Art for art

On April 22, 2010, in Hr - Human resources, by Neculai Fantanaru

A leader becomes appreciated or criticized based on people's character and traits.

The master was in his crating room, where the sunrays could easily penetrate. He was trying to render in his new picture three characters from Shakespeare's work, “King Lear”: The Count of Kent, the Count of Gloucester and his illegitimate son, Edmund, seeming to carry a casual conversation in the throne room, in King Lear's palace.

His style of painting, characterized by intense colors and a hardy, large and spontaneous brushwork was similar to that of Paul Gauguin's. The intense images he created, impressive through their explosive clarity, through the fineness of details, although they seemed exaggerated in an unprecedented manner in order to delight more the eye and to impress, they evoked real or legendary episodes and characters, which he easily adapted to the present. They avoided the sensation of thriller, and keeping their credibility and relevance, they received the character of some fascinating visual representations.

The hardest thing is to be what other people want you to be

I followed him with great patience and interest all day long. The way he chose the colors, prepared the canvas, mixed the colors with the brush in certain quantities on a palette, applied each color on the canvas, with special care, streamed from deep inside, proved a perfect knowledge of the painting technique.

Observing with how much attention and devotion, ability and elegance he performed his moves, I said to him, pushed by a boundless inner will:

- I admire you very much and I must say I think you are formidable, truly superior. Only the great painters proved such confidence in maneuvers, such quickness in moves, such fluidity in the way you move your brush. I don't think there could be someone who dislikes your paintings.

The master, terribly astonished by my words, looked at me with an attention that showed, beyond all doubt, a lot of willingness, and he decidedly said to me:

- Every painter knows that the hardest thing is to be what others want you to be. Even if you like the way I paint, others might dislike it. Just like some admire fancier, surrealistic paintings, Salvador Dali style, others admire realistic paintings, Edward Hopper or George Grosz style. Some people might like paintings inspired by historical subjects more, other people the ones inspired by literary subjects. Some prefer dark colors, others bright and shiny ones. Some prefer the light, others the shadows; some prefer pure, glowing colors, others looming and dull colors. A painter could never please everyone, therefore, I assure you, Nicu, there are many people who don't and won't ever love my paintings.

A leader becomes appreciated or criticized based on people's character and traits

What does a leader have to learn from a painter, if not to be one himself? A leader cannot change according to everyone's wishes, cannot completely adapt to people's needs and everybody's personality, he will never be able to meet everybody's expectations, he will never be able to please everybody.

People have different preferences and expectations. Just as some people admire only certain painters and prefer just a certain style of painting, not to say others are not at all interested in art and design, just as well certain people prefer a certain type of leader and of leadership.

Some prefer less demanding leaders, who can allow them total freedom and who can do all the work, who never blames them of anything; others prefer a little more drastic leaders who will sanction the ones who do not totally devote to their team of profession. And there is also another category, the one of those oscillating, who fluctuate in the extremes (who, actually, can only put difficulties in the way) and who obstruct, voluntarily or not, the decisions and the measures taken by the leader.

Be yourself. Make up a leadership style which characterizes you, try to do your best, but do not expect to receive only attention and praise.

Leadership can be a real art, but you must have talent and special abilities in working with people. The art of leadership is not something tangible, but it is “measured” through your results. Nowadays, leadership, in order to become an art, needs people with a superior education and training, and especially with an appropriate behavior.