“Surfacing” Signifiers: How Art Collecting Contributes to Leadership Singularity

A Lacanian Perspective

Guilherme Rozenbaum Bcheche

Fontainebleau, France

INSEAD

August 2020
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Acknowledgments

This journey of completing the masters program has been truly life-changing for me in many
respects. It wouldn’t be possible to have this experience without the support I have received from
many people, especially during my research study.

I am deeply grateful to my interviewees who opened their minds, hearts and houses to show me
who they are in an unconventional way. Their generosity in sharing their lives and emotions
were crucial to my research study.

A really big thank-you to all my friends who connected me with leaders-cum-art collectors,
especially Lucas Lenci. Their generosity encouraged me to move forward when Covid-
19 erupted in my country and forced me to change my interview plans. I am also grateful to
Saskia de Maat’s and Ricardo Carvalho’s insights on my research.

Many thanks to Liz, my thesis supervisor, for encouraging me to follow my true interest in
Lacanian theory and for creating a transitional space for me to use this thesis as an important
learning platform. Also, I greatly appreciate the support of my editor Kah Ying Choo for the
sharp feedback that pushed my writing to the next level.

I have no words to say for how grateful I am to each one of my EMC friends, professors and
staff, for our journey together. I will never forget the emotional crossroads they helped me to
facing, i.e., the module when I was on crutches.

I would like to send a heartfelt thank-you to mom and dad, as well as my beautiful family, who
have always been there, day and night, night and day, to motivate me to follow my dreams and
embrace my adventures such as the EMC program, even when they do not know what it is about.
I am also grateful to my friends who encouraged me to pursue such a challenging study theme.

A profound and loving thank-you to Alan, who has been by my side throughout this journey,
offering unconditional support and a lot of humor to calm my spirits. His encouragement was
vital in keeping me on-track towards my passions.

Finally, an enormous gratitude to life — this magical journey that has provided me with endless
learning.
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Abstract

Leaders all around the world, especially those at the helm of organizations, are known to be
enthusiastic art collectors. Nonetheless, little research has been done on the impact of the
leaders’ art collecting pursuits on the development of their leadership approaches. This study
sought to investigate the extent to which art collecting enabled 10 Brazilian leaders-cum-art
collectors to attain leadership singularity through a close study of their speech in one-on-one,
semi-structured, and online interviews. It examined the extent to which the interviewees’
“signifiers” — words whose meanings depend on context — revealed the impact of art
collecting on their attainment of leadership “singularity” — the uniqueness of an individual’s
style characterized by an absolute in difference to social conventions. The interviewees’ use of
polarizing signifiers to describe the business world as harsh and calculated in stark contrast to the
warmth they associated with art showed how they used art collecting as a buffer to shield them
against unpleasant leadership realities. Moreover, their employment of signifiers and meanings,
which recurred in both their business and art worlds, also illustrated how art collecting served as
a transitional object for them to define their singular selves and their leadership approaches.
Finally, the interviewees’ connecting signifiers revealed how art collecting challenged them to
build an inclusive work environment or society by promoting openness to diverse perspectives.
What this research study has affirmed is that something as seemingly trivial as words can surface
the power of art in sustaining ambiguities and ambivalences for the cultivation of individual and
leadership singularities with ripple effects on people around us.

Keywords: Lacanian psychoanalysis, Lacan, singularity, singular leader, leadership

singularity, signifier, signified, unconscious, art, art collecting.

Word count: 12.998

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................... 2

Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 3

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION - Background and Research Aim .............................................. 6

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 8

Value of Lacan’s Concept of Singularity for Leadership............................................................ 8
Singularity through Lacan’s Psychoanalytical Lenses ............................................................ 8
The Importance of Singularity in Leadership.......................................................................... 9
Signifiers as Indicators of Singularity ................................................................................... 10
Leadership as System ................................................................................................................ 12
Art in the Corporate World and its Potential for Leadership Development .............................. 13
Rationale for This Research Study ............................................................................................ 14

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY........................................................................... 16

Research Approach.................................................................................................................... 16
Selection of Interviewees .......................................................................................................... 17
Research Setting: Virtual Simulation of Reality ....................................................................... 19
Data Collection .......................................................................................................................... 20
Format of the Interview ......................................................................................................... 20
Implementation...................................................................................................................... 21
Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 22

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS ............................................................................................................. 24

Description of the Interviewees ................................................................................................. 24
Findings and Discussion............................................................................................................ 25
Theme 1: Polarizing Signifiers — Art as Buffer against Leadership Realities..................... 26
Theme 2: Recurring Signifiers – Where The “Two Selves” Intersect .................................. 32
Theme 3: Connecting Signifiers – From Self to All ............................................................. 43

CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR

FURTHER RESEARCH ............................................................................................................... 45
Summary and Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 45
Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 47
Suggestions for Further Research.............................................................................................. 47
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References ..................................................................................................................................... 50
Appendix A: Participation Invitation Letter .................................................................................. 55
Appendix B: Participation Invitation Letter for Contacts of Potential Interviewees .................... 56
Appendix C: Interview Guide ....................................................................................................... 57
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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Background and Research Aim

Since I was a child, I have always felt a strong connection to art. Whether it is the strains of Villa
Lobos’ “Bachianas”, or the facial expressions captured in Sebastião Salgado’s photography, art,
in all its modalities, has always been a welcome encroachment into my cognitive flow, for it
steers me towards my emotions and leads me into a ‘meditative’ state. Therefore, in my personal
experience, art is an effective tool for triggering free associations by opening the door to the
unconscious and drawing me towards the discovery of my own singularity.

And what is “singularity”? It refers to the absolute difference of an individual in relation to all
others, characterized by a unique style and way of interpreting life, which could lead the
individual to a position contrary to what is socially acceptable (Miller, 2007; Ruti, 2010). A
singular subject is, thus, one who has developed a certain degree of rebellion against norms
(Bion, 1959).

More than just an assertion of “individuality” and “authenticity” — terms typically associated
with organizational leadership, singularity, to me, is a concept that genuinely contains the
potential to thrust the development of leaders to the next level. Unlike the aforementioned terms,
singularity brings the dimension of what is unconscious into the open, thus freeing leaders from
both a perfectionist position and a pre-defined “leadership style”, which can then spur their
continuous growth and adaption. Moreover, it also enriches the discourse on “authentic
leadership” (Kets de Vries, 2016, p. 256) by: 1) challenging the premise that everything can be
integrated; and 2) making space for what Lacan called the “lack” (Lacan, 2014). The “lack” —
the “something” always missing within us — is what drives us to strive to be our full selves.

This is why I decided to investigate the topic of singularity in leaders for this research study.
However, singularity is neither an easy quality to identify nor access, for it is situated in the
unconscious (Ruti, 2010). Essentially, even the individual possessing it may not always be fully
conscious of its existence. However, through my personal experience of the meditative effects of
art, I concluded that leaders, who are passionate about the arts — a quality that can be easily
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determined if they engage in a hobby as serious as art collecting, would be a likely source of
singularity.

The likelihood that singularity would be found in leaders who collect art is certainly supported
by researchers who confirm the value of art, which extends beyond aesthetic pleasures (de
Botton & Armstrong, 2013; Gussak & Rosal, 2016). Immersing in art can often serve as an
emotional trigger at the unconscious level to see things from a different perspective, tap into the
unconscious, and pave the way towards transformation (de Botton & Armstrong, 2013; Gussak
& Rosal, 2016). This could certainly explain why corporations all around the world use art as a
vehicle to create a unique corporate identity (Sooke, 2014) and inspire their leaders and
employees to be attuned to their unconscious and rebalance themselves through the appreciation
of the artworks (de Botton & Armstrong, 2013).

Nonetheless, just honing in on a group of singular leaders who collect art would still not be
sufficient in allowing for an in-depth examination of the qualities of their leadership singularity.
This is where the Lacanian concept of “master signifiers” (Lacan, 1992, p. 93) comes in —
“words” that stand out in a subject’s narrative, either by repetition or by the emphasis given to
them, whose meanings are defined by their counterparts in the surrounding context. A person’s
unpremeditated use of a particular word, the “master signifier”, which seems to be a routine part
of their discourse and leap out without his/her conscious or deliberate cognitive selection, thus
holds the key to his/her unconscious.

