Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Fall 12-7-2016

Faculty Advisor(s)

Jocelyn L. Buckner

Abstract

"We are beginning to bring our whole selves to work… That type of separation probably never existed… Instead of putting on some kind of fake “all-work persona,” I think we benefit from expressing our truth, talking about personal situations, and acknowledging that professional decisions are emotionally driven."(1) In her award-winning 2013 book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, Sheryl Sandberg explains the movement in the corporate world to look for emotional intelligence in potential employees before they are hired. Qualities such as this are nurtured and practiced regularly in the world of theatre, as evidenced by the constant expectation for theatre professionals to be expert collaborators. In fact, skills often found in theatre professionals can be extremely helpful in almost any profession - skills including vulnerability, openness, collaborative instincts, and people-centered thinking will help you in any career you may have, in theatre or otherwise. Leaders in the corporate world recognize that one of the keys to effective teamwork is authenticity and the abandonment of individual egos - much like how theatre artists are encouraged to think of "the play" as "something greater than oneself" I argue that by studying and applying the soft skills considered most valuable to theatre professionals, people of any profession have the upper hand within their company or organization. I examine the mission and values statements of professional theatre companies and apply those skills and organizational visions to our twenty-first century corporate world, proposing a series of workshops on empathy, collaboration, and emotional intelligence with foundations in theatre practices. (Works Cited 1. Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. 2013. 49.)

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Presented at the Fall 2016 Student Research Day at Chapman University.

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