Imaginative Leadership : A Conceptual Frame for the Design and Facilitation of Creative Methods and Generative Engagement

In the field of sustainability science, many scholars and practitioners are embracing a ‘humanistic turn’ that draws from psychology and cognitive sciences and from the arts and humanities. Contributing to a spirit of ‘exuberant experimentation’ in the field, this chapter asks: How can creative methods of engagement be operationalized to support the imaginative capacity of researchers and practitioners in the arena of sustainability? In order to address this question, I (a) propose the concept of imaginative leadership to describe the ability to understand and consciously influence the symbolic/metaphorical dimensions of self and others, and (b) explore the process of designing workshops that employ creative methods rooted in ‘transformative mindsets.’ Transformative mindsets refer to specific conceptual frames identified for their potential to disrupt default unsustainable and anthropocentric worldviews and open new spaces of possibility for action and perception. The broad goal of these workshops was to support imaginative leadership towards regenerative sustainability through collaborative experimentation with unconventional methods. Informed by research on metaphorical thinking, somatics, neurocognitive linguistics, and arts-based environmental education, the methods were designed to activate a set of specific transformative mindsets, which were subsequently refined through the process of experimentation and co-reflection during and after the workshops