Developing an Arts Based Curriculum for HRD Practice

Andrew Armitage

Lord Ashcroft International Business School, Anglia Ruskin University

Email: andrew.armitage@anglia.ac.uk

Diane Keeble-Ramsay

Lord Ashcroft International Business School, Anglia Ruskin University

Email: diane.keeble-allen@anglia.ac.uk

Developing an Arts Based Curriculum for HRD Practice

Andrew Armitage and Diane Keeble-Ramsay

Abstract

Purpose:

Sullivan (2005:215) notes ‘Responding to information in an insightful fashion through constructive dialogue means that private views need to enter into public discourse, for it is within the interpretive community of the field that alternative visions are most keenly felt’. Linstead (2000:84) has noted that, ‘across the social sciences, few attempts to radicalise the forms in which social investigation finds its expression have been attempted outside of social anthropology’. Bolton (2001) has also noted that expressive forms of reporting organisational reality, such as storytelling, and poetry are still under theorised, notably within the field of Human Resource Development curriculum design and pedagogy. The study attempts to remedy by this by addressing the question how are HRD professionals’ organisational experiences constructed and appraised through their emotional responses?

Design/Methodology Approach:

This paper, through the lens of arts based methods, asks how HRD professionals experience and perceive their working lives. It considers the emotional responses to their organisational roles and tensions faced. This was achieved by attempting to access their perceptive ‘reality’ through the representation, and medium of, arts based approaches. The of dialogue groups founded upon the critical pedagogy of Paulo Freire were used to help the professionals conceptualise their organisation through the arts based approaches, for example, poem houses, poetry, drawings, paintings or narrative fiction they engaged with.

Findings: The study explored the relationship that individuals have with the organisation which might be represented through their creation of products, drawings, poetry and narratives which

Research and Practical Implications: The paper seeks to represent the use of arts based instruments (ABIs) for the purposes of developing a pedagogy which allows teachers or researchers to consider other ways of developing understanding of responses to organisational settings.

Originality: The study seeks to combine a variety of ABIs in the consideration of the organisational realities perceived by participants which has not been addressed through this range of ABIs.

Limitations: The study is limited to the participants selected and does not attempt to provide generalizability but to gain insights through the consideration of the development of curriculum by addressing emotional responses.

Key Words: Arts Based Curriculum, CHRDE, Freire

IntroductionIn his book The Value of Arts for Business, Giovanni Schima poses the following questions:

what is the value of arts in business? What is the role of the arts in management? How can

the arts contribute to develop organisations to boost business performance? Why do

organisations need to absorb the arts in their working mechanisms and business models?

(Schima, 2011: xv). There has been a growing interest in arts based management education

in recent years. This is exemplified with the Art of Management and Organisation biannual

conference, which brings together and bridges the gap between business, the arts, creativity,

and academia, and sets out an alternative perspective for researching, managing, and

engaging with business and organisational life where creativity and innovation play a central

part for business success.

Gibb (2006:166) notes that people development ‘is not about the science of skills

development in isolation, but about how to think about people and their potential’, this

arguably is the challenge now facing contemporary target setting and managerialist

organisations. Kerr and Lloyd (2008:489) quite righty ask ‘Therefore what can be done to

educate management to nurture and support the creative human potential and resilience of

their employees?’ In answer to their own question they suggest management education needs

to facilitate leaders who can promote and support employee creativity by setting creativity

goals, and investing in arts based transformative learning programs, as well as becoming

learning leaders (see also, Buchen 2005; Zhou 2007). This they argue can only happen ‘if

those in leadership roles are in touch with their own creative capabilities’ (489) because ‘...

the very essence of 21st Century leadership increasingly demands the passionate creativity of

artists ...’ (Adler 2006:493–494).

In terms of the design of learning practices, leadership development requires reconsideration.

As Nissley (2008:22) states, ‘[t]oday’s leaders must leverage the creative energy of the

workforce to compete in the creative economy [and we need to think] creatively about how

we develop creative leaders and creative leadership in organizations.’ Oakley (2007:11)

notes ‘there is no agreed definition of creativity’ among educational policymakers,

academics, teachers or employers’. However, Kerr and Lloyd (2007:485) in the context of

their work define creativity as ‘the creative human attributes and qualities concerned with

imagination, inventiveness, improvisation, insight, intuition, and curiosity – the natural

‘artful’ genius and talent of people’. They go on to state that that these creative capabilities

‘are sought after by business for long-term’ and suggest that ‘management education must

follow suit in providing artful learning experiences to assist with developing creative habits.

The transformative potential of arts-informed research speaks to the need to develop

representations that address audiences in ways that do not pacify or indulge the senses but

arouse them and the intellect to new heights of response and action. The educative

possibilities of art-informed work are foremost in the heart, soul, and mind of the researcher

from the onset of an inquiry.

Goleman (1998:100) has suggested that ‘the art of innovation is both cognitive and

emotional. Coming up with a creative insight is a cognitive act – but realising its value,

nurturing it, and following through calls on emotional competencies such as self-confidence,

initiative, persistence, and the ability to persuade’. This is important not only for individual

development but also organisational competiveness, as Zhou (2007:17) notes ‘to stay

competitive….organizations are required to encourage all of their employees to be creative,

not just those who hold traditionally “creative types” of jobs’. Thus, learning opportunities

enabling expanded awareness, adaptability, resilience, resourcefulness and play are

imperative for management educators and business organisations in the 21st Century (Claxton

1999 cited in Kerr and Lloyd, 2008:489).

Following on, the desired presence of innovation requires organisations to provide a culture

that both supports and invests in developing creativity and provides appropriate resources for

that to happen’. These sentiments are echoed by Schima (2011:1-2) by stating that ‘In today’s

complex business landscape, as organisations are challenged by new and increasingly

complex problems, the arts provided a new “territory” to inspire executives both to see their

organisations differently and to define innovative management systems’. The value of

researching art-based modes towards development then is twofold. Firstly, to explore the

experiences of human resource development (HRD) professionals and contemporary

organisation life using art based methods to unlock the hidden realities or potentially silent

cultures of the organisation (see for example, Armitage and Keeble-Allen, 2010; Armitage

2011 and 2012).

Secondly, as a way to engage professionals differently within their professional and

organisational lives, to propose pedagogical approaches and the design of HRD curriculum

delivery using art based methods. It is intended that this might facilitate better understanding

in terms how employees respond to their daily situations, problems and dilemmas in the

workplace more critically though the engaging with arts based approaches.

Problem Statement

Bolton (2001) has noted that notably within the field of Human Resource Development

curriculum design and pedagogy, expressive forms of reporting organisational reality, such as

storytelling, and poetry are still under theorised. The study attempts to remedy by this by

asking the question:

How are HRD professionals’ organisational experiences constructed or appraised in terms of

leading to their emotional responses?

This study aimed to explore HRD professionals’ experiences through their perceptions of

their working lives. Through the lens of art based methods, its objectives include:

1) To understand how HRD professionals emotionally appraise experiences within their

organisational lives.

2) To conceptualise the organisation through the representation and medium of arts

based approaches, for example, utilising poem houses, poetry, drawings, paintings,

narrative fiction, and the use of dialogue groups will be adopted to allow them to

access their ‘realities’.

Further this provides a medium by which we can capture emotional responses. This approach

is founded upon the critical pedagogy of Paulo Freire (1970, 1972).

