Episode 21: Kim Goodwin: How do we inoculate against Zombie leadership in our sector? Tropes and traps of the leadership obsession.

Decoding Cultural Leadership

This week's guest is Dr. Kim Goodwin,

An academic at the University of Melbourne, her research focuses on career development, employability, and human resources in the arts. Kim shares her journey from early leadership challenges in the corporate world to shifting her focus to professional development in the arts sector, which led to her PhD research on leadership identity development in the Australian arts and cultural sector.

Kim introduced the concept of "leadership reluctance" among emerging arts leaders who are doing the work of leadership but hesitate to identify as leaders. Her research found the most influential leadership development came from learning within one's own arts community rather than formal leadership programs.

A key focus of our discussion is the paper "Zombie Leadership: Dead Ideas That Still Walk Among Us" which critiques pervasive notions that only special individuals can be leaders, that group success is solely attributable to the leader, and that history is a story of great leaders.

Kim argues the arts can reinforce this "zombie leadership" mythology through theory, organizations, media, and cultural policy that focuses on individual leaders over collective leadership.

She challenges the podcast itself to highlight not just individual leaders, but the teams and relationships involved in cultural leadership. Arts leaders must look inward at organizational development, diversity and working conditions to truly unleash the potential of arts organizations to have an impact.

So please enjoy my conversation with Dr Kim Goodwin.

Links:

Kim Goodwin at the University of Melbourne

https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/833147-kim-goodwin

"Zombie Leadership: Dead Ideas That Still Walk Among Us"

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01708406221092481

Kim's PhD Thesis
https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/handle/10453/120335
Next Wave
https://nextwave.org.au/
Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place
https://www.arts.gov.au/what-we-do/new-national-cultural-policy
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Presenter and research: Sam Cairnduff

Creative Director: Niloofar Pashmforoosh

Presented in association with Limelight

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