JHUSON Leadership for Professional Nursing Module 6: Advocacy Hughes, V. (2021)

1. Aesthetic Leadership
Dr. Vickie Hughes

2. Objectives
► Discuss the term aesthetic
► Describe aesthetic leadership
► Apply aesthetic leadership to clinical practice
► Identify how aesthetic leadership can be used
► Review aesthetic leadership take-aways for nurse leaders

3. Aesthetic Often Associated with Beauty & Art
► Mayla Lin
• Earned first prize (1400+
submissions) in 1981 competition
• Created the Vietnam Veteran’s
Memorial
• Her artistic expression helped a
nation begin to heal
• Her design earned her a B+ in
class at Yale for design

4. Aesthetic Leaders
► Construction of meaning
based on experiences &
feelings
► Leader may be examined
based on their aesthetic
qualities as well as the
feelings the evoke in
others
Hansen & Saucer, 2007

5. Aesthetic Leadership
► Involves felt & sensory
meaning
► A deep indefinable know-
how that defies logic
► Strong moral purpose
around values of being
just, fair, & truthful
Emotional
awareness &
empathy
Sensory &
somatic
attentiveness
Interest in
organizational
beauty
Promotion of
moral purpose
Katz-Buonincontro, 2011

6. Clinical Aesthetic Leadership
► Embodying principled
practice
► Ethical leadership in
ambiguous situations
► Providing fair and just
solutions
**When something does not feel right, that
may indicate proposed action or situation is
NOT morally right
Manix, Wilkes, & Daly, 2015a

7. Clinical Aesthetic Leader
► Lead by example
► Lead via nursing values
• Trust, equality, & advocacy
► Compose leader
• Brings sense of calm to
environment
Manix, Wilkes, & Daly, 2015b

8. References
► Hansen, H., Ropo, A., & Sauer, E. (2007). Aesthetic leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 18(6), 544-560.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2007.09.003
► Katz-Buonincontrol, J. (2011). How might aesthetic knowing relate to leadership? A review of the literature.
International Journal of Education & the Arts, 12(SI 1.3) retrieved from http://www.ijea.org/v12sil/
► Mannix, J., Wilkes, L. & Daly, J. (2015a). Aesthetic leadership: It’s place in the clinical nursing world. Issues
in Mental Health Nursing, 36: 357-361. doi: 10.3109/10612840.2015.1011361.
► Mannix, J., Wilkes, L., & Daily, J. (2015b). Watching an artist at work: aesthetic leadership in clinical nursing
workplaces. Journal of Clincal Nursing, 24: 3511-3518, doi: 10.11/jocn.12956