working in different artistic environments, I am intrigued by how artistic projects can many times be successful or not, depending on solely emotionally related factors involved in the decision-making level. It is of upmost interest for me how quantifiable are these factors, how they can be manipulated and if clear steps can be dissociated in the process. The theme was also chosen, as my greatest passion is Musical Theatre and I am fascinated by Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh as being the impersonation of the artistic leader. He is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner and one of the most important theatre figures in the world, known especially for numerous successful musicals like Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins, Miss Saigon, Cats and Hamilton, among many others. In the 90’s he was described as being the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world, by the New York Times (Mervyn Rothstein reports on the arts, NYT, Dec. 9, 1990). With a career that exceeds 50 years in theatre, I consider him fascinating as an artistic leader and was inspired by him to analyse if and in what way emotional intelligence played a part in his undeniable success: building a theatre empire that continues strong for decades and can certainly give us insights on leadership elements that he must possess. 1.2. Aims and objectives There are many different kinds of intelligence and it is important to discover what they are and how to integrate them into our lives. Sources of intelligence can be measured in quotients – IQ, which is primarily associated with our ability to memorize, retrieve items from our memory and our logical reasoning. There’s also the new CQ – curiosity quotient, which refers to one’s ability to have a powerful motivation to learn a particular subject. However, most of the time spent inside organisations and working with clients, is focusing on Emotional Intelligence. The present study is aiming to underline the importance of emotional intelligence use in the artistic environment leadership. While artists need to develop a range of interconnected skills, fundamental to their chosen craft, whether in art, fashion, music or any other related field, creativity is the cornerstone of any artistic profession and creativity can only be achieved in emotionally protected environments (Goleman, D. 1995).

The research can also be related to the questions:

1. What are the emotional characteristics that a successful artistic leader should possess? 2. To what extent is an emotional intelligent leader vital for gaining success in an artistic environment? 3. Can a clear methodology in this sense be observed, validated and applied through practical experience? 4. Is emotional intelligence more important in the artistic environment leadership than in other areas and why? The answers to this research will be interconnected to the procedures and circumstances established from the literature review (Saunders et al. 2019) The objectives of this study are: 1. Pointing out the importance of EI in the artistic environment leadership 2. Could a clear methodological approach, based on this study’s findings and further scholar research in the field lead to the creation of a skillset related to EI and mandatory for arts executives? 3. Can we aim for a theoretical classification and specific patterns testing Emotional Intelligence levels to be used in the recruitment process of artistic leadership, completely integrated and included in human resources practices and strategies?