Just read this: Can Creative People Be Leaders?

from Stephen Brewster http://stephenbrewster.me/2012/03/22/can-creative-people-be-leaders/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+StephenBrewster+%28stephenbrewsterme%29

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Have you ever thought that Creativity may actually keep you from being a senior leader in your church or organization? According to a survey done last year for the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology most people are attracted to leaders who remove risk and actually support and reinforce the status quo.

This is scary.

With the speed of our world and the turbulence for which we face daily, creativity should not only be encouraged but also championed as a trait of leadership that will help our organizations stay competitive and aggressive. The problem is, creative leaders come with stereotypes: Unreliable, Risky, Lazy, Forgetful, Aloof, Arrogant, Self-Consumed…and the list goes on and on.
The truth, most of these stereotypes are not true.

Our organizations need new and fresh ideas. As creative professionals it is our responsibility start destroying these and other stereotypes. It is time for us to be who God created us to be, in his image, creative leaders. We have the opportunity to set a new stereo-type: Passionate, Carrying, Desperately seeking new results, Hard working, Sensitive, In touch with emotion that creates connection, introspective, strategic, and willing to do whatever necessary to share the absolute most important story ever told in an attempt to help people experience life change.
It’s not something that we can do…it is something we must do.

We can lead and still be creative…and we will.

What are some of the stereotypes you experience as an artist? How are you combatting those via your art, work ethic, and approach?