Arts Based Education as a Transformative Pedagogy

Paulo Freire (1998) notes teaching requires a recognition that education is ideological,

involves ethics, a capacity to be critical and also to recognise our conditioning, humility and

abilities for critical reflection. This challenges educational practices which challenge what it

means to be “critical” and how new principles of a pedagogy that counters modernism might

be constructed. This might not be an easy task. As Grey (2005:62) notes, “the context for the

development of management education was very much that of the emergence of complex,

large-scale industry, and, associated with that, the growing separation of ownership and

control”. Currently textbooks, case studies and classroom simulations dominate business

pedagogic practices. This has resulted in a “contract of cynicism where faculties deliver and

students accept knowledge which, both know to be virtually useless” (Grey, 2005:64).

This might suggest that if critical management education (CME) or critical HRD education

(CHRDE) are to challenge powerful historical organisational or cultural discourse then it has

to review its pedagogic project, which are located within political, social, and cultural

contexts. This concern was described by Greene (1978:12) claiming that discovery had been

taken out of learning in many teaching/learning situations by noting that, “The self as

participant, as inquirer, as creator of meanings has been obliterated”. These sentiments are

articulated by Margaret Macintyre Latta (2004:94-95) in her essay Traces, Patterns, Texture:

In Search of Aesthetic Teaching/Learning Encounters where she states “Rather than

conformity, being rewarded, in [these] classrooms, difference is not cause for alarm but

celebration”.

The need for creativity and innovation has been identified as being central (see, for example,

Davila, Epstein and Shelton 2007; Florida, 2002; Gibb, 2006; Hartley 2005). Kerr and Lloyd

(2008: 487) note that this is a consequence of the growing recognition from business and

government globally that creativity, innovation and a more creative workforce are necessary

for the competitiveness of organisations in the global economy. An alliance between arts,

organisational aesthetics, and disciplines such as management, leadership, and human

development has also emerged as areas of research (see, for example, Cummings, 2000;

Linstead and Höpfl, 2000; Strati 2000; Armitage, 2014; Darsø 2004). In her book Artful

Creation: Learning-Tales of Arts-in-Business Lotte Darsø (2002:43) identifies behaviours

and competencies that reflect instrumental (improved performance) benefits from arts-based

learning.

For example:

‘… certain artistic capabilities [which] are important for business and can be taught

by artists, such as presentation and communication skills, listening skills and

storytelling. The same goes for team building and collaboration inspired by ensemble

and rehearsal techniques, as these are used by musicians and actors. A variety of

business people, from managers to human resource consultants, can benefit from

these approaches.’

Oakley (2007) advances the benefits of arts in education for a creative workforce,

emphasising ‘the need to develop communication, leadership, entrepreneurship, team work,

creative skills, cross-cultural understanding, problem solving, emotional intelligence and

right-brain stuff’ (Kerr and Lloyd, 2008:488). She notes that a focus by economic policy

makers across the world on things ‘creative’ is driven by factors such as creative inputs in

innovation policy, a need for new ways of working, and a changing contemporary workplace

(Oakley 2007 cited in Kerr and Lloyd, 2008:6). As Kerr and Lloyd (2008:487) note ‘Given

these needs, the exposure to learning in and through the arts offers a broad, hands-on

approach to management development, with the arts providing alternative ways of seeing,

thinking, intrinsic benefits that help discover, for example, other ways of thinking than the

taken-for-granted’. This they claim has ‘benefits, for example, such as captivation, pleasure,

expanded, capacity for empathy, cognitive growth, creation of social bonds, and expression

of communal meanings are not only of intrinsic value to the individual but extend to the

public realm … and community cohesiveness’ (487) (see also, McCarthy, Ondaatje, Zakara

and Brooks 2004).

These learning benefits are ‘derived through development of intrinsic (self-enriching)

motivation and are supported in transformative learning processes, such as are found in arts-

based learning (Kerr and Lloyd, 2008:7). This has been exacerbated by the competitive

challenges of the new business landscape and importance of adopting innovative means to

train and develop mangers and leaders (Adler, 2010). This view has been witnessed by

several arts based initiatives in curriculum designing and delivery and according to Schiuma

(2011:132) who provides several such example, ‘The inte.g.ration on arts-based learning

processes in business schools’ curricula is gradually spreading’.

It can be argued that pedagogy involves the relationship between student and teacher, the

learning context, and learning process (Bonk and Smith, 1997; Waters, 2005). This is

important to any critical pedagogy but more specifically for authentic educational discourse

that informs professional and workplace practice, the structuring of opportunities to facilitate

participation and change (Freire, 1987; Freire and Faundez, 1989; Tadeu de Silva and

McLaren, 1996; Billet, 2001; Moore. 2004). Further, Hughes and Moore (1999:3-4) suggest

that ‘pedagogy can be discovered in any social context where knowledge is distributed and

used’. Critical pedagogy is more than just superficial contact with “others” and the “what is”

that confronts individuals in their daily lives and establishes a relationship of respect, honesty

and trust between teachers and students, employer and employee, provider and client,

institutions and society (Freire 1972; Freire and Faundez, 1989). It is engagement with the

world. It is the humanising of debate that gives the process its value as an instrument for

beneficial change.

Freire (1970 and 1972) defined a critical pedagogy as the contextualisation within society,

organisations, and history (Lodh and Gaffikin, 1997) in the recognition that this is a human,

not a scientific, endeavour (Arrington and Puxty, 1991 and Francis, 1990). This has led some

to advocate dialogue as the means for the creation of democratic, emancipatory, and

transformative practices within the sphere of pedagogy and communication between

individuals and groups (see for example Boal, 1974; Freire, 1970; Bohm, 1996; Isaacs, 1999;

Hermans, 2001; Giroux, 1997; Archer, 2003). For Freire (1970), transformation is central to

emancipatory practices. It is central to an individual’s awareness that they ‘exist in and with

the world’ (Freire, 1972:51) being, but knowing, subjects who have an engagement of social,

historical, political and cultural (Giroux, 1997). Freire (1972:51) coined the word

conscientization to capture this concept as ‘conscious beings that men are not only in the

world but with the world, together with other men’. For transformative practices to become

reality, Freire puts dialogue at the centre of human encounters such as learning and problem

solving processes, advocating that it can only be achieved if those involved are exposed to

emancipatory practices that nullify powerful discourses (see also Senge, 1990; Schein, 1993;

Giroux; Isaacs, 1999; Oswick et al, 2008). This can only be achieved according to Boal

(1974:xvi) by the awakening of individual freedom within the context of social-political-

economic situations and as a challenge to the ‘given’ dominating orthodoxies of those who

occupy positions of power and control and manipulate those with less power.

Kerr and Lloyd (2008:488) claim that transformative learning is an adult learning process

where, based on new knowledge and values, beliefs are critically examined. The learner

changes their frame of reference as they re-interpret their world’ (Mezirow 1997:6). Imel

(1998:1) adds to Mezirow’s understanding by indicating that transformative learning involves

becoming more reflective and critical, being more open to perspectives of others, and being

less defensive and more accepting of new ideas. Kerr and Lloyd (2008: 488) note that ‘While

critical reflection is Mezirow’s reference point, a view of transformative learning as an

‘intuitive, creative, emotional process’ has also emerged’ (see, for example, Grabov 1997:

90).

Two views of transformative learning exist - on the one hand, as a rational approach to critical

reflection. On the other hand, as one advancing the use of imagination and emotion.