Therefore, the aim of this research study was to explore the extent to which leaders’ art
collections enabled them to achieve singularity through the lens of the Lacanian concept of
signifiers. Using a Lacanian framework, this research study deep-dived into the signifiers present
in the narratives of 10 Brazilian leaders-cum-art collectors to determine whether and how their
art collecting helped them to achieve leadership singularity.
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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

As this research study sought to explore the extent to which the leaders’ art collecting enabled
them to achieve singularity through the lens of signifiers — two key Lacanian concepts, the
relevant discourse on Lacanian psychoanalysis, leadership development, and art collecting,
including their areas of intersection, will be presented.

Value of Lacan’s Concept of Singularity for Leadership

The decision to employ the Lacanian concept of singularity for an in-depth psychodynamic
exploration of leaders’ special relationships with their art collections was a deliberate one.
During the decision-making process, more commonly-known words, such as “individuality” or
“authenticity”, often associated with leaders, were considered. But only Lacan’s singularity rang
the most true for a study that sought to deep-dive into the psyches of the leaders with a passion
for art collecting.

Singularity through Lacan’s Psychoanalytical Lenses

Lacan’s concept of singularity is often misperceived as “individuality”; hence, it is important to

make a clear distinction between the two. While “individuality” refers to the self, the ego, and
the complete entity that we call “me”, “myself” and “I”, — the aspects that are fully conscious,
singularity concerns the unconscious subject behind the self, which is always divided,
incomplete. Mari Ruti (2010), Professor of The University of Toronto, offered a brilliant
encapsulation of the one-of-a-kind attributes of singularity:

Singularity expresses the individual’s nonnegotiable distinctiveness, eccentricity, or

idiosyncrasy at the same time (…). It opens to layers of rebelliousness that indicate that
there are components of human life that exceed the realm of normative sociality. (p.
1113)

Ruti’s (2010) definition of singularity sets out two key core aspects that have been further
developed by two Lacanian psychoanalysts. First, as Jacques-Alain Miller (2007) explained,
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singularity refers to what is indomitable, inimitable and irreplaceable in a subject — the essence
at the core of one’s being, for better and for worse (p. 242). Second, Collette Soler (1995)
illuminated how singularity entails the de-identification with ideals of the self and others (p. 74).
Thus, singularity is characterized by a lack of normalization of the subject, a shift away from the
socially-accepted towards the sustenance of the unconscious.

To deal with this core, the subject essentially invents his/her own way. In his 23rd seminar, Lacan
(2007) likened the act of being singular to that of an artist who makes things, one by one,
constructing his own self in his own way.

The Importance of Singularity in Leadership

Based on the definition above, one may think that singularity is a synonym of another term in the
leadership context, “authenticity”. Although both terms have some overlapping qualities such as
the idea of “being honest, truthful with [self] and others” (Kets de Vries, 2016, p. 257), they are
not the same. While “authenticity” is defined as “living in an integrated fashion with (…) own
values and principles” (Kets de Vries, 2016, p. 257), singularity leads to the disintegration of the
self. By challenging the ego and prioritizing the unconscious desire of the subject, singularity
surfaces what is hidden and even socially unacceptable: “I am this being - that is not nice, that is
not like others, that I do not approve, but that is who I am” (Miller, 2011, p. 35)1.

Now that the multi-faceted meaning of singularity has been established, one may wonder how it
can be of importance to organizations, particularly with regards to leaders and leadership
development. Here are three different reasons:

1) First, this exploration of singularity brings forth the dimension of what is unknown,
irrational, and unconscious into the open, thus strengthening the relevance of
psychodynamics to the formation and development of leaders and leadership, teams, and
organizations. As such, it would release leaders and followers from the perfectionistic
attitudes of making no mistakes, while holding them responsible for their dark and
unknown side. As Lacan (1988a) noted, singularity liberates one “from a narcissistic

1
“Sou isso, que não é legal, que não é como os outros, que não aprovo, mas é isso” (translated by this thesis’ author)
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image” (p. 285) through the shedding of the ego to make room for the unconscious
subject.

2) Second, singularity adds a new dimension to the discussion around the concept of
“authentic leadership” (Kets de Vries, 2016, p. 256). With the recognition that not
everything can be integrated, said, or known, singularity takes away the ideal of
authenticity as something that can be attained — one in which life is completely
meaningful and we are fulfilled (Lacan, 1977). Rather, the reality that something will
always be missing — what Lacan calls the “lack” (Lacan, 2014, 2015) — is what drives
us as human beings and leaders to live in accordance with our full selves and take
responsibility for our desires and choices.

3) Finally, singularity further enriches the concept of “authentic leadership” (Kets de Vries,
2016, p. 256) by breaking away from the concept of a “leadership style”. Such a concept
perpetuates the illusion that all leaders can be categorized in accordance with existing
leadership styles. Instead, a singular leadership style is one that is unique, connected to
the leader’s intimate self, detached from the ego, and full of contradictions. Therefore, it
is flexible and adaptable, shifting and evolving as needed, without ever being pinned
down (Bion, 1959).

Signifiers as Indicators of Singularity

The term, “signifier”, is a concept that Lacan borrowed from linguistics. In the world of
linguistics, the concept/meaning (“signified”) and its associated image are considered to be more
important than the “word” representation (signifier). For instance, in linguistics, the word,
“house”, the signifier, is not considered to be as significant as the signified — the concept of a
physical space with windows, doors, and roof. Essentially, the signified (meaning) takes
precedence over the signifier (word).

However, Lacan has subverted this logic by giving the signifier sovereignty over the signified:
 11

…a word has no definite meaning and only obtains meaning within a context. Hence,
during communication, every signifier has to be interpreted by the receiver of the
message (as qtd. by Arnaud & Vanheule, 2007, p. 367).

Essentially, the determination of the meaning of a signifier is dependent on a chain of signifiers

that combine to provide the full context to what is being said and ensures the clarity of meaning
(Ferreira, 2002).

Let’s return to the example of the word, “house”. In and of itself, “house” doesn’t only mean a
place where people live; it can also mean an electronic music style, or even the headquarters of
an institution. Its meaning depends on the chain of signifiers utilized to situate it within a
context. In fact, even with signifiers that seem to have only one meaning, such as “transparent”,
the interpretation would only become crystal clear, when it is linked to another signifier.
Consider its meaning in “transparent glass” versus “transparent management”. As one can see,
the meaning of the word, “transparent”, takes on a whole new level when its linking word is
changed from “glass” to “management”.

By turning the spotlight onto signifiers, Lacan makes us pay attention to the chain of signifiers to
express our feelings or thoughts when we speak. For instance, the following chain of signifiers
— “transparence is one of our values: we should be transparent to each other when
communicating, sharing our thoughts and feelings, be clear on when we disagree” — in a speech
is extremely powerful in revealing the essence of the speaker. Despite the presence of other
words, it is evident that “transparence/transparent” is a key word — what Lacan (1992) called a
“master signifier” (p. 93). It stands out from its counterparts and lies at the heart of the discourse.
When identified as the master signifier, it can shine a light into the subject’s unconscious — the
core of its being.

Why signifiers can offer penetrating insights into the deepest recesses of the self also stems from
what Lacan referred to as the “big Other” — a powerful symbolic order that “conveys” the laws,
rules, assumptions, and regulations to which we submit ourselves through words (Lacan, 1988b).
Because our original “big Other” is our caregiver who constitutes our first interaction with
another individual, the “big Other” has a stronghold in our beings at an unconscious level. It
imposes upon us a language of others and conditions us to use particular signifiers to define who
we are and how we see the world around us. At the unconscious level, these signifiers can end up
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shaping our own destiny, since our behavior, choices, and worldviews are filtered through the
signifiers we use.

