Life In Noah’s Ark: Using Animal Figures As An Arts-Based Projective Technique In Group Work To Enhance Leadership Competence

Abstract

Arts-based learning, a playful method for new insights and self-understanding, can be a tool by which leaders can develop better competence to meet individual and group challenges in working life. This article breaks new ground in reporting specifically on how identification with animal figures in a group setting can develop leaders’ competence, offering a combined group and individual account of the same process. The aim is twofold: (1) Share the method and its implications in order to provide practical guidelines for those who wish to expand their use of arts-based methods in education and working life. (2) Present results from a course in leadership development, showing how process work with animal figures can foster creativity, reflexivity and improve leadership competence. The psychodynamics and anthropological aspects are discussed, comparing the individual and group processes to projective work done through sandplay and constellation work. In addition, the article indicates further confirmation of The Cycle of the Creative Quest, a model combining phases in the creative process with phases of learning.