However, both use rational processes and incorporate imagination as a part of a creative

process by sharing a number of commonalities including ‘humanism, emancipation,

autonomy, critical reflection, equity, self-knowledge, participation, communication and

discourse’ (Grabov 1997: 90). By focusing upon what the individual values, and needs to

learn, ‘transformative learning can assist the learning development of arts-based creativity and

change so long as those learning needs are defined by both the learner and the educator, or the

employee and the employer’ (Kerr and Lloyd, 2008:488). Also they are based on

consideration of generational, cultural, and gender belief systems and values (Kerr and

Waterhouse, 2008).

Gratton (2007) advances that Arts Based Intervention (ABI) can have a transformational

impact and represents the way managers can ignite organisational energy. Schiuma

(2011:107) notes ‘Accordingly, ABI’s can be deployed as management means to catalyse and

nourish people’s emotions and energy’. This can be done in basic ways. By igniting

emotions and energy by framing questions ‘that propel people into the unknown, stimulating

their imagination an pushing them to look for new solutions and different ways of framing

reality’ (Schiuma, 2011:107). For example, past, present and future situations that drive ‘the

interpretation and construction of knowledge, which allows inward and outward assessment’

(ibid). ABI’s can galvanise people towards a vision. For example, establishing what the

future might be can propel ‘collective emotions and energy towards the same trajectory’

(Schiuma, 2011:107). Ignition contexts shape the organisational environment to enable

people to feel assured, experience pleasure and attachment and they spark people’s emotional

and energetic dynamics. Ignition conversations allow ABI’s to stimulate exchanges and ‘rich

communication’ (Schiuma, 2011:108). Finally, ABI’s can be used as a forum for people to get

to know each other, thus allowing trust and reciprocity to flourish (ibid).

This allows students to ‘learn how to use their senses in order to better grasp things that are

happening around them, as well as to react to them by being immersed in artistic creative

processes’ according to Schiuma (2011:132-133). This leads them to develop creative skills,

and confidence in their ability to ‘express themselves creatively, have a willingness to accept

and deal with ambiguity and uncertainty, an openness to reframe problems, solutions and

scenarios, and develop trust in themselves in their potential creativity (Schiuma, 2011). This

has also been advocated by Armitage (2012) who has proposed that management educators

need to develop alternative pedagogical approaches to explore the realities of organisational

life. Armitage (2012) uses Sullivan’s (2005) “Visual Knowing” and dialogue as being central

to “know the world”.

Artwork has been used to unpack historical issues and metaphors (Kent, 2003), and to ‘tease

out possibilities, demolish preconceptions, disrupt complacencies, challenge decision making,

and find creative comfort among incongruities’ (Sullivan, 2005:197). It can therefore be

argued that all human activity can be described as an artistic endeavour (Boal, 1974), where

individuals construct their realities, shape ideas, and actions, for example through the

representative media of drawings, and imagery that are part of a broader system of cultural

forms that play an active role in socio, political, and political processes (Mitchell, 1994).

Furthermore, Greene (2003: 22-23) identifies that imagination is the place where the possible

can happen, a place of ‘resisting fixities, seeking the openings [where] we relish

incompleteness, because that signifies that something still lies ahead’. Imagination as Green

reminds us, this is where completion is found in the sense that we come to know things we

did not know of, or conceive of before, it is a place of creating our reality in to different

forms, where different shapes of reality are moulded in the face of new imagery. As such,

imagination, whilst the place of completeness, is also the place of new beginnings, where the

world can be “re-oralised” as it unfolds other realities, new places of completeness, and new

beginnings.

Kearney and Hyle (2003) have as a part of a larger study examined the emotional impact of

change on individuals using participant-produced drawings in an educational institution. Both

the participants’ and the researcher’s perspectives on the drawing methodology, as used in

their study, provided the foundation for their findings. They concluded that drawings create a

path toward emotions; lead to a more succinct representation of participant experiences;

require additional verbal interpretation by the participant for accuracy; are unpredictable as a

tool for encouraging participation in the research; combat researcher biases when left

unstructured; can be affected by the amount of researcher-imposed structure in the scope of

how they could be interpreted and help to create triangulation of study data. According to

Kearney and Hyle (2003) ‘in organizations, drawings have traditionally been used to depict

mechanical designs or conceptual models, to portray organizational structure, and to

communicate information to colleagues’. Whilst these they claim are exceptions, the use of

drawings to depict organizations can be traced back to Meyers, who used diagramming as a

part of an organizational adaptation study in the medical field (Miles and Snow, 1978).

Meyers’ work is one of the earlier examples of the use of drawings and diagrams as a part of

organizational research.

This has been subsequently being adopted as a research methodology by others (see, for

example, Nyquist et al, 1999; MacLure, 2002; Meyer, 1991; Trower et al, 2001; Zubroff,

1988). This approach has also been used to draw out emotional responses to organizational

settings (see, for example, Vince, 1995; Vince and Broussine, 1996). As Kearney and Hyle

(2003) note drawings may also be a more specific or direct route to the emotions and

unconscious responses underlying behaviours during change (Vince, 1995), where ‘imagery

can “bridge the gap between the apparently individual, private, subjective, and the apparently

collective, social, political” (Samuels, 1993: 63). In a previous study Zubroff (1988) found

that, for clerical workers experiencing organizational change, that ‘pictures functioned as a

catalyst, helping them to articulate feelings that had been implicit and hard to define….

These simple drawings convey feelings that often elude verbal expression” (Zuboff, 1988:

141-142).

Furthermore, poetry and its use in the workplace has also seen a growing interest in recent

years. Poetry has been used as a way to help those who work in organisational settings to

explore and tell their stories through consciousness raising accounts. It is furthered that these

speak directly to individuals or that through the works of others enables people to make sense

of their own particular situations (Armitage, 2014). Poetry does not rely upon the strictures

and formal structures of conventional literary work and storytelling. Those who write, or

read poetry, engage with the world in a way that allows their voice to be heard as an

“authentic self”. This allows metaphor, and memories to be explored so that individuals

might come to terms with their situated reality. This can only be spoken through the private

and particular language of poetry. Poetry provides a mode for individuals to confront

complex environments by reducing their complexity into understandable approaches. It helps

to facilitate a sense of empathy and understanding of, within the world, to develop the self.

Also by creating a space for individuals to express the unsayable, it offers an alternative voice

to the dominant organizational discourse (Armitage, 2014). As David and McIntosh

(2004:84) note “Poetry is too important to be left to poets. It would be much better if it

belonged to everyone, producers and consumers alike. In work and in business, poetry could

be a powerful tool for deepening reason and logic through the use of emotion and

imagination”.

Clare Morgan (2010), in her book What Poetry Brings to Business, explores the deep but

unexpected connections between business and poetry. Morgan (2010) demonstrates how the

creative energy, emotional power and the communicative complexity of poetry relate directly

to the practical need for innovation and problem solving that confronts business managers.

She shows how poetry might unpack complexity and flexibility of thinking, to better

understand the thoughts and feelings of others. She argues this not only aids the creative

process but it can help facilitate the entrepreneurial culture of an organisation by developing

imaginative solutions, and help better understand chaotic environments (see, for example,

Davis and McIntosh, 2004; Darmer and Grisoni, 2011). Poetry as an aesthetic conscious

state of existence provides a mode of engagement for the imagination to play where the

senses meet the external world.

