Interview with Prof. Dr. Tom Sommerlatte. For Tom, being a painter and leading a corporation hang together. That balance between ART and WORK is essential for him as a leader. He has brought artistic freedom and creativity into the workplace. According to Tom, the artistic spirit helps improve problem solving. To take people along Tom had to encourage his teams to break out of their routines. Artists have the courage to start from a white page. They want to accomplish something new. They are fully engaged. Tom believes that this is what Art can bring to Leadership!
SVEN
Today we would like to talk about Art-Work-Balance. I have the pleasure to be here with Tom. He used to be the Managing Director of a large international consulting firm, but always had the time to also be an artist. Tom is a painter and member of a group of artists (Group 50).
Tom, we are here in your beautiful studio. Can you tell us if your artistic activity had a link with your work as a leader?
TOM
Well first of all, yes, it had a strong link. But I did not have the time, I took the time! And the reason why I took that time is that I felt that I benefitted in my professional work from the experience in the cultural and artistic environment. And that is the freedom and the creativity and the interaction with other people in the artistic world that allows you to feel this development of creativity very strongly. And I wanted to maintain this spirit in my professional work. And that in a sense has been one of the reasons of my professional success.
SVEN
So you have in a way imported that artistic spirit into your work. Let’s look at two things: (1) how you have done that for yourself as leader and (2) how you have inspired others in your company.
So first, are there any “tips and tricks” so to say how you have organized your work personally?
TOM
Yes, it is actually first of all for yourself. And the way to do it is to fight for time to sit back and reflect. You will find that the more you do this the more productive you will be in the rest of your work.
SVEN
So you are protecting time in your agenda to think and sit back. That is certainly something we should all consider doing more!
TOM
But I had to fight for it and I had to train myself to take that time!
SVEN
As a leader you had the opportunity to shape the way people were working. In what sense has the experience as an artist influenced the way you have organized work in your firm?
TOM
Well, to take people along you have to act as a role model (See Tom’s article on Trust Management). You have to have the courage to behave in a different way. Sometimes this is considered to be a bit funny in the world of business. But some people will immediately understand the advantage of behaving this way and of being free to do things. Others may be stuck in a routine and follow a pattern and may find this harder – or may never make it. But the motivation to do it is really the joint experience of being creative in a new way. It is the experience of coming up with solutions and doing things that is very valuable and different from the routine.
SVEN
What you are saying here is that the problem solving that we do at work has a bit of that creativity that artists have when they create their “oeuvre”?
TOM
Right, because the artists start from a white page, they want to achieve something new and they are motivated to fully engage themselves. If we transfer this into the business context, the result will be a team spirit and a team culture where jointly we can create something which is much more than the sum of the individuals.
SVEN
Well I think that this is very inspirational, Tom. Thank you very much for sharing your experience. I would like to ask you a last question: we talk about art-work-balance. And that is certainly important for you also at the very personal level. Can you tell us why?
TOM
It is essential, in the sense that I cannot reduce one side to the advantage of the other. I need both. They are so interrelated that in terms of my professional and artistic life they hang together. One benefits from the other.
SVEN
Art-work-balance, both parts hang together. I think that is a great conclusion. Thank you very much Tom for this conversation!
More information in my book:
Sven Sommerlatte : Successful Career Strategy – An HR Practitioner’s Guide to Reach Your Dream Job (Springer, June 2023). ISBN: 978-3-662-66790-3
