On February 1st and 2nd, an international array of leaders across the arts came together for the “Art of Leading Conference” at Wake Forest, co-sponsored by the Oxford Character Project and numerous Wake Forest groups including the Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character in the Wake Forest School of Business. Conference highlights include:
February 1, 2019
6:00 PM-7:30 PM, Keynote Interview and Performance featuring Renée Elise Goldsberry, Wait Chapel
In the Keynote address of The Art of Leading Conference, Hamilton actress Renée Elise Goldsberry spoke about resilience, teamwork and influencing others. The key message of the interview was to keep showing up. “I show up. The people who don’t show up, do a great service to the ones who show up. I love the girls who tell themselves they won’t get it and don’t show up.” As one of the most well-known actresses, she acknowledged that she does not get 94%-95% of the roles she auditions for, now, yet by not showing up every time you are only helping the people who do. She also spoke about confidence and teams roles. “The most important thing a director can do is cast well, if they choose me then they think I can do it, and I do not want to let everyone down”, often we get project or goals that we feel unprepared or unqualified for, clearly someone thought you were qualified for the role or you would not have gotten the role or task. By not doing the best you can you are only letting down the rest of the team. She also had an important message about inspiring others, that you should “doing what you do in a way that is inspiring to other people, with passion and love”. If you are going about our life with passion and love, then you are inspiring people with your life. In her disarmingly witty, and humorous interview, Renée Elise Goldsberry, she sent a humble message of resilience, a message to “always keep on keeping on”.
February 2, 2019
9:15 AM-10:30 AM, Perspectives from Classics
Kulynych Auditorium, Porter Byrum Welcome Center
“Cicero on Leadership in the State of Speech” Joy Connolly, City University of New York
Professor Connolly began her talk with one word “Mudita”, a Sanskrit word, which means taking deep satisfaction in other people’s success and happiness. For her, Mudita is the most important trait for a leader, the ability to gain happiness from the success of the people they lead. She moved on to the philosopher Hannah Arendt, and her message of the plurality of humankind. Rather than focusing on leaders as unifiers she focused on “Leadership need to be pluralistic, a leader is one of many”, and the fact there is no total unity in humankind. Professor Connolly turned to the power of speech, and Cicero and the quote “speech is the one thing that connects us all, speech as “civil glue” that holds the republic together”. A speaker has the power to “to lead people down a path”, “cause violence, disruptive effect” and the potentially undermine and disrupt society. The parting message of her speech was that leaders need to understand the “cohabitation of the mind” and the use of speech in the plurality of a republic.
“Sophocles, Aristotle, and Shakespeare on Tyranny” Edith Hall, King’s College London
The perspectives from the classics focused on deliberation in ancient Greece. Professor Edith Hall, of King’s College London began her talk with a quote from Sophocles “No worse enemy than bad advice”, and the importance of the “good giving and taking of advice”. A leader is only as wise as their counsel. Aristotle’s characterization of two types of tyrants; a traditional tyrant and one that that appears interested in the public, led to the message that tyrants do not last long in power. The taking away message of her talk was “good advice has a long shelf life, it is fine to have a second referendum”, which refers to the continued relevance of a useful message, and the importance of the ability to change.
3:00 PM-4:30 PM, Interactive Workshops
“Friendship in the Lives of Leaders: Lessons from the Liberal Arts” Michael Lamb, Wake Forest University Location: Reynolda Hall, Room 301
This interactive workshop was “Friendship in the Lives of Leaders: Lessons from the Liberal Arts” which was led by Michael Lamb. The workshop began by discussing how personal relationship influences us. The group read and discussed four readings: Pablo Neruda on Friendship, “The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Letter to “Winston Churchill” from Clementine Churchill and “My Dead Friends” by Marie Howe. Then the workshop discussed the friend relationships in their life.
February 3, 2019
9:00 AM-10:15 AM, Perspectives from Literature
Kulynych Auditorium, Porter Byrum Welcome Center
“Shakespeare, Objectivity and Leadership” John Miles, University of Oxford
In the talk “Shakespeare, Objectivity and Leadership”, by John Miles, he focuses on two leaders in Shakespeare. The two characters focused on were Hamlet and Henry V and the different ways they are presented to us in the different publications of Shakespeare. Both plays had many folio versions printed during Shakespeare’s time, and each version greatly impacts the perception of the characters and their leadership. Hamlet was discussed as someone with his own morals, who eventually convinces himself that the only thing he can do within his morals was to murder his uncle. On the other hand, Henry V was discussed as someone who understood the relationship between the leader and those whom they lead. The take away quote from this talk was from Henry V, “every man’s duty is the king’s, and every man’s soul is his own”.
1:00 PM-2:15 PM, Perspectives from Performing Arts
Kulynych Auditorium, Porter Byrum Welcome Center
“Acting with Power: Theatre Techniques for Leading with Agility” Melissa Jones Briggs, Stanford University
In “Acting with Power: Theatre Techniques for Leading with Agility,” Melissa Jones Briggs spoke about power, our definition of it, its uses, how we portray and perceive it. Power is a loaded word, and each of us has a unique relationship with the word and how we each define it. She also discussed non-verbal communication through the dimensions of interpersonal perception and discussed two continuums: dominant vs submission, and friendly vs hostile. She spoke of acting with power as using power in a role to protect the group.
“Performing Leadership” Emil Kang, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
In the performing arts perspective, the talk on “Performing Leadership” by Emil Kang. He spoke of a leader as someone who is “comfortable with your humanity, your vulnerability, be able to be hurt by it”. He also spoke of curiosity, to always look for things that make you curious, and to get as many people as you can into a curious state. He finished his talk with the phrase the “best leaders offer insight”. The difference between insight and observation, and the need for more insight.
For more information, including program notes and presenter biographies and photos from the event, please visit:
https://leadershipandcharacter.wfu.edu/conferences/the-arts-of-leading-february-2019/