Poetry allows aesthetic playfulness where the silence of our inner conscious feelings can be

broken, where ‘Poets align themselves with the wretched and the voiceless of the planet’

(Okri, 1997:13). It is claimed that rather than the constraints of objective reality, poets see

things through sensuous experience. Poetry provides sense of a freedom to ‘express the

inexpressible’ and ‘to utter the unspoken’ founded from experiences encapsulated within the

boundaries of organisational structures, rules and regulations (see, for example, Davis and

McIntosh, 2004). Leavy (2009:63) reminds that poems are ‘Sensory scenes created with

skilfully placed words and purposeful pauses, poems push feelings to the forefront capturing

heightened moments of social reality as if under a magnifying glass’. It has the ability to

provide insights through metaphor and linguistic negotiation. As a literary text, poetry

presents an individual’s experiences through the self-referential use of language that creates a

new understanding of the world, thought or feelings. This provides an aesthetic process of

cognitive and emotional insight (Hanauer, 2004; Leggo, 2008).

Sullivan (2005:215) notes ‘Responding to information in an insightful fashion through

constructive dialogue means that private views need to enter into public discourse, for it is

within the interpretive community of the field that alternative visions are most keenly felt’.

Linstead (2000:84) has noted further that, ‘across the social sciences, few attempts to

radicalise the forms in which social investigation finds its expression have been attempted

outside of social anthropology’.

Philosophical and Methodological underpinnings

Arts based research, whether in process or its representational form, is neither prescriptive

not codified. It is the coming to together of scholarly and artistic endeavour. This does not

mean that art biased research escapes the rigour and scrutiny of critical assessment expected

from traditional research methodologies and data collection methods. Our work was

underpinned by what Cole and Knowles (2008) call ‘qualities of goodness’, of intentionality,

researcher presence, aesthetic quality, methodological commitment, holistic quality,

commutability, knowledge advancement, and contributions (Cole and Knowles, 2008:66).

Intentionality is where arts based research must stand for something; they are ‘not intended as

titillations but as opportunities for transformation, revelation, or some other intellectual and

moral shift. They must be more than good stories, images, or performances’.

Researcher presence is where the researcher is present through their explicit reflexive self-

accounting. Aesthetic quality is concerned with the central purpose of arts-based research

being knowledge advancement. This is not the production of fine arts. The quality of the

artistic elements of an arts-informed research project is defined by how well the artistic

process and form serves research goals. Methodological commitment is arts informed

research that evidences the attention to the defining elements and form of arts informed

research. The work reflects a methodological commitment through evidence of a principled

process, procedural harmony, and attention to aesthetic quality. This is exemplified by Coles

and Knowles (2008:66), who cite McIntyre and Cole (2006) and their work about caregivers

and Alzheimers Disease. McIntyre and Cole (2006) note that ‘Working with data to identify

substantive themes related to the research purpose to preserve the integrity of the honour of

the caregivers’ experiences, the form of representation needs to remain true to the narrative

and emotive quality of what people contributed’. ‘Holistic quality’ challenges conventional

research endeavours that tend to more linear, sequential, compartmentalized and distanced

from researcher and participants (Cole and Knowles, 2008:66-67). A rigorous arts-informed

“text” is imbued with an ‘internal consistency and coherence that represents a strong and

seamless relationship between purpose and method’ (ibid). This entails that student-

researchers are ‘information gatherers, portraiture artists, and interpreters of experience’

(Coles and Knowles, 2008:67), where ‘students’ creations made up of personal narratives,

photographs, memory maps, and found objects, became at once “data” and representations

indicative of the inquiry focus’ (ibid).

Communicability concerns the transformative potential of the research that ‘maximizes its

communicative potential, addresses concerns about accessibility of the research account

usually through the form and language in which it is written, performed, or otherwise

presented’ (Coles and Knowles, 2008). According to Coles and Knowles (2008:67)

‘Accessibility is related to the potential for audience engagement and response [and] have the

express purpose of connecting, in holistic way, with the hearts, souls, and minds of the

audience. They are intended to have an evocative quality and a level of resonance for diverse

audiences’.

Knowledge advancement is generative rather than propositional and is based on assumptions

that reflect the multidimensional, complex, dynamic, intersubjective, and contextual nature of

human experience’ (Coles and Knowles, 2008: 67). Claims to knowledge must be made with

‘sufficient ambiguity and humility to allow for multiple interpretations and reader response’

(ibid). The contribution is wedded to the intellectual and moral purposes of arts-informed

research of theoretical and practical contributions. As Cole and Knowles (2008:67) note

‘Sound and rigorous arts-informed work has both theoretical potential and transformative

potential. The former acknowledges the ‘So what?’ question and the power of the inquiry

work to provide insights into the human condition, while the latter urges researchers to

imagine new possibilities for whom the work is about and for’.

In response to the foregoing, this study brought together the methodological traditions of

Paulo Freire’s Participant Action Research (PAR) and his concept of Conscientization (1970,

1972, 1974, 1998), with arts based data collection methods. This builds upon previous and

existing work, and classroom practice of Armitage (2011 and 2012) and Armitage and

Keeble-Allen (2010) who have explored and used arts based methods within in the

disciplinary confines of HRD.

Participants to this study were drawn from the private and public sectors including small to

medium enterprises (SME’s) and large organisations. In order to explore and articulate the

possibility of tensions between organisational expectations and their professional roles, they

were invited to consider their experiences and perceptions via a variety of arts based

methods, for example, poem houses, poetry, drawings, collage, and narrative fiction.

Participants were then invited to present their art work to their peers in dialogue groups.

Armitage (2014) has proposed a “culture of safety” and collaboration, using Paulo Freire’s

Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, allows individuals can exchange stories,

experiences, and perspectives within the safety of “culture circles” (dialogue groups). This

enables any ‘cultures of silence’ to emerge within supportive settings (Armitage, 2014).

Those conducting dialogue groups do not actually lead but rather interpret ‘the

communication of the group and the social matrix, remaining in the background as much as

possible and helping the group take responsibility for itself” (Waller, 1996:43). Those

leading dialogue groups need to the ‘interpersonal leader’ (Waller, 1996), a “facilitator of

interpersonal transactions and as a fellow-traveller in the journey of life; taking an

increasingly background role, he attends to the language, both verbal and physical, that is

used in the group and its meaning” (Waller, 1996:43).

It was acknowledged that ethical aspects underpinning these approaches had to be given

consideration. It was important that participants were full briefed about the task they were

being asked to take part in. Whilst ideas and techniques were used from art therapy, a

dividing line was drawn between therapeutic interventions and the use of management

based art to explicate how organisations are perceived by those who worked produce ‘art

work’ (see, for example, Case and Dalley, 2006).

Consent was sought from all those who took part in the creation of their art and dialogue

groups, and to explain the nature of how these would work. Any products handed over to

us for “evidence” has to be done voluntarily only used for academic purposes in an

anonymised form.

Method

Data was collected from thirty six practitioners completing studies towards their Chartered

Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) membership. Participants were introduced

to the task (see Appendix 1) and were asked to address the following question: How do you

perceive your organisation? No further prompting was given in terms of what they should

produce and how it should be produced was given in them responding to the question. They

were then presented with an array of art based materials, for example, coloured tissue paper,

paints, coloured crayons, coloured card and paper, and a selection of boxes, some of which

could be unfolded in order to allow their insides to be “decorated” as they saw fit. They were

given two hours to use art materials to describe and portray their organisation. They were

also asked to write 200-300 words to describe their work to assist us in our analysis of their

art works.

