Meaningful Work Matters How Art and Aesthetics Shape Meaningful Work: Lessons from Steve Taylor
In this episode, Andrew is joined by Steve Taylor, professor of leadership and creativity at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Business School, to explore how art, aesthetics, and sensory experience shape meaningful work.
Steve brings a rare perspective as both a leadership scholar and a practicing playwright. Rather than treating leadership as a set of competencies or frameworks, he invites us to see it as a craft, one that develops through judgment, reflection, and lived experience.
Together, Andrew and Steve examine how we come to know work not only through ideas and analysis, but through our bodies, our senses, and our relationships with others.
Key Takeaways:
- Meaningful work is not only something we think about, but something we sense and experience through our bodies and relationships.
- Organizational aesthetics offers a way to understand power, ethics, and culture beyond formal structures and rational models.
- Art and reflective practice help leaders engage with complexity rather than prematurely simplify it.
- Discernment, the ability to notice what truly matters, including what is missing or unexpected, is a critical leadership capability.
Why This Episode Matters
As organizations prioritize speed, clarity, and efficiency, many people feel increasingly disconnected from the human experience of work.
This conversation challenges the assumption that meaning can be designed or optimized through logic alone. Instead, it offers a deeper view of meaningful work rooted in craft, reflection, and the courage to stay present with uncertainty.
About Our Guest
Steve Taylor is a professor of leadership and creativity at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), where his research focuses on organizational aesthetics and reflective practice. He is the author of several books on leadership and organizations and an accomplished playwright whose work has been staged internationally. His scholarship and artistic practice shape the lens he brings to this conversation.