However, our identities are not cast in stone: they need not be defined by any individual signifier
(Lacan, 2014), or by “the Other”. Rather, as Lacan (2014) pointed out, everyone exists between
signifiers. Oftentimes, when our conscious selves endeavor to speak, we struggle to come up
with the exact words to consciously articulate what we want and seek to be from the depths of
our being (Driver, 2013). This is why this research study sought to determine how paying
attention to master signifiers — words that emerge in natural discourse, without conscious
premeditation — can enable the self as subject to reveal its singularity unconsciously.

Leadership as System

As this research study is focused on examining how leaders achieve singularity through
signifiers, it is critical that we define what we mean by the term, “leadership”, within this narrow
scope.

Unlike the old-school and obsolete conception of the “Great Man” (Kets de Vries & Korotov,
2010, p. 4) born with rare leadership skills and perched at the top of the hierarchy with followers
waiting to execute his will, the contemporary version of “leadership” is more about a “web of
leaders” (Kets de Vries & Korotov, 2010, p. 4). These leaders influence each other in different
directions with no clear levels of authority. The focus is centered upon supporting the
development of others and systems than oneself. Therefore, authentic leaders are those whose
exercising of leadership is validated by how they develop others and evolve the system to make
it conducive for cultivating leadership skills. As Kets de Vries and Korotov (2010) pointed out,
“The mark of a real leader today is in how many leaders are coming up behind him or her” (p.
19).

This contemporary reconceptualization of the term, “leadership”, thus allows for a broad-minded
understanding of the interviewees’ articulations of their leadership roles and styles from their
perspectives. Without being encumbered by the need to adhere to preconceived and formal
definitions of “leadership”, we could also pay closer attention to the subjective unconscious
dimensions of their perceptions of their leadership approaches. By honing in on the interviewees’
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choices of words, particularly master signifiers, we could truly grasp their singularities as
leaders, art collectors, and individuals.

Art in the Corporate World and its Potential for Leadership Development

Many organizations from different geographies and industries such as Chase, UBS, Penguin
Books, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, and AkzoNobel own vast art collections (Howarth,
2020; Sharf, 2012; Sooke, 2014;). In fact, David Rockefeller, widely perceived to be “the father
of modern corporate collecting”, established “an art acquisition program at Chase Manhattan
Bank” as early as in 1959 (Sharfl, 2012, p. 2). Therefore, the practice of corporations collecting
art has been going on for more than 50 years.

Contrary to what many may think, corporate leaders are not collecting art pieces for their
financial value. According to Shirley Reiff Howarth, editor of the International Directory of
Corporate Art: “Art is a risky investment, …financial return is not the aim” (as qtd. in Sharf,
2012, p. 1). Similarly, Sean Kelly (2020), a gallery owner in New York City, pointed out that
leaders-cum-art collectors’ art collecting “is not about hunting trophies, where the price of a
work and the notoriety of purchasing a famous piece supersedes the meaning of the object.”

So what are the reasons that would drive businesses to pursue this expensive enterprise of art
collecting? According to Stephen McCoubrey, one of the curators in charge of the UBS Art
Collection that boasts of 35,000 art pieces, art endows a business with its own “personality”:

When you walk into these rooms, they are pretty much all done by the same handful of
fit-out architects from one company to another. What makes them unique — what makes
this the UBS office and not the Credit Suisse or Goldman Sachs office — is the art on the
walls and the people sitting here. (as qtd. in Sooke, 2014)

By associating art with people as the differentiator of an organization, McCoubrey is essentially

illustrating the importance of singularity. Essentially, what sets organizations apart is not
processes, technology, strategy and operations. Rather, what truly encompasses the essence of an
organization is the people, whose singular selves, as representatives of the organization, can be
symbolized by the art hanging around them (Lindenberg & Oosterlinck, 2011; Sooke, 2014).
 14

This is why corporations have dedicated professionals whose task is to curate the art for their
organizations. The presence of art pieces, as products of the artists’ singularities, serve as a
constant reminder to the leaders and their employees to engage in a fluid dialogue with their own
unconscious, whether as individuals or as a collective.

In fact, the mere act of appreciating art, in its diverse modalities, has been found be useful in
cultivating an authentic leadership mindset (Carvalho, 2010) by helping us to know or rebalance
ourselves (de Botton & Armstrong, 2013). Paying attention to “what is happening to us at these
special times of intense responsiveness to [art]” (de Botton & Armstrong, 2013, p. 17), we are
able to better understand how our emotions work, their triggers, and our responses. It can also
provoke us to confront our own prejudices, inspire us to be more connected to the world around
us, or detach us from our preoccupations with money (de Botton & Armstrong, 2013). Such
exposure can help to inculcate leaders who can open themselves to “the true values in life”
(Freud, 2018, p. 1) and retain their humility by grasping their “essential nothingness” (de Botton
& Armstrong, 2013, p. 27).

Furthermore, works of art can serve as powerful transitional tools to enable organizations to
undergo transformations, by allowing their members to reconcile with the past, let go of the
present, and build a future. When words are not enough, art can be a powerful tool for
organizations and their members to confront their fears and anxieties. Art, in the form of art
therapy, which allows for a non-verbal means of communication, can be harnessed by
individuals and teams to work through challenging emotional and behavioral issues (Gussak &
Rosal, 2016). Over time, these art pieces, in effect, can come to encapsulate the multiple
singularities of the leaders and their employees, thus endowing their organizations with life and
dynamism, endlessly engaged in adaptation and self-renewal.

Rationale for This Research Study

Through our broad and deep research of the literature on the Lacanian concepts of singularity
and signifiers, as well as leadership in organizations, and the psychoanalytical dimensions of art
collecting, no one has integrated the worlds of Lacan, leadership, and art collecting together.
Essentially, there has been no psychoanalytical exploration of how leaders’ art collecting is
 15

related to their achievement of singularity through the lens of signifiers. As this research study
brings together the dimensions of Lacanian psychoanalysis, leadership development and art
collecting, it has the potential to expand the intersectional potential between the corporate and art
worlds. For instance, both art and Lacan’s work on singularity could be harnessed as a trigger for
meaningful reflections on leadership development to inspire the next generations of leaders,
consultants and coaches on organizational transformation, by focusing on the individual’s self-
transformation — the unique journey towards singularity.
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CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Approach

This research study sought to explore the extent to which art collecting enabled leaders to attain
leadership singularity through an in-depth study of the signifiers in their speech. It involved
conducting one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with 10 Brazilian leaders-cum-art collectors,
based in different parts of the world, and “visiting” their art collections via online video calls.
Based on the nature of this research aim, the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA),
socioanalytic interviewing, and psychoanalytical approaches were adopted for this study.

The IPA approach seeks to investigate “how individuals make sense of their experiences” by
engaging in an “in-depth analysis (…) of individual perspectives (…) in their unique context”
(Pietkiewicz & Smith, 2012, p. 363). Due to the focus on the interviewees’ narratives and
interpretations, the IPA approach allows for an in-depth, authentic examination of the
intersection between the interviewees’ passion for art and their practice of leadership
(Pietkiewicz & Smith, 2012).

The depth of the analysis in IPA is further augmented by the researcher’s interpretations of the
interviewees’ narratives and interpretations in order to delve into their mindsets, thus producing
a double interpretation that enriches the analysis (Pietkiewicz & Smith, 2012). Through this
double interpretation process, common patterns could be derived across the narratives of the
different interviewees to create a composite picture of the phenomenon. Therefore, the IPA
approach was a perfect match for a researcher seeking to examine the phenomenon of leaders-
cum-art collectors’ manifestations of singularity through their signifiers.

Furthermore, the socioanalytic interviewing approach was employed to examine the unconscious
processes behind the interviewees’ narratives and their hidden motivations (Stacey, 2003, p.
237). This method allowed me to “gain a picture of the whole [system, while] exploring the
uniqueness of the individual” (Long & Harding, 2018 p. 91). By adopting this in-depth
interviewing approach, I endeavored to understand the correlation between the phenomenon and
social and organizational structures around them. With regards to our interviewees, the two
 17

unique systems under the spotlight were the systems of their work organizations and the art
world. While the former included the interviewees’ employers and their follower(s), the latter
comprised artists, galleries owners, auctioneers, curators, etc. As both systems have their own
laws and dynamics (Stacey, 2003), they clearly exerted their respective influences on the leaders-
cum-art collectors’ development of their singularity.