They were left to their “own devices”. The only intervention we made was to periodically

ask each of them what they were constructing or writing and to take photographs of “the

process in action”. The task was concluded though a group feedback session where students

discussed their art works in an open and supportive culture (see, for example, Kearney and

Hyle, 2003). The findings produced a variety of art works and responses. These were

analysed used qualitative thematic analysis.

Findings

The following examples of work based art collected provide alternative ways to explore

organisational reality by using drawings, poetics and the dialogic process. Zander and

Zander (2000:174) have called these “environments for possibility” where “we come to

trust that these places are dedicated to the notion that no one will be made wrong, people

will not be talked about behind their backs, and there will be no division between us and

them”. Montero (2000:134) notes that “This allows individuals to problematize their lived

reality within their dialogue groups”. Freire called these “reading circles”. It allows

individuals to voice issues that are silent and potentially live in the shadows of

organisational life.

In response to Margaret Macintyre Latta’s (2004) call for imagination, dialogue, and multi-

voiced conversations, the following are examples which illustrate how the “dialogical

imagination” comes into being through the dialogic process, drawings, poetry, and poem

houses.

Imaging the Organisation using Poem Houses/self-boxes

Nine poem houses were produced by the group depicting a variety of organisational issues.

One was painted black on the outside, and had different coloured tissue paper “exploding”

out of the top. The respondent said:

‘My (black painted) box is painted like a treasure chest. The treasure inside contains golden

tissue paper, hidden right at the bottom, is representative of the “golden age” of our

organisation and the charity sector when we were better funded, and the organisational

culture and stiff morale were healthier. The glitter and silver balls inside are our staff and

service users. The silver foil escaping out the sides is our staff who are leaving since we have

changed their conditions, cut salaries and restructures, and our service users whose quality of

support is decreasing, both due to funding cuts. The treasure chest (our organisation) is on

fire, inevitably due to recent changes, we have tried to plug the gaps in the organisation

(holes in the treasure chest) with money, but there isn’t enough. The man in blue is

representative of our government who is standing away from our organisation with his back

to us.‘

Another poem house depicted a set of “swirly circles” on its top. They stated that this

represented chaos, disruption and a loss of vision by the organisation. The inside contained

yellow paper sticks that signified that the organisation was ‘a can of worms’ once you dug

beneath its outer layers. The outside of the house (four sides and bottom) was covered in a

poem that read as follows:

‘The wise old owl has a rainbow view,

In his glitter ball world he knows what to do,

Let’s pass it on down to my next in line,

He’ll pass on my vision and it will be fine.

I love my boss he’s really is great,

Passed on some things I need to relate,

To my purpose and role,

But I’m not sure how,

So I’ll just chuck over the fence,

To my deputy owl.

I’m trying my best to perform as requested,

Without much guidance or direction provided,

I’m probably sure there’s some rules or regulations to follow,

To increase profit and make savings,

I think HR’s knowledge I’ll borrow.

Another huge project has landed our way,

We guide and highlight risk,

And wander who’s in charge today,

Whose bright idea was yet another restructure,

More change and disruption,

Whose help and buy in can one department muster.

We are the minions in this master plan,

Just pushed and pulled through the visions,

Of our glitter ball man.’

One of the poem houses used colour to represent “mood”. The outside was covered in green

tissue paper, the inside was purple. The lid (top) of the box had a circle stuck onto it, which in

turn had three concentric circles. The outer showed words such as pressure, time constraints,

deadlines, money constraints, and the middle had a picture of a clock and pond signs, the

inner contained match stick people. The respondent explained this as:

‘Inside the box – care of the organisation – wants to make a difference to the people it

provides services to. The purple, which is a spiritual colour, is one of the corporate colours -

the core of our business. The green on the outside is also one of our corporate colours. The

circle represent the organisation – some teams are joined up and work well together

(represented by the people – match stick figures), but some don’t. The arrows (which were

pointing towards the centre of the circle) represent current pressures which have increased

over the last couple of years (local government, funding, redundancies, time pressure etc.).

The chief executive in the middle (female) is leaving at the end of the year; a new CE will be

one of the male directors. The yellow arrows represent the new nursing home built by the

organisation which is the hope for the future and longer term stability.’

Another poem house revealed some very (personal) feelings of organisational reality. The

poem house was covered in writing with comments on the outside and within. The

participant summed up their analysis of their organisation as follows:

‘The directors are faceless, not see or known around the business. The company seems to

change direction very year, but the problem being that the direction isn’t known by the

employees in the first place. We have an executive board of three, each with their own

agenda nor knowing fully what their roe entails, so they are unable to tell the business – this

has lasted one year! Then it was changed back to one country manager – but still no direction

given other than to cut costs. We have no vision – short, medium or long term – we don’t

know – so we have to guess. The only communication is to cut costs – but can we put a price

on knowledge and experience? Growth has been through acquisition – sixty four sites across

the UK – completely disseminated, no harmonisation, and no uniformity. People that have

been there for years are leaving because they don’t like where and what the company is

doing. There is a general feeling of who will be next or who will be next. The business is

completely reactive – reaching to the market rather than reading ahead – no PESTEL or

SWOT – these have never been done – no business plan.’

One respondent “bucked the trend” of negativity expressed by other participants. Their

interpretation was shown through a covering of their poem house in smiley faces, the word

“values”, and in bright red bricks (Figure 1). The inside was filled with red and black tissues

paper. Inside a poem was contained:

‘Family run company,

With lots of money,

Helps out staff,

Work is a laugh,

As the company is expanding,

The work is quite demanding,

The owners know you by name,

The company has market fame,

Most people don’t like change,

They think it’s quite strange,

Overall it’s not bad,

Even though sometimes it makes you mad.’

Another poem house contained a selection of colour coded paper cut-outs with words

representing the participant’s ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’ of the organisation. For example,

comment was made of the organisational culture as being “work, work, work”, “demanding”,

“blame culture”, “hierarchical”, being “black and white”, “job security”. Another comment

seemed to contrast (positive impression). For example, “social”, better “work life balance”

compared to other laws firms, “benefits”, “CSR”. One comment mentioned that the

organisation had the most female partners in law firms in the UK, (this being a figure of

26%). The respondent summed up:

‘My company is perceived as a great place to work for, and pride themselves in being

friendly, approachable, fair, and a great place to work. I mostly enjoy working for my

organisation, but their claims are misconstrued. From the outside (of the poem house) it’s

sunny and welcoming, on the inside it’s cloudy (but not stormy) – overall I like my

organisation, but there are things that can be improved.’

Another self-box was less elaborately decorated. However, some of the words on the outside

appeared to convey anxiety from the respondent, for example, “please help”, “just do it”, and

“what’s going on”. This was explained as follows:

‘Side 1 represents the Department of Learning and Development, within which I am a

member. We have a high performing team with clear boundaries and expectations. We have

open dialogue in which to share ideas and can professionally challenge each other. Side 2

represents my customer and the hospital within which I work with a new senior management

team and changing middle management. The teams are micro-managed and are unable to

make decisions which were within their remit; the scene depicts oppression. Sides 3 and 4 is

a view of the ward staff in the hospital The feedback is that the staff that do not know the

strategy. It is very difficult to lead learning and when motivation is so low.’

One self-box had the words “compassion”, “collaborative care”, “patients first”, “care”. As

the respondent explained:

‘The outside of the box demonstrates the vision/values and the employer branding the

organisation wants to promote. The box is packed with tissue paper to demonstrate chaos.

