Creativity in Organizations (Part 7 of 9)

performance

Theater and performance is yet another way an organization can express and create together. Groups can act out the stories they’ve told or written as a play or a skit, staging them for the world to see (either in person or on-screen). 

Through physical embodiment – “presencing” (pioneered by Brazilian drama theorist Augusto Boal) or constellation work (used primarily in therapeutic settings) a group can move through space and time, acting out with their bodies the roles of values (such as “teamwork” or “honesty”) or dynamic forces (such as “disruption” or “innovation”). 

At a 2019 conference of Visual Practitioners in New Jersey, I was shown this method for the first time. The team used their bodies as sculptures to act out a problematic process in the organization. After participants were assigned to represent the various stages of the serialized assembly line of bureaucracy, the facilitator said, “OK. Show me your stuck.”

And, there in the middle of this process, one volunteer froze up, looking like they had been magically turned to stone, and visually representing the bottleneck and inefficiency the group was experiencing. Everyone fell out laughing, but they all agreed that was indeed where they were stuck. They then had a productive conversation about how the handoffs could be improved and what they were missing. 

Playing out these ideas allows the organization to literally see where they are stuck or where group conflict may arise.

Great leaders in organizations can teach and train all of these creative skills. They will excel in scaling and amplifying these gifts. Great leaders train entire communities in holding the crayon and learning to doodle, creating sigils, erecting iconic flags, painting murals, devising visual gameplans, orchestrating performances, bravely standing in the spotlight and coaxing the first musical notes from trembling lips. 

With the spark and soul of creativity, organizations can make meaning as a community. They can mark their territory, stake their claim and learn how to communicate more effectively. Co-creating in a space together allows the organization to grow, explore, love, innovate and achieve like they never have before.

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