APRIL 20209Visual-thinking bypasses the noise of the rational mind and reaches into soulful wisdomHere's an overview on art for human-centred innovation and collaboration.Theatre & Role - PlayLet's stop playing `employee' and `employer' for a moment! These definitions are too narrow. You need a role up-gradation! Here's an example. While mentoring a group of uni-versity professors, there was one lady, who had contributed a great deal to her institution. She con-fessed she sometimes felt low to be a `teacher', although she loved her profession of influencing young minds. We worked through a role-play, where we blew up her person-ality larger-than-life. She was asked to imagine the PEAK DESTINATION she could reach as an academician, freely expressing every dream. An academician has many avenues ­ po-litical advisory, business advisory, education reformer, social entrepre-neur etc. The `teacher' was made to wear all her favourite caps and enact these roles, along with others. Not only did everyone loosen up, bounce new ideas around, laugh, collaborate and encourage each other and open up their minds to possibilities, but by the end, our `teacher' was a new person! She began describing herself as `an eminent educationist' and `re-formist' and her narrow understand-ing of `teacher' was left behind!Theatre and role-play can kick out self-consciousness, breaking open our walls, putting us in touch with innate desires and capabilities. It helps us believe in a bigger future, and embody life in star roles. We carry this open-mind back to work, becoming more of an `intrapreneur'.Drawing, Painting & Sculpting Visual-thinking bypasses the noise of the rational mind and reaches into soulful wisdom. It can help us navigate opportunities and creative breakthroughs. Visual art can re-lease emotional blocks for better mental health and self-expression. Done in a group environment, it can generate bonding.The Mayo Clinic has conducted research proving that 30 minutes of drawing/painting can ease anxi-ety, pain and energize one's mood by 40 percent, lowering cortisol (stress hormone) levels. It is therapeutic, and creates harmony between our external world and internal self-rep-resentation. A 2014 study in the sci-entific journal PLOS ONE found that art can improve neural connections throughout the brain, increasing IQ. Another surprising study by Applied Cognitive Psychology journal found that, by doodling, participants were able to recall 29 per cent more infor-mation during seminars!During a workshop for a blue-chip firm, team members were paired to draw on a single canvas."I experienced my team-mate differently through this activity! I felt I had a more intimate view of his mind," said a participant. Another participant said, "I noticed how con-trolling I can be! It was difficult for me to have another person painting on the same sheet. But eventually, we found a way to work together. A give-and-take process and the artwork turned out to be more beautiful than if I had conceived of it alone!"Music & Dance For decades, scientists have found that music is a brain-booster. Har-vard Medical School says it facilitates better language ability, academic performance, and improved memo-ry. It can raise your spirit. It can ex-press emotions which can often not be expressed in words, expanding your capacity to articulate. It helps individuals cope with uncertainty and complexity. It helps us view each other in all of our humanity, instead of just a `co-worker'.Dance helps in aligning body and mind. It aids in exploring feelings, fostering self-awareness, managing behaviour and addictions, reconcil-ing emotional conflict, development of social skills, busting energy blocks, reducing depression, and increasing self-esteem. Happy hormones flood us, inducing mental clarity for better work presence.World Bank, Coco-Cola, AT&T, British Airways and HP are some companies using music & dance for leadership building programs. Vi-sioning, communication, customer service and managerial development are their targets. Other arts like photography, po-etry, cooking, gardening etc. can also be leveraged at the workplace.Integrating art at work is a step towards discovering our unique in-ner voices & creative potentials. Art encourages understanding, trust and better connection at the workplace, for a cheerful ambience! Its juxtapo-sitions are a base for design-think-ing in products, reframing problems with new perspectives.Through arts, we can make it safe to engage in the deeper questions that drive our professional personal-ities and contributions!
< Page 8 | Page 10 >