The colours (orange and yellow) are bright to shoe stress level and pressure. Inside the box

the (painted) lines show confusion. The pound signs demonstrate cost focus and pressure to

reduce resources. There are a few yellow stars (on the underside of the lid) to demonstrate a

number of staff are making a positive impact. The pictures of the monkeys demonstrate some

employed may be perceived to be out of their depth and have been appointed to the wrong

roles within the organisation.’

One poem house was not covered but upon opening it, it revealed a gold bracelet wrapped in

red tissue paper and smiley face stuck to the underside of the lid. This depicted a happy

organisational culture.

Figure 1 Company Values

Figure 2 What’s the vision

Imaging the organisation using drawings and painting

The themes and issues arising from the drawings were eclectic in nature. Of the 27 drawings

and paintings produced only one provided a positive perception of organisational life. This

participant reported that their organisation was locally mindful, adaptive, evolving, was a

‘living and learning’ culture striving for excellence, ambitious and encouraged and facilitated

learning. It was also environmentally friendly. The remaining focused upon what might be

termed chaotic, and toxic working environments, characterised by bullying bosses, a long

hour culture and a ‘dog eat dog’ environment.

Some reported that stress was an issue accompanied by a ‘target setting’ culture, uncertainty

and high staff turnover. Some produced artefacts that saw a lack of planning of process as

being problematic. Others reported as a “them and us” culture with a clash in, and between,

teams. One noted that the clashes were dysfunctional and detrimental to staff morale.

There was an emphasis put on monetary rewards. One respondent identified that “sales are

king”. This was contrasted with several respondents noting that they were unhappy or

unappreciated or felt unrewarded for their input and efforts. Another reported that there was

a lack of autonomy in their organisation. That disengagement was also an endemic feature of

their organisational culture.

There were several occasions when responses note that that frustration was felt in the

organisation. Also leaders did not communicate with their staff. It was noted that this

situation led to worried staff and ‘them and us’ separation. One noted that ‘infighting’ on the

board was having detrimental effect upon the organisation, which caused subsequent

pressures “underneath”, lower down the hierarchy, leading to a loss of focus in the

organisation. It was a poignant that one respondent noted that trust was an issue in the

organisation “splitting the organisation in many directions”. For some, the business vision

presented to employees - who are trying to catch up – portrays despite day to day problems

that senior management see a rosy picture. This depicts to customers a picture of calm and

organised tranquillity. Yet they perceived the management as ‘clueless’ and ‘speaking a

different language’ which was based in cost cutting. This respondent noted:

“They misuse my needs and manipulate my feelings. My dedication is being sucked away,

and the stress is overriding my happiness due to constant change. Leaders talk blah, blah,

blah”.

One produced a poem as follows to sum their feelings:

‘Everybody’s busy,

There’s lots of talking through,

But what they’re really doing,

Is hiding the elephant in the room.

The leaders are quite cosy,

Believing all is rosy,

But the staff tell a different story,

And it’s far from boring.

How do we work more flexibly?

How do we keep our women?

These are the big questions,

To turn drowning into swimming.’

This was reinforced by others who stated that the organisation was on a journey with lots of

‘up’s and downs’, given obstacles to achieving goals. This was not helped as the higher

leadership was revered and held in awe and middle management was “hanging by a tread”.

The issue of voice was noted:

“There is a fear of change and we are bottom of pile – we have no voice” whereas,

“Management are self-congratulatory, staff are full of doom and gloom, and angry”. For

some their ideas were of ‘disappearing down a black hole’ leading to an “I don’t care

attitude”.’

They identified a split between fee earners and business services, “Separate cultures of

corporate versus commercial”. Whilst those who worked in the public sector reported that

their organisational structures were seen as “Top heavy” and were suffering from

“Government and public pressures, constantly moving/changing, leading to staff lacking in

confidence”. They identified a “Lack of support, stress, no job security” and felt that they

were like “Puppets – lack of confidence in senior leaders”. That there was “No carer

progression – I can’t climb the ladder. We have no choices”. One public sector employee

reported that they “hate this place” and that “stress and absence was a consequence of

oppressive leadership/top management”.

The following are examples that capture some of the aforementioned points.

Figure 3 Them and us

Figure 4 A line of miscommunication

Figure 5 Toxic Leadership

Discussion: Making Sense of Art Based Learning

We argue that arts-based learning and development, as part of human resources management

education practices and professional development programmes, (for example The Chartered

Institute of Personal and Development (CIPD)) can be central to developing “artful

capabilities” (Kerr and Lloyd (2008:489). ‘Arts-based learning is intended to develop ‘artful’

ways of working. ‘Artful’ ways of working, knowing and perceiving are about the creative

skills, capacities and capabilities that incorporate reflection, awareness, imagination,

collaboration and adaptability (Darsø 2004; Gibb 2006; Turner 2006 cited in Kerr and Lloyd,

2008:489). These are required by business managers and leaders now and in the future.

Further to our findings in this research we agree with Kerr and Lloyd (2008:489) that ‘these

artful processes should also be appearing in higher education management development, to

enhance the capacity….to be artful [which] is to transform self through profound learning

experiences that expand human consciousness, often facilitated by artistic processes’. In

management education and development a shift from instrumental management towards a

paradigm of artful creation of managerial self, in a creative economy may create social

innovation (see, for example, Kerr and Darsø 2001:1). Bringing personal thoughts, feeling

and emotions within the public forum of organisational life requires supportive and open

cultural settings to explore organizational silence. Without an enabling process the potential

of such emotional appraisal can be lost. After all the poet, in the gaze of the stranger,

surrenders and reveals their authentic selfhood to the world, they lay themselves bare, and

naked, and can be seen for who and what they are (Kerr and Darsø 2001). Zander and Zander

(2000:174) have coined supportive culture environments of possibility where ‘We come to

trust that these places are dedicate to the notion that no one will be made wrong, people will

not be talked about behind their backs, and there will be no division between “us” and

“them”’. This allows through interaction and engagement in the workplace, people have the

potential to find alternative and playful ways to develop aesthetic ways of perceiving (Eisner

2002a and 2002b; Gibb 2006).

By adopting arts based approaches to curriculum design, individuals may be enabled to

develop further creative capabilities based from their organisational experiences. Self-

awareness, emotional intelligence, curiosity, patience, reflection and creativity as ‘risk-

taking’ (Kerr and Lloyd, 2008:489) can link their personal and professional perceptions and

subsequent skills (Gibb 2006; Monk 2007; Turner and Myerson 1998).

It is our contention that art based approaches can help individuals to make sense of their

experience and subsequent interpretation of ‘reality’. The concept of sensemaking in

organizational studies was first used by Karl Weick (1995) to focus attention upon the largely

cognitive activity of framing experiences to be meaningful for the individual. This is a

process of creating shared awareness and understanding out of different individuals'

perspectives and varied interests. This is a collaborative process. Weick (1995) provides

insights into factors that surface as organizations address either uncertain or ambiguous

situations and further Weick (1995) suggests seven properties of sensemaking as being a

process that reflects what an arts based curriculum should engender. These are issues we

argue are directly addressed by art based curriculum delivery.

Weick (2005) argues that identity and identification is central. Individual identity shapes

what they enact and how they interpret events within context (Pratt, 2000, Currie and Brown,

2003; Weick, Sutcliffe, and Obstfeld, 2005; Thurlow and Mills, 2009; Watson, 2009).

