b'PerspectiveLeaders are like sculptors who give life to an otherwise supine clump of clay.Leadership andCreativityMargaret HeffernanIn her book, Uncharted: How to Navigate the Future, Margaret Heffernan noted that the work of artists endures because they dare to imagine what they cant see and allow their minds to leave predetermined paths. I had the pleasure of interviewing Margaret on The Business of Government Hour to discuss her book and the many cogent leadership insights it offers. She counsels that though we may not all be artists we need their independence and stamina. Todays Art can shock while it speaks to the observer. When leaders can learn much from such wisdom, especially whenexplaining things to a broader audience, leaders should leading in uncertain times where independence seems sotake care not to appear to be promoting a fantasy, but sorely missing and stamina so integral to long term success. rather, persuading and enlightening.Heffernan continues that if artists have the capacity to make Real leaders strive to create value that lasts a very long work that defies time, it is because instead of trying totimeeven forever. They should inspire others to launch force-fit a predetermined idea of the future, they have learnedthemselves rhapsodically into the future while remaining to live productively with ambiguity, to see it as a rich sourcepredicated in the present. Leaders need to sail ahead, testing of discovery and exploration. Instead of trying to reducethe winds, currents, and tides of these challenging times.complexity, she points out, they mine it, undaunted by contradictions and paradoxes. Going ForwardI came across an interview with a medical doctor turnedLeaders are responsible for envisioning, shaping, and sculptor named Dr. Gindi. The insights she shares dovetailsafeguarding the future, creating clarity amidst uncertainty. perfectly with those outlined in Uncharted and resonateThis is no small feat, and it is made increasingly difficult in the more so because they come directly from an artist. I wantedtwenty-first century, where rapid, unforeseen change seems to be to highlight some of them, all attributed to a very tellingthe only constant. We are in the midst of an exciting, engaging, interview conducted by Grant Schreiber linked herein. yet trying period marked by uncertainty, significant challenges, undeniable opportunities, and indelible aspirations. TodaysLeaders [that] can perceive the world around them withmost effective government leaders can spark the imagination to a slightly detached outlook that considers themselveslook beyond the day-to-day urgencies and reflect on the serious part of a broader reality, in a highly imaginary way. Then,problems and critical challenges they face and inculcating these on returning to reality, leaders canlike a sculptorsfour qualities may help these leaders be successful.mold that casts an artwork authoritatively present bold, new ideas. With regular, critical self-reflection and creative destruction of the obvious, leaders can advance and create real value for many stakeholderscustomers, employees, and investors. Leaders are like sculptors who give life to an otherwise supine clump of clay. Leadership is always nonlinear in the beginning and transformational at the end. If leaders adopt a combination of thinking and feelinga process that allows creative intuition into a businessthey can achieve ongoing creativity and sustainability.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlhJEcRcc_w2022 IBM Center for The Business of Government 65'