Moreover, as this research study was centered upon the words of the interviewees and focused
on their irrational and emotional sides, psychoanalysis was used as a research method (Holmes,
2013). I was focused on the interviewees’ use of signifiers as a manifestation of their
unconscious. Using this framework to interpret the transcripts, I honed in on words that stand out
and delved into their multiple meanings to identify revealing patterns in the interviewees’ stories
and draw out broader implications.

Selection of Interviewees

Purposive sampling was adopted for the selection of interviewees based on the following
selection criteria:

• Passion in art collecting: Potential interviewees had to display a lifelong and deep-
seated passion for art collecting as manifested in the following characteristics:

o Visit art fairs every year;

o Purchase art every year for the last five years; and
o Own a collection of more than 50 pieces of any kind of art from any period or by
any artist.

• Status of an organizational leader or influencer: This criterion broadly encompasses

two types of individuals. The first category comprises organizational leaders. They
occupy top team roles inside all kinds of organizations (public, private, NGOs, etc.).
These leaders would be considered to be at the top of the pyramid in vertical systems, or
the most important containers and role models in horizontal systems (Laloux, 2014, p.
240).
 18

The second category consisted of influencers whose products/services exerted a broad

influence outside of the organizational environment. This category was included due to
the potential loss of interviewees as a result of the Covid-19 situation.

Ultimately, eligible interviewees were considered to be leaders with mindsets, decisions,

and perspectives, which generated a significant impact not only at the individual, but also
systemic, levels.

• Brazilian: Despite the fact that Brazilian art collectors have a worldwide footprint, little
had been studied about them, especially from a subjective perspective (Bevins, 2015).
What little is known about some collectors (living or deceased) had been confined to
those with collections donated to public institutions or private museums (Walker, 2019).
This research study would thus add to the discourse on Brazilian art collectors by
introducing the experiences of leaders with a more private engagement in art collecting.

• Language choice: As the interviewees and I were fluent in the Portuguese, all interviews
were conducted in Portuguese. Because the research study involved a narrative analysis
of their words, I wanted both parties to be able to converse smoothly without any losses
in translation.

An interview participation invitation was emailed to potential interviewees from two different
lists: 1) potential interviewees whom I knew personally; and 2) individuals with connections to
other potential interviewees. The invitation set out a generic description of the research study in
which potential interviewees or contacts of potential interviewees were requested to do an
interview of 1–2 hours regarding their leadership experiences and art collections (see
Appendices A and B).

Through this double-pronged approach, an initial list of 30 potential interviewees was compiled.
In fact, additional interviewees were found through interested interviewees who connected me to
others. Therefore, snowball sampling also constituted an important part of the sampling process
for my research study. To narrow down the list to the candidates who matched the selection
criteria, I conducted an initial screening by email or WhatsApp messaging, depending on the
candidates’ preferences.
 19

Ultimately, 10 individuals participated in this research study. While all of them were Portuguese
speakers, not all of them lived in Brazil. They were all collectors of contemporary art.

Research Setting: Virtual Simulation of Reality

Although I had scheduled all the interviews for March and April by end-February with the
intention of travelling from São Paulo, my home base, to France, London and Switzerland, in
order to conduct some interviews and see the art collections in person, I was unable to do so due
to the eruption of the Covid-19 crisis. This led to the change in my portfolio of interviewees and
the shift from in-person visits to online communication through the Zoom video conferencing
platform.

While I would have preferred in-person interviews, I did everything I could, under the
circumstances, to ensure that the online interviews would proceed just as well without a hitch.
First, I verified that the Internet connections for all parties and my recording mechanism could
function adequately, with other online alternatives put in place in case of any issues.
Furthermore, I also arrived at the virtual room before the interviewees to welcome them and
provide any assistance with the technology if needed. Ultimately, all the online interviews took
place and were recorded without any problems.

Furthermore, as the online interviews brought together two physical settings — my home and
theirs, I also sought to ensure that both our environments were conducive for the interview. Due
to the confinement caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, both parties found quiet spaces in their
homes to engage in the interview.
 20

Data Collection

Format of the Interview

The format of the interview was largely structured by an interview script. The questions were
developed with the inductive IPA interviewing (Pietkiewicz & Smith, 2012, p. 3) and
socioanalytic interviewing guidelines in mind in order to create a safe holding environment that
could elicit authentic responses (Long & Harding, 2018, p. 95). It comprises five sections (see
Appendix C for the full interview script):

1) Introduction: I began with a five-minute explanation of my background. As an architect

and art lover, consultant, as well as psychoanalyst, I was interested in understanding the
potential connections between the worlds of leadership and art. This was a way to open a
discussion around the value of art in leadership development. Furthermore, I sought
permission for the recording of the interview for future analyses, while reassuring the
interviewee of the anonymity and confidentiality of the information provided.

2) Demographic information: Demographic data were gathered, specifically age,

occupation, type of organization/industry, and number of direct and indirect reports.

3) For the interview proper, I formulated questions that cover three personal categories –
self, self as object, and self as subject (Lacan, 1995):

a) Referring to self: Over the next 5–10 minutes, I posed the first open-ended
question, “How would you describe yourself? Who is Maria from Maria’s lenses?”
With this question, my aims were to:

i) Capture potentially significant language vices (e.g. emphasized words,

repeated expressions, pauses, etc.) that emerge in natural and spontaneous
speech, which could be representative of the unconscious perceptions of
the interviewees;
ii) Determine the level of their self-awareness and self-reflection in order to
analyze and interpret their answers.
 21

b) Referring to self as object (self as leader): With regards to the leadership

position, the self is object. This is because the leadership role is defined vis-à-vis
the follower who looks to the leader as an imaginary figure, an object (Lacan, 1977;
Kets de Vries & Korotov, 2010).

Therefore, this section of the interview that lasted 20–30 minutes was designed to
elicit the interviewee’s self-perceptions as a leader and how others perceive
him/her. These questions are centered upon the interviewee’s values, reflections
and points of view on leadership and his/her leadership role, along with his/her
leadership roles in organizational systems.

c) Referring to self as subject (self as art collector): When talking about their art
collections, interviewees were subjects, expressing their relationships to art pieces,
who occupied the position of object. Questions revolved around the pieces in their
collection, their criteria for buying or selling art pieces, as well as their feelings and
reflections around their art pieces.

The intersections between their art collection and their practice of leadership were
then addressed to elicit additional insights about the interviewees’ perceived
connections between their roles as leader and art collector.

In my interview script, I also wrote down some reminders (see end of Appendix C) to use myself
as an instrument to pay attention not only to the words used, but also observe what was unsaid
(body language and pauses) and the interviewees’ chosen setting (Kets de Vries, 2006, pp. 5-13).
I also needed to pay attention to my processing of the interview experience.

Implementation

All the interviews were conducted from March 10th to April 10th. The interviews, ranging from
one to two hours, depending on the interviewee’s level of engagement, generally followed along
the format described in the previous section. This ensured that the queries pertaining to the
research aim were addressed. Nonetheless, a semi-structured approach was adopted to provide
room for the interviewees to come up with their own perspectives and for me to ask extra
questions whenever suitable.
 22

Out of the 10 interviewees, eight guided me through their art collections near the end of the
session. Each of these interviewees took me on a tour through his/her collection based on his/her
preferred route, pace, and style, describing stories and histories related to the different art pieces,
the artists, and/or the moment at which the interviewee bought or got it. Per my query, the
interviewee also chose 1–3 artworks that were the most important for him/her and offered
explanations for their choices. High-resolution photos of these works in their collections were
requested for further analysis.