Retrospection can provide an opportunity for sensemaking and affects what people notice

(Dunford and Jones, 2000). Attention and interruptions to that attention become highly

relevant in this process (Gephart, 1993). Weick (2005) purports that people enact the

environments they face though dialogue and their narratives (Bruner, 1991; Watson, 1998;

Currie and Brown, 2003). As people speak, and build narrative accounts, it helps them

understand their thoughts, organize their experiences and then have a sense of control to

predict events (Isabella, 1990; Weick, 1995; Abolafia, 2010). This reduces complexity for

them during organisational change management (Kumar and Singhal, 2012).

Sensemaking is a social activity in that plausible stories are preserved, retained or shared

(Isabella, 1990; Maitlis, 2005). However, the audience for sensemaking includes the speakers

themselves (Watson, 1995) and the narratives are ‘both individual and shared...an evolving

product of conversations with ourselves and with others’ (Currie and Brown, 2003: 565).

Sensemaking is ongoing. Individuals simultaneously shape and react to the environments

they face. As they project themselves into this environment and observe consequences, they

learn and develop their identities and review the accuracy of their accounts of the world

(Thurlow and Mills, 2009). This is a feedback process. As individuals deduce their identity

from the behaviour of others towards them, they also influence their own behavioural

responses.

As Weick (1993) argued, “The basic idea of sensemaking is that reality is an ongoing

accomplishment that emerges from efforts to create order and make retrospective sense of

what occurs” (Weick, 1993a: 635). Individuals extract cues from the context to help them

decide upon what is relevant and what explanations are acceptable (Salancick and Pfeffer,

1978; Brown, Stacey, and Nandhakumar, 2007) Extracted cues provide points of reference to

link ideas to broader networks of meaning since they are ‘simple, familiar structures that are

seeds from which people develop a larger sense of what may be occurring" (Weick 1995: 50).

Weick (1995) defines sensemaking as ‘an ongoing accomplishment that takes from when

people make retrospective sense of the situations in which they find themselves and their

creations’ (15). Furthermore, sensemaking can be viewed and understood as invention, and

argues that the artefacts it produces include language games and texts, whereas interpretation

is seen as discovery.

Finally, people favour plausibility over accuracy in accounts of events and contexts (Currie

and Brown, 2003; Brown, 2005; Abolafia, 2010), ‘in an equivocal, postmodern world,

infused with the politics of interpretation and conflicting interests and inhabited by people

with multiple shifting identities, an obsession with accuracy seems fruitless, and not of much

practical help, either’ (Weick 1995:61).

As individuals interpret events, each of these aspects interact and intertwine. Interpretations

become evident through narratives, whether written and spoken, which convey the sense they

have made of events (Currie and Brown, 2003). Whilst Weick uses other authors’ poetry to

describe and illustrate these properties, he does not advance any personal insights of his own.

Nor does he extend the notion of narrative towards more eclectic ways of interpreting and

coming to know individual’s reality, for example, paintings, drawings, sculpture, and the

production and use of artefacts. As Weick notes ‘sensemaking is an activity or a process,

whereas interpretation can be a process but is just as likely to describe a product’ (1995:13).

Morgan et al (1983:24) reinforces that ‘Individuals are not seen as living in, and acting out

their lives in relation to a wider reality, so much as creating and sustaining images of a wider

reality, in part to rationalize what they are doing. They realize their reality by “reading into”

their situation patterns of significant meaning’.

Implications for practice: Towards an Arts Based Curriculum for HRD Practice and

CHRDE

Sharing experience

Arts-based initiatives within the context of HRD curriculum delivery are novel. We would

argue that to tap into the latent potential of employees, HRD practitioners might be better

placed to enact change within their organisations than management initiatives; however we

do not advocate the use of arts-based initiatives for purely instrumental reasons. Our premise

is that if ABIs are to be embraced as contributory to a critical pedagogy then HRD

practitioners should accept the role of art-based forms as potentially a central instrument

within CHRDE. The use of ABI developmental approaches might contribute towards the

reviewing of relationships with the organisation. ABIs can contribute towards people

development which might develop competitive advantage through developing individual

creativity and evolving innovative organisational through reflection. Potentially this might be

achieved if HRD professionals are exposed to innovative ways of confronting organisational

reality with their “own eyes” as part of their own professional development.

It is only when an individual first experiences these processes, which engage with their

personal creativity by the creation of images which reflect emotions that are internalised by

them. The adoption of ABI’s requires the precondition of the organisation is a techno-human

system for which people have a central role. ABI’s are aimed at enhancing the quality of

organisational life. They are based within celebrating and developing people’s nature and

abilities. The possibilities of ABI educative endeavours, broadly defined, might prove to be

near limitless; their power to inform and provoke action is constrained by the human spirit

and its energies (Cole and Knowles, 2008:68). This might further facilitate a means for HRD

professionals to design and deliver organisational development interventions incorporating

ABIs within their own organisations. If ABIs are not aligned with this understanding and are

adopted as a way to manipulate people’s experiences, they could not only end in failure. This

could then undermine the spirit and image of an organisation (Schiuma, 2011:242-243).

The need for management commitment

We argue that like any other type of organisational initiative, ABIs require management

commitment and change in “cultural paradigm” to more transformative ways of development.

As Schiuma (2011:243) notes ABIs ‘are aimed at sparking and supporting organisational

transformation’ that might entail management has to adopt more innovative ways of

addressing operational and strategic issues to ‘identify a new and supportive and goal-

consistent culture in believes and behaviours’ (Balogun and Hailey, 2014:7). Support and

commitment from an organisation’s top management is central to any ABI interventions used

as part of organisational development.

We argue that the HRD professionals are best placed to ensure that ABIs have a capacity to

impact on an organisation in a ‘suitable way, and the enhancement of organisational value-

creation’ (Schiuma, 2011:243). However it therefore be acknowledged that ABIs might be

used in isolated cases to address operational or business issues. We advocate that if ABI’s are

used within curriculum design and delivery, these could be directed at specific people

management and development issues in specify units (modules) of learning. For instance, as

part of the study towards approved professional qualifications e.g. CIPD. This we believe

might be the catalyst to expose this approach to their classroom experiences and allow them

to recognise its possible translation to real life organisational contexts e.g. for value creation,

problem solving, and personal enhances of their employees potentiality. As Schiuma

(2011:243) notes ‘Those initiatives that are implemented as “something nice to have” or

“something to try because it is different and unconventional” do not produce a sustainable

impact and, even worse, can have detrimental effect on the organisation’.

Whilst this study reported here set a single generic question with the intention to explore the

emotional responses of HRD professions, by the use of the lens of ABI it further has

considered possibilities to stimulate the “creative spirit” (as a means to open the “vistas of

possibility” to HRM/D professionals). We are cognisant of the wider utility that ABIs can

have for more directive and business strategic use. It has been considered for some time that

there also needs to be a fundamental re-think as to what HRD should be accomplishing,

rather than as a ‘cinderella’ to human resource management’s financialised approach towards

constant restructure and downsizing.

A repositioning of the HRD profession

Re-reading of organisational context might deliver transformative change programmes that

‘first put in place initiatives to rewrite their context in a way that overcomes the obstacles to

enable desired change’ (Balogun and Hailey, 2014:7).

