In his book “A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future,” Daniel H. Pink sets out five creative skills or “senses”:

• “Not just function but also design.” Today, it is economically crucial and personally rewarding to create something that is aesthetically pleasing or emotionally engaging.
• “Not just argument but also story.” Data isn’t enough. The essence of persuasion, communication and self-understanding has become the ability to fashion a compelling narrative.
• “Not just focus but also symphony.” While the industrial age specialized in making a few products in large numbers, the conceptual age is about putting the pieces together – like a symphony. This process involves not analysis but synthesis – seeing the big picture, crossing boundaries and being able to combine pieces into an arresting new whole.
• “Not just logic but also empathy.” In addition to logic, we need the ability to understand what makes our fellow man tick, to forge relationships and to care for others.
• “Not just seriousness but also play.” There is evidence of enormous health and professional benefits of laughter, lightheartedness, games and humor.

All of these skills require not only know-how but also creativity.

A 2005 Journal of Business Strategy article noted, “In recent years, there has been a remarkable growth in the use of arts programs by businesses to meet a wide range of their organizational learning and employee training needs. In the USA alone, dozens of Fortune 500 corporations and countless smaller firms employ arts-based learning to foster creative thinking, promote the development of new leadership models, and strengthen employee skills in critical areas such as collaboration, conflict resolution, change management, presentation/public performance, and intercultural communication.”

Imagination, inspiration, inventiveness, improvisational ability, collaborative and inter-cultural skills, spontaneity, adaptability, and presentation are among the most sought-after business leadership skills. They are also the backbone of the arts. Clearly, there is a place where the arts and business intersect in a successful collaboration to help business be flexible, respond quickly and spontaneously lead change.

There have been many takes on the arts’ place in business. The arts are often used as a metaphor for the way people should work together and as an approach to leadership, such as leadership lessons from a symphony. They are used as a tool to spark innovation and change, using lessons from artists and the way that they think to improve and expand thinking. The arts have also inspired team-building activities, involving coworkers in a creative process to build better communication and collaboration.

Theater-based training is one of the ways businesses have been able to increase the effectiveness of training and learning. This type of training uses live actions to help participants work through real-life situations in a safe environment. It requires them to be fully present as they provide guidance and direction to a situation that they will ultimately face themselves. Participants are readily able to suspend disbelief and engage in this creative way to learn. They are also better able to retain what they learned by engaging both the right and left sides of their brain for better knowledge retention and, in turn, application on the job.

Arts-based learning allows for action as well as information. It can be a canvas that learners paint in the process of learning about their communication styles or their own story that they write in pictures to help them visualize their career aspirations. There are many applications that can engage employees, allowing them to work together to move their company forward and creatively compete in a global marketplace.