Although the interviews were recorded, I also took notes of their behavior and signifiers, as well
as my own feelings and perceptions towards them, for subsequent analysis. I also jotted down
any indicators of singularity, in the form of signifiers, symptoms, moments of self-surprise, etc.

Data Analysis

Prior to the data analysis, all interviewees’ quotes were translated from Portuguese to English.
As a native speaker of Portuguese and a fluent English speaker, I undertook the process of
translating the transcripts on my own. This decision was deliberate, as my adoption of the
narrative analysis approach demanded careful attention to the analysis of the signifiers.

While every interview was treated as a clinical case of psychoanalysis, the practical guidelines,
proposed by Pietkiewicz & Smith (2012) for implementing the IPA approach, were followed:

1) Immersing in the data set: I listened to all the recordings once through to get an overall
sense of the whole material, before re-listening to them, one at a time, to transcribe the
interview. After completing my transcription of 10 interviews, I read all of them for three
consecutive days. During this process, I took down notes and documented potential
insights on each one of them, with a particular focus on signifiers or evidence of
singularity.

2) Making sense of the data: At this stage, I read one transcript at a time, while
simultaneously attending to the notes and observations I had done. I wrote down
signifiers that captured my attention, comments on the interviewees’ narratives, and
 23

quotes on post-its. These post-its were placed on the wall to allow for ease of
visualization in my endeavor to find patterns between the narratives and identify themes.

After undergoing this process with five cases, I started grouping similar notes that were
transformed into “emerging themes” (Pietkiewicz & Smith, 2012, p. 7). I sought “to
formulate a concise phrase at a slightly higher level of abstraction which may refer to a
more psychological conceptualization” (Pietkiewicz & Smith, 2012, p. 7) with the themes
that emerged from this grouping process.

3) Understanding deeper relationships to find themes: During the final stage, I examined
whether the emerging themes could stand on their own, be clustered with others to form a
broader theme, or be jettisoned. After having a clear perception of the themes, I returned
to the remaining five cases to determine whether they were adding to emerging themes or
supporting the ones already clustered. Through this iterative processing of the data,
involving constant back-and-forth shifts in thinking and analysis regarding the interview
data, the artworks and the literature, the themes were finalized.
 24

CHAPTER 4

FINDINGS

Description of the Interviewees

The 10 interviewees of this research study were divided between seven men and three women.
Although all of them were Brazilian, they possessed a cosmopolitan perspective due to their life
experiences and lifestyles: all of them had had a broad and deep experience outside the country,
with two living at least part of the year abroad. Their age ranged from 40 to 66 years old, which
placed them in the middle-aged category. Essentially, they had accumulated a vast reservoir of
professional and personal life experiences that would be illuminating for this research study (see
Table 1).

Table 1
Characteristics of Interviewees
Pseudonym Age Gender Position
Ron 61 Male Founder & CEO
Charles 52 Male Founder & Partner
Ilan 40 Male Entrepreneur
John 66 Male Entrepreneur
Sara 47 Female Partner, Board Member & CEO
Claudia 60 Female Partner & CEO
William 61 Male Board President
Yael 47 Female Founder & CEO
Benjamin 53 Male Founder & Partner
Dan 57 Male Partner & CEO

Apart from the demographic characteristics described above, the interviewees were also unified
by a common characteristic of entrepreneurship. They were all individuals who had taken risks
in their lives — an element that is likely to have shaped their approaches towards leadership and
art collection. Their willingness to undertake risks certainly indicated the presence of a daring
self that was not held back by conventional insecurities, i.e., a singular self.

Most of all, the interviewees’ relationships with their art collections exhibited three telling
common traits. At the most superficial level, all of them were collectors of contemporary art,
particularly those created by Brazilian artists. Most interviewees explained that they cherished
 25

the opportunity to know, visit, and talk to artists whose works they bought, which they
considered to be an important part of the process. Their desire to cultivate the artistic talent of
their time has a parallel with their mentoring and grooming of talents in their organizations as
leaders.

Findings and Discussion

Each of the three themes presented in the section below shows how the different types of
signifiers, associated with the interviewees’ narratives of their business and art worlds, are able
to illuminate the deep-seated impact of art collecting on the development of leadership
singularity. Theme 1 that highlights the polarizing signifiers the interviewees used to describe
the harsh and nurturing business and art worlds, respectively, indicates the extent to which the
interviewees’ art collecting shielded them from the ugliness of their leadership realities and
preserved their singularity. At the same time, the interviewees’ recurring signifiers, presented in
Theme 2, shows how the intersection of their leadership and art collector selves enabled them to
discover their leadership singularity. Finally, Theme 3 that brings up the connecting signifiers
present in the interviewees’ narratives illustrates how the singularity in the leaders could possibly
spread to others in their work environment. Each of these themes will be discussed in greater
detail below through in-depth analyses of the interviewees’ narratives and their favorite artworks
from their collections.
 26

Theme 1: Polarizing Signifiers — Art as Buffer against Leadership Realities

We have art so that

we shall not die of reality
- Friedrich Nietzsche

Nietzsche’s (2016) quote offers an illuminating glimpse into how the hard-nosed leaders in our
research study who braved the onslaughts of the business world used art collecting as a buffer
against the tough realities they encountered in the business world. This becomes apparent by
juxtaposing the polarizing signifiers that three of the interviewees used to describe their business
lives and their perceptions towards their art collections, respectively (the italics and bracketed
statements are mine):

So, like [business]... this is the horrible side, right? To deal with business when you are
young, and it was a daily massacre, right? And art has always given me this warmth.
(Claudia)

… it goes, for example… “Accelerate! Stop!” Now, in this business, I picked up a phone
[call] for the CEO, I said, “Look, this is turning to shit. Stop everything, put the brakes
on... We will not be brave, we will be [living] cowards and not be dead heroes…

I don't like to sell [pieces of art], it’s an attachment! (…) I have a hard time letting [them]
go… For me it is difficult to choose [which painting I like the most], it is the same thing
as asking me, “Do you have 3 children, which one do you like the most?” (William)

[The world of business] is a harder world, more pragmatic, more, like, squared… If we
don't perform, there will be consequences… our principal mission… is… to make money
for our shareholders…

[I choose art that] touches me. It is not for the investment. I never make a calculation,
“Hey, this is going to be worth a zillion one day”... This here, I will be happy to live with
during my life. (Dan)
 27

Through their choice of words, particularly those that I have italicized, we can see a clear
dichotomy between their perspectives of their business life and their art collecting passion.
While the signifiers associated with the business world connote the hard, cruel, and ugly realities
of “fighting” and a calculated, singular pursuit of materialism and survival, those related to art
evoke tenderness, vulnerability and humanity. It is almost hard to conceive of these business
leaders harbouring such a fragile essence. Yet the very interviewee who was using the
adrenaline-pumping vocabulary of fighting in wars and racing in car competitions was the very
same who likened his paintings to his “children”!

The juxtaposition of these violently clashing signifiers that illuminate the irreconcilability of
these two worlds reveals the extent of these interviewees’ compartmentalization of the two key
spheres of their lives. Whether they were conscious of it or not, one can see that their art
collecting, a restorative space in which they can retreat to connect to their “better” selves, is what
had enabled them to cope with the realities of their business lives and preserve their sense of
selves. Essentially, art collecting had served as a coping mechanism for them to heal from their
‘battle wounds’ and reconnect with what they perceived to be the best of who they were.
Arriving at home and finding a welcoming space full of artwork after a challenging work day
must be a relief for these interviewees. Thus, the process and products of art collecting could be
considered to be an “emotional container” (Bion, 1962) for them to release their negative
energies and recharge with positive ones. It is ironic that the art sanctuary, characterized by
warmth and gentleness, would prove to be the fortress that could enable these leaders to maintain
their tough exterior.