If professional qualifications are a vehicle for those striving to attained senior and strategic

positions in organisations, then perhaps a radical reposting of what a HRD professional is

needs fuller examination. We advocate that in order to be change agents “on the ground”

HRD professions should be re-defined as “human value creators”. These are what Schiuma

(2011:244) calls ‘art architects’ who play ‘a crucial role in making sure that ABIs address

business issues and the development of organisational value-creation capacity. Armitage

(2012 and 2014) has illustrated how these can work in practice, and our findings presented

here further confirm this to be the case and concurs with other advocates of this approach

(see, for example, Zander and Zander, 2002; Darsø, 2009). To which an essential

precondition for ABIs being successful is the desire to aspire to trust building environments.

For which organisations need to adopt ‘safe learning cultures’ to introduce ABIs which are

couched within the dialogical process. Where individual employees have space and places

where they can express their concerns and feelings through stories, narratives then ABIs can

translate their perceptive ‘reality’ into meaningful actions which they own. Balogun and

Hailey (2014) note within the context of transformational change ‘Storytelling might be

extended by materials such as comics and cartoons, or theatrical performances to bring

narratives to life. In addition, there are particular ways of structuring conversations about

change that facilitate engagement’.

Developing trust

As Schiuma (2008:245) notes ‘in order to guarantee the production of positive benefits for

the organisation, artists and business people have to shape a mutual trustful relationship’.

This, we argue, is a necessary condition to overcome employee diffidence and scepticism.

Senior management may be driven by rational-goal setting management paradigms and

targets. Therefore any aim to utilise a critical pedagogy which might lead to more sustainable

people management demands a change of cultural aspiration towards long term approaches.

It becomes important that organisations review the organisational context before they embark

upon ABIs. Much of current critical management thinking lies with the tensions between

powerful discourses within the organisation, which in the post-millennium context lie with

capitalist financialised positions from organisations operating in neo-liberal environments.

We advocate that senior management need to address possible imbalances between focus

towards capital or people with their resolve leading them towards greater people focus. Yet

since ABIs need not be not part of strategic organisation wide transformation, we suggest a

Kaisen-style approach i.e. small changes in discrete business units as means to show the

wider organisation (both diffident and sceptics) the value and worth of ABI’s. We are not

offering a panacea in our approach here but organisational “big bang” initiatives can be seen

as risky and if management perceive they will be risk-takers, they may resist adoption.

ABIs should not be perceived by employees as being held as ‘something over their heads’

either (Schiuma, 2011:246). ABIs can run into resistance by participants also if they are

concerned for their lack of artistic talent. This attitude was not uncommon with our research

participants, not least because they felt embarrassed produced artefacts for “public

consumption”. ABIs it must be emphasised are about individual’s perspectives, their

interiority and emotions and not producing “good art”. This “sticking point” can be

overcome if those who facilitate ABIs have produced their own art work and to then put them

on “public display” in order to allay any fears of the artistic worth of any art productions. As

an aside once people understand this is not an “art class” but a vehicle for “getting it all out”

the dynamic of ABIs take on (paradoxically) an expressive and creative dimension. This

“anti-talent” can further be dispelled if those taking part can see the utility of producing their

productions, and have a sense of participation and voice in the ABI process. We therefore

advocate that ABIs are carefully planned in consultation with those who might be taking part

in them, perhaps a one hour workshop to introduce and discuss issues and problems could be

a way forward (as for example quality circles), before the actual ABI even itself. This would

not only prime employees, but might also give management inkling as to what they may

confront, and help inform any solutions to address organisational problems and issues.

Conclusions

This paper provides an examination of the use of ABIs to explore the workplace experiences

and provide an opportunity for individuals to express their appraisal of reality within

organisations through their emotional responses. In so doing, it demonstrates the use of ABIs

as a useful instrument to unlock silent cultures and unlock hidden realities, whilst allowing

the individual to own these and reflect on them to consider their future action. Groysberg and

Slind (2012:4 note that leaders need to ‘initiate practices that foster cultural norms that instil

a conversational sensibility throughout their organisations’. This can only be possible ‘by

talking to employees, rather than simply issuing orders, leaders can retain or recapture some

of the qualities - operational flexibility, high level of employee engagement, [and] tight

strategic alignment’. This might suggest that leaders might engage in personal and dialogical

relationships with those they lead. Therefore core themes that concern the enabling and

enacting of development in organisations through creative techniques such as the use of ABIs

within represent a critical pedagogical approach that may be used to share workplace

experiences. Further these might be founded within a Therapeutic Leadership approach that

entails a healing, curative and restorative ethos. It draws upon the ideas of self-differentiation

leadership and the family systems perspective (Friedman, 1985) and dialogue (Freire, 1970;

Bohm, 1996; Watkins and Shulman, 2008). Friedman (1985:52) notes ‘Family secrets act

as the plaque in the arteries of communication; they cause stoppage in the general flow and

not just at the point of their existence’. Friedman suggests that self-differentiated leaders have

the capacity to separate themselves from surrounding emotional processes, have the capacity

to obtain clarity about their principles and vision, have the willingness to be exposed and be

vulnerable, have the persistence to face inertial resistance, and the self-regulation of emotions

in the face of reactive sabotage. The concept of family as described by Friedman is central, it

can be argued, to therapeutic leadership practices in order to infuse trust, openness,

inclusiveness, participation, creative problem solving, and democracy that are given birth in

the cradle of the dialogical process (see, for example, Groysberg and Slind, 2012), enabling

the voices of the “silent led” to be heard (Montero, 2000 and 2009; Watkins and Shulman,

2008). As such, therapeutic leadership brings together several strands. First it is a leadership

approach based upon inclusivity that enables individuals to reach their human potential,

where the polarity between leader and follower does not exist. This being a dialectical

relationship focusing on the organic relationship between their constituent parts. It is not the

case argues Friedman (1985:228) where ‘A causes B, that is where a leader motivates a

follower or a follower resists a leader….a family systems concept of leadership looks at how

they function as part of one another’. Second it requires organisations as part of their ongoing

leadership development programs to introduce safe learning spaces enabling enlightened

ways of identifying, mentoring and training leaders. Third, and allied to the second point, is

the creation a dialogical community that can be characterised by accounts that contain an

element of transformation whereby action and characters are brought together in a plot line

(see, for example, Freire, 1970 and 1972; Montero, 2009; Watkins and Shulman, 2008).

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Appendix 1

Imaginizing Organisations

Introduction

There is a growing interest in the use of art, in whatever guise, that can be used to understand how we perceive and interact with organisations to explore the realities behind our normal modes of discourse. This has implications for the culture of silence and voice in organisational settings, and accessing the imagination in order to stimulate our creative sprit. The use of art to explore our images can evoke hidden and silent realties of how we see the world, but articulating how these give meaning to us can be problematic when translated through the spoken word. This can be for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the meanings of some images cannot be explained in our common language we use with each other, and require us to use a “private language” to make sense of the world. It might also be the case that our images of how we encounter and see the world require us to express ourselves in other mediums so we can communicate our feelings and emotions to each other rather than speak about these directly with others in face to face encounters. Some of the emerging ways in which art can be used to enhance organisational and management practice are:

Poem houses Storytelling Vignettes Drawings (Rich pictures) Autobiographies Poetry

Activity

Using one or more of the approaches listed above, you are invited to discuss the following question:

How do you perceive your organisation?

How you report this back in your dialogue group is your personal choice. You can if you wish combine approaches, for example, a poem house with a short story or a piece of poetry. Whilst this is a personal and therefore voluntary activity, I hope you will still “give it go" so you can experience and share your organisational realties with each other through alternative mediums of studying HRM that breaks the mould of the more formal way we interact with organisational life.