2.3     Project  Outline    

The  project  set  out  to  use  creativity  and  the  arts  as  a  tool  to  increase  the  skills  and  

confidence  of  managers  to  lead  effectively.  

 

The  project  encouraged  managers  to  think  creatively  within  their  role  as  leaders,  to  openly  

reflect  on  their  practice,  to  develop  new  skills  and  to  gain  increased  confidence  to  bring  

about  innovative  changes  within  their  care  environment,  developing  fresh  ideas  and  

strategies.  

 

The  project  spanned  6  months  and  involved  20  participating  care  homes.  The  four  lead  

artists  each  worked  directly  with  five  managers,  carrying  out  individual  ‘diagnostic  sessions’  

to  establish  relationships  and  start  a  dialogue  to  feed  into  the  process.  Each  diagnostic  

session  examined  the  managers’  role  in  the  home  and  considered  their  leadership  practice.  

It  encouraged  them  to  think  about  what  they  were  hoping  to  gain  from  participating  in  the  

programme.  

 

Drawing  on  the  observations  and  feedback  from  each  

diagnostic  session  the  artists  co-­‐designed  a  series  of  four  away  

days.  Each  away  day  focussed  on  an  aspect  of  the  

management  process  through  the  use  of  creative  tasks  and  

dialogue.  

 

In  addition  to  using  the  arts  as  a  tool  to  increase  leadership  

skills,  the  project  also  included  an  opportunity  for  managers  

to  ‘test  out’  how  the  arts  could  be  used  to  support  person  

centred  care.  

 

Managers  were  invited  to  identify  a  need  within  their  care  home  (for  example,  building  

relationships  between  carers  and  residents,  working  with  an  isolated  resident)  and  design  a  

brief  to  commission  an  artist  to  creatively  meet  the  need.  This  ‘mini  commission’  provided  

an  opportunity  for  managers  to  experience  the  value  artists  could  bring  to  the  care  home.    

 

This  additional  element  added  depth  to  the  programme  by  making  a  direct  link  between  an  

increased  understanding  of  how  creativity  can  support  the  development  of  leadership  skills,  

and  connecting  it  to  the  power  of  creativity  as  a  tool  to  deliver  care  in  itself.  

 

Throughout  the  entire  programme  managers  were  actively  invited  and  encouraged  to  

examine  how  they  could  creatively  develop  their  leadership  style  to  positively  impact  on  the  

everyday  culture  of  their  care  home.