At the same time, the mere existence of these dichotomous signifiers signals an unresolved
tension within the interviewees at a psychodynamic level. These signifiers represent existential
ambivalences (Bridges & Bridges, 2009) created by the differences between the interviewees’
inner world and the (organizational) reality (Amado & Ambrose, 2001), tensioning the rope of
the self. They must constantly be wrestling with the tug-and-pull of doing whatever was
necessary in a socially-acknowledged work role, while seizing the opportunity to pursue their
passion, which kept them connected to their preferred essence. Their intuitive pursuit of this
passion, which filled them with delight, for no apparent rhyme or reason, pointed to their
singularity, even though they were unable to articulate it explicitly during the interviews. Thanks
to these dichotomous signifiers, we are able to recognize the unconscious presence of singularity
within the interviewees.
 28

Interestingly, the dichotomous nature of these two worlds is not only captured in this clear-cut
split between the use of contrasting signifiers in the two worlds. In fact, the interviewees also
used the very same word, whether as signifier or signified, in ways that resulted in the words
taking on opposing meanings in the respective realms.

This is the case in Dan’s usage of the word, “risk”, as a signifier in the business world and
signified to describe how he took risks in making purchases as an art collector. As a leader of a
financial institution, this was the process he would undergo before taking a risk:

…and we were almost defining a business plan. We were defining the governance of this
business. We were defining the metrics of this business. We were defining a series of
things. Then I arrived at some point and said, “Man, I think I'm going to take that risk.”

Based on his narrative, Dan’s “arrival” at a decision to undertake a business “risk” was done
through a meticulous and systematic process. The emphatic repetition of this phrase, “we were
defining”, shows how clearly the parameters of the risk would demarcated to minimize the level
of risk to the extent that it could be as safe as possible, the very opposite of its meaning.

Conversely, as an art collector, Dan’s decision-making process was wildly different:

It was a lot of money... I said, “Man, this here, I am doing [something] crazy.” But I
found a beautiful and very remarkable work… I always remember the madness that was
at the time of making the decision.

With the purchase of the aforementioned artwork, the risk Dan undertook was not at all
measured. Based on the words, “madness” and “crazy” — synonyms, he was clearly carried
away by an unthinking impulse. It seems as though he was compensating for the control and
rationality, which he had to exercise in his leadership role.

This description of Dan’s contrasting risk-taking approaches shows how he employed art
collecting as an instrument to alleviate the negative aspects of his work as a leader. His art
collecting, whether he was conscious of this or not, preserved his singularity as an individual.
Although he possessed tremendous passion for his work in the role of leader, it was an aspect of
life that was constrained by a rigid need to generate results and income. In fact, after working for
 29

10 years in a leadership position at a corporate investment fund that he had created, Dan left the
bank for a new professional adventure. Based on Dan’s description of his willingness to
surrender to the “madness” of the pleasure of buying and owning a piece of beautiful art, one
could definitely see how a “spillover” effect could occur to blur the boundaries between these
two seemingly compartmentalized worlds. In Dan’s case, his connection with art went beyond
just enabling him to survive the corporate world, but gave him the impetus to change his career.

Similarly, William’s use of the signifier, “money”, which illuminates his dichotomous
perspective as a business leader in pursuit of profit and an art lover, also shows a spillover effect
(see Figures 1 and 2):

… there is a work that I love… [artist Jack Leirner’s] money wheel. She took a bunch of
old notes of [Brazilian] Real...of [Brazilian] Cruzeiros... and made a sculpture. I think
there is a lot of the symbolism of money, right? Money as art, as raw material, as an
object and not as a means of payment.

Figure 1. From the series, Todos os Cem (All the Hundred), by Jac Leirner. Reprinted with
permission from the artist.*
*Note: As the collector could not send me pictures of his art piece, I asked the artist to send me another one from the same series.
This work is owned by Tate Modern and the pictures were taken at The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh.
 30

Figure 2. Same as above.

Apart from its representation, in which a whole bunch of “valuable” money bills have been
rendered “worthless” in their transformation into a piece of artwork, the name of this work,
Todos os Cem (“All the Hundred”), also encapsulates polarizing signifiers. Cem in Portuguese
means “hundred”, but sem that has exactly the same pronunciation means “without” or “empty”.
When pronounced, these two words that sound exactly the same embody the two opposing
aspects of William: leader in the business world (cem — “hundred”) and the lover of art (sem —
“empty”).

I think... those who like art tend to be less consumerist, in a certain way. Because I think
they have other values. It’s not the value, you know? No... you start to see the world with
different eyes as something that you don't need to consume to have this… ?

William’s singularity is certainly revealed through his manifestation of the cem/sem

(“hundred/without”) polarity. Embracing an art piece in which the value of money is utterly
destroyed reflects his endeavor not to be swallowed into the business world. The “spillover”
effect of his two selves intermingling did not lead to William’s departure from the business
 31

world. Rather, his art collecting served the precise purpose of enabling him to establish a clear
boundary between two selves, such that his singularity as an individual could be preserved and
his awareness of the ills of the business world intact.

Through the signifiers that illustrate the dichotomous nature of the interviewees’ perspectives of
their business and art worlds, one can see how the interviewees’ art collecting served as a buffer
and an object of compensation to shield them from their harsh business lives. In the long term, it
appeared to have compensated for the interviewees’ long-term involvement in leadership roles in
the tough business worlds and helped them to sustain their singular selves.
 32

Theme 2: Recurring Signifiers – Where The “Two Selves” Intersect

The bird fights its way out of the egg.

The egg is the world.
Whoever will be born must destroy a world.
- Hermann Hesse

What Hesse (2008) considered to be “destroy[ing] a world” — breaking through a shell that
encases our inner being — is akin to the emergence of a butterfly from a cocoon. This metaphor
is highly apropos of this theme: the casting away of the protective cover in a metamorphosis —
the forging of a singular path in life. In Theme 2, the recurrence of the same words in both the
interviewees’ business and art collecting realms, whether as a signifier (word) or as a signified
(meaning), shows how the interviewees’ deep-seated connections with their preferred art pieces
enabled them to develop their leadership singularity.

Unlike the polarizing signifiers that suggest the seeming irreconcilability of the interviewees’
business and art collecting worlds, the signifiers here, which recurred through the narratives of
each of the interviewees, illuminate a space where their two worlds/selves intersect. For
example, Charles, a former executive of a global pharmaceutical company for 25 years, who left
his career five years ago, repeated the word, “sense”, more than 20 times during our
conversation.

Given the number of times the interviewees uttered their respective words, be it “sense”, “focus”,
or “important”, during our one-on-one conversations, one could reasonably presume that these
interviewees used them frequently in their daily lives. As such, these recurrent signifiers
occupied a pivotal space in their lives, both literally and symbolically. From the Lacanian
perspective, the reiteration of these signifiers suggests that they are likely to be master signifiers
that offer access to the interviewees’ unconscious driving forces and the origins of their
singularity (Lacan, 1995).
 33

Recurrence of Signifier in the Leadership and Art Collection Systems: Charles

As mentioned earlier, the recurrent signifier of Charles was “sense”. The word, “sense”
(“sentido”), in Portuguese, has multiple meanings. In describing his leadership style, Charles
employed it in a way that encompasses all its meanings: ‘logic’, ‘reason’, ‘feeling’, ‘meaning’,
and ‘direction’:

… the team member is going to do that, not because the leader spoke, but because he
comes to believe that it makes sense [‘logic’, ‘reason’]… My guidance is more in that
sense of asking [‘feeling’], expanding the person's knowledge [‘meaning’] about a certain
situation [‘direction’]. [the italics and bracketed statements are my own.]

It is evident that Charles had a very rich and complex conceptualization of the word, “sense”, in
describing his leadership style. Instead of expecting his team members to comply with his
expectations without question, Charles highlighted the need for “feeling” and “meaning” in his
leadership. Essentially, the onus fell upon him in his “guidance” to feel out the situation with the
team member by “asking” the right questions and helping the latter to “believe that it makes
sense”. Such a transformation in perspective within the inner world of the team member could
not take place without such nuanced “sens[ing]” from the leader.

The signifier, “sense”, also cropped up again, in all its myriad definitions, when Charles spoke
about his favorite art piece by Lorenzato (see Figure 3): “If there is any work or an artist that
says a lot about me, it’s Lorenzato, not in the sense [that] I am like him… but in the sense of how
much that kind of life, that kind of story enchants me.” With this statement, Charles was using
opposing definitions of the word, “sense” — “meaning’ (a cognitive representation) versus
“feeling” (an intuitive and emotional vibe) to explain the discrepancy between his past as a
leader, which contrasts with the simplicity and tranquility encapsulated in the painting. Yet,
these qualities were what he truly connected with at the core of his being:

[Lorenzato] was drawing on cards and selling to people to save money to eat, right?
Living on art, he did it, to learn about art. So his life, for me, Lorenzato's person is very
intriguing,… the simplicity of him enchants me a lot.
 34

Figure 3. Untitled by Lorenzato. Reprinted with permission from owner.

On the surface, it seems “intriguing” that a business leader like Charles would find Lorenzato
and his humble life “intriguing”. Yet it truly captures the core of Charles’ singularity that is
perfectly represented by his recurrent signifier, “sense”. Whether in the business world or art
collecting, Charles had always been sensing, going beneath the conscious and the cognitive
aspects to seek out underlying layers of feeling to work with his subordinates or relate to his art
pieces.

In order to appreciate Charles’ love for this painting, I made the effort to see it through Charles’
eyes. For a busy leader like Charles, returning home after a tough work day must be as
restorative as an escape to the countryside. By immersing in the atmosphere of the painting, you
could find your senses settling down, as you take in the modesty and simplicity of the beige and
brown houses juxtaposed against the green hills and the blue hues of the sky and sea. One could
see that Charles’ love for Lorenzato’s painting embodied his deep yearning for a simple life at
 35

the core of his being. It would seem that Charles was in touch with his “night vision” — the
capacity to access and reflect on hidden motivations and dynamics at an unconscious level
(Lehman & van de Loo, 2016, p. 229).

Second, the lines in the sea and the coastal path project an impression of movement in a
particular direction. If you recall from the earlier part of the discussion, “sense” in Portuguese
can also mean “direction”. Thus, this art piece could also be reminding Charles of how much his
life was, in his words, “a path, a journey of self-knowledge that we follow, and that makes a lot
of sense”.

This painting thus captures perfectly Charles’ lifelong pursuit of an interesting journey of self-
knowledge, which had entailed a life of experimenting with “possible selves” (Ibarra, 2003, p.
13), before making sense of what he was all about and finding the essence of himself. Charles
started his professional journey as an Engineering graduate. In his subsequent role of an
executive leading teams of people from multiple backgrounds, he discovered his passion for
psychology. Many years after completing a degree in psychology, he decided to leave the
company and executive career to become a Jungian analyst.

Therefore, Charles’ master signifier, “sense”, encapsulates aptly his life journey (“direction”) of
transmogrifying from engineer to corporate leader to Jungian analyst. While the “job [he]
accurately planned for it to be”, i.e., the engineer-executive position he occupied for 25 years,
was characterized primarily by “logic”, “reason”, and “direction”, “the type of work [he] ha[d]
today [wa]s exactly what [he] wishe[d] [it] to be” — one characterized by “feeling”. Ultimately,
the fact that he was driven by all the diverse meanings of the word, “sense”, shows the extent to
which his singularity was founded upon a deep-seated need to explore all his “possible selves”.
Only by pursuing this fully-lived life, accompanied by profound self-reflection, could he
ultimately arrive at what he could be certain was most true to his essence.

In fact, Charles’ professional journey also mirrored that of Lorenzato’s artistic process. The artist
was known for taking decades to get to his work’s simplicity, using the most basic of materials
to capture scenes from everyday life by honing in on its barest essentials (de Botton &
Armstrong, 2013). One could say that Charles did the same with his professional life, stripping
away layers to discover what he felt most connected with — leading an outwardly simple life
with profundity.
 36

As such, through this examination of Charles’ master signifier that reflects his journey towards
singularity, we have been able to witness his transformation from “ideal ego” to “ego ideal”
(Freud, 2010, p. 40). The “ideal ego” is an imaginary formation created unconsciously as a
social defense mechanism against anxiety and anguish. It is characterized by a constant
movement from one object to another in a quest for satisfaction. The “ideal ego”, on the other
hand, represents a symbolic formation that allows the subject to claim its own desire (Freud,
2010). While the “ideal ego” represents imaginary selves that project an image of perfection
based on others’ expectations, the “ego ideal” constitutes what is truly unique for the subject.
Though imperfect, it encapsulates singularity. Charles is a veritable testimony of the
transformation into an “ego ideal”, which has been discovered through our in-depth examination
of his recurring signifier, “sense”.

Recurrence of Signifier in the Leadership System with Corresponding Signified in the Art
Collection System: Claudia

With Claudia, the CEO and partner of a business conglomerate she inherited reluctantly 40 years
ago, the recurrent word was “focus”: “After 40 years, you need to have focus on what you want
for your company and for yourself. Focus… you just do it for yourself.”

To truly appreciate the centrality of this word, “focus”, in Claudia’s life, and her reiteration of
“focus[ing] for [her]self”, it is important to recognize that Claudia had inherited this signifier
from her father. He had forced her to give up her childhood dream of pursuing architecture to
“focus” on the family business: “… he informed me that I was going to do business, that I was
the only daughter, and he had to prepare me to take care of what he had done.”

Therefore, Claudia’s adoption of the word, “focus”, would appear to signal her acquiescence to
her professional fate. Her early experience highlights how individuals become influenced by the
“Other” (Lacan, 1988b) through our absorption of its signifiers. It also emphasizes one of the key
premises of Kets de Vries and Korotov’s (2016) “clinical paradigm”:
 37

Our past determines who we are throughout our lives. Our earliest life experiences, over
which we obviously had no control, have a deep, lasting impact on our personality and
the patterns of our behavior and relationships. (p. 20)

Therefore, by being forced to assume the responsibility of a leader against her will, Claudia’s
Self as Object was predominant over her Self as Subject, thus severely undermining her pursuit
of singularity near the start of her adult life.

Nonetheless, Claudia’s adherence to her father’s wish constitutes only half of her narrative. After
her father passed away when she was 19, Claudia made a conscious decision to diverge from her
father’s practice of collecting mainly paintings and sculptures she also inherited from him.
Instead, Claudia opted to collect photographs, a form of art that involves the “focus” of the lens
of a camera. This time, the word, “focus”, reappeared in the form of a signified in Claudia’s
collection of photographs, even she did not use the actual word to speak about it.

What is significant about Claudia’s choice of collecting photographs, rather than her father’s
preferred paintings and sculptures, is that she had reclaimed the word, “focus”, and given it her
own meaning. In fact, in indicating that her most preferred photograph in her collection was a
Man Ray photograph, oddly entitled The Minotaur (see Figure 4), Claudia would not only reveal
her fascination with “focus” as shown in the following quote, but also hint at the transformation
she had undergone as a woman-bull:

A woman [illuminated] with lighting [that is] exceptional. I mean, as a portrait, (…) I
know how difficult it [must have been] to achieve such perfect lighting, as wonderful as
the one [the artist] has done.
 38

Figure 4. The Minotaur, by Man Ray. Reprinted with permission from the owner.

It seems likely that, at an unconscious level, Claudia’s fascination with this non-representational
“Minotaur” stemmed from the fact that she saw it as a “portrait” of herself. This portrait of
contradictions — a beautiful woman associated by name to a creature with the head of a bull
 39

and the body of a man confined in a labyrinth — could not possibly be a more authentic
representation of Claudia. As a female leader of several family businesses in a male-dominated
environment since her 20s, Claudia had had to figure out how to navigate her way through a
labyrinthine male-dominated environment to which she had been confined:

We are talking about 40 years ago. I was a girl. That [business] was mine. I had to work. I
had to take it forward. There were 40 people who worked for me, and so I led it. Going in
person, charging in person, until I understand... And I did it my whole life…

Although she was a “girl”, she was occupying a role imposed by others, which she had
introjected in her being. It had compelled her to exhibit a kind of “bullish” strength, whether it
was true to her nature or not.

Claudia’s challenge in life was to develop her singular sense of self in the face of simultaneous
obstacles. Thanks to her passion for photography as a photograph collector and amateur
photographer, she had been able to redefine her own focus as a leader: “If it weren’t for art
[photography], I couldn’t have sustained myself in leadership.” Today, she had finally arrived at
a place when she felt that she had come into her own as the leader of her family’s businesses
with a focus centered upon being true to herself: “Focus, because you don’t need to show off
anything. You just do it for yourself.” In a sense, she had returned to being the young girl who
“went to negotiate in [a] t-shirt on Day One, back in 1980” — what she considered to be her
“singularity”, her truth. As a leader who no longer had to prove herself, she could very well get
away with wearing a T-shirt today, if she wanted to!

Recurrence of Signifier in Art Collection System with Corresponding Signified in Leadership

System: Ron

The recurrent signifier for Ron, a healthcare professional, owner of a clinic, and a farmer, during
the interview, was “important”. He uttered it more than 15 times in less than 30 minutes in
reference to his preferred art pieces in his collection. While conducting the virtual tour of his
collection, Ron used “important” to make observations of how his valuation of the “importance”
of the painting often deviated from normative perceptions. This is the case of his vast collection
 40

of works of Mira Schendel, a painter who was unknown by the art market when he first started
collecting her works:

She was not considered an important artist at the time, but I thought she was important.
She is a Swiss artist, who did a lot of minimalist things. Do you see that moon and that
sun? [see Figure 5]. These two were on the cover of her Museum of Modern Art
exhibition. But no one believed in her. [italics and bracketed statements are my own]

Figure 5. The Moon (Lua) and The Sun (Sol), by Mira Schendel. Reprinted with permission from
the owner.

For Ron, the importance of Mira’s work lay in its synthesis of the universe and life. It resonated
strongly with its belief about what was important for him in life in both personal and
professional spheres of life.

Similarly, Ron’s prioritization of intrinsic values could be seen in his celebration of the
“importance” of the work of Anatol Wladyslaw, a Second World War Polish immigrant:
 41

I really like this piece, even though it’s not financially important… he put in the Biennial
of 1976… he had the courage to display it in the middle of the dictatorship. If you look at
it, you can see a general and Herzog’s body. (see Figure 6)

Figure 6. Untitled, by Anatol Wladyslaw. Reprinted with permission from the owner.

Clearly, Ron’s evaluation of the aforementioned works as being important in his collection
reflects his singularity — embracing profound values that defy conventional and mainstream
norms and expectations, i.e., being true to one’s purpose and beliefs. This, in and of itself,
constitutes the quintessence of singularity.

Ron’s repetition of the word, “important”, clearly captures his pride in and ownership of
artworks that he considered to be “important”, particularly in its distinctiveness from what others
would deem as being important or of value. His use of “important” is, thus, very much in
keeping with the following two definitions: 1) being worthy of consideration; and 2) being
important to someone/something, as in “I care” (“Eu me importo”) — a subjective valuation.
Ron’s use of the signifier, “important”, to speak about his preferred art pieces shows how his
usage interweaves these two meanings: his valuation of the art pieces as “important” comes from
his subjective feeling, which deviates from the valuation that the market gives to artists and their
works.
 42

Although Ron did not utilize the word, “important”, in speaking about the business world, his
leadership approach similarly placed “importance” on his relationship with his employees, rather
than revenue generation:

[making sure that they are] heard within a group,… listened to, considered… I bet on
people. The other day I was looking my employees and the people who work for me, they
have been with me for 30 years on average. [bracketed statements are my own]

Essentially, giving “importance” to people, such as his employees, whom leaders may consider a
lower priority, characterized Ron’s singular way of leading. While Ron explicitly stated his
singular tendency to consider the “underdog” in art to be “important”, he appeared to be doing
the same with his employees, thus capturing the similarities in the singularity of his identity as a
leader and art collector. With his reiteration of the word, “important”, Ron revealed how he
perceived everyone in life, including himself, at heart: with “perseverance”, everyone and
everything have the potential to become important. Through his master signifier, “important”,
one can look into the heart and soul of Ron and celebrate his singularity.

The above discussion has shown how recurrent words, both as signifier and/or signified in the
leadership and art collection worlds, can offer extraordinary insights into how the interviewees’
singularity was engendered at their intersection point at the unconscious level. Even more
significantly, the in-depth exploration of the singularity of these interviewees through their
master signifiers has illuminated how their passion for their art collections empowered and/or
supported them in claiming and embracing their singularity. In the case of Charles, his art
collecting that captured his preference for “feeling”, rather than just “logic”, in his “sens[ing]” of
the world, ultimately gave him the boost to fully embrace his singularity and move away from
his professional role in an institution. As for Claudia, her art collecting served as a psychological
container to support her in evolving into a leader with her own kind of “focus”. With regards to
Ron, his signifier, illuminates his extraordinary affirmation of the value of humanity to become
“important”, regardless of their current station in life, or the perceptions of others. Through the
examination of the interviewees’ signifiers that link their business and art worlds together, we
are able to see how their passion for art had transformed them into inspiring individuals who
could influence others with their singularity.
 43

Theme 3: Connecting Signifiers – From Self to All

The master is not the one who teaches; It’s the one who suddenly learns
- João Guimarães Rosa

With this theme, we shift our attention to how art collecting enabled the interviewees to become
leaders who were genuinely able to promote the well-being of their employees. In fact, by using
the Lacanian framework of signifiers, we can even argue that the acts of “collecting art” and
“creating a collective”, i.e., an organization, are two sides of the same coin (R. Carvalho,
personal communication, May 8, 2019). Both “collection” and “collective” come from the Latin
root word, collectus, which means “gather together” (Jamieson, 1879, p. 449). Essentially, the
care with which interviewees invested in their collecting of art was mirrored in how they asserted
their leadership over their “collectives” of employees.

Thus far, with the previous themes, we have seen how art had served as a compensatory
container for difficult business realities and a transitional vehicle for self-exploration and
evolution. The focus has been largely centered on the interviewees themselves. However, even
within those discussions, it is clear that the processes of change within the interviewees had not
been confined to them solely. Rather, they had also spilled over into the interviewees’ dealings
with others and even entire systems within their orbit.

For Dan, his art collecting passion had challenged him to adopt an expansive vision in his
leadership approach to allow for the development and evolution of his followers. Instead of just
hiring people and expecting them to fulfill the organization’s objectives, he sought to create a
“psychologically safe space” that encouraged people to be themselves:

[Art helps] you [to] have a more generous look, I would say, about…differences, have a
more inclusive look. And if you like art, respect this world, why would you, within an
organization, be monolithic…? I think it brings more openness… I think that another
aspect that comes with this, perhaps, is an issue that I call tolerance.

Just as an art collection could comprise many unique pieces bound by the love of its owner, Dan
endeavoured to forge an organization in which his employees could feel that they could
simultaneously be individuals, as well as be a part of a collective.
 44

In fact, Dan so believed in the transformative power of art in reshaping perspectives that he
placed a part of his collection in the office and made the effort to rotate the works every six
months with several other co-workers and followers:

…those who collect, who like the arts in general, tend to be an aesthete…You at least are
attentive…to a beautiful object, the beauty that is around you. This is something that
touches you and you are not insensitive to it.

I tend to always try to develop in workplaces, places that are pleasant, that have
light...and to create a work context…where people feel good, a place that has harmony.

With his approach of introducing art into the workspace, one can see how Dan actively
cultivated the aesthetic sensibilities of his employees for a specific purpose. By placing his focus
on the individual well-being and development of his employees, Dan was not blind to the
organizational mission in his role as a leader. He truly believed that his employees could become
sensitized and attuned to themselves and others, thus leading to their development into singular
individuals. For him, it is very clear that the organization would benefit from becoming a
collective of singular individuals:

The mission that becomes a leader, I think, is to create a context in which people can
develop. Both professionally, doing the best they can, from a professional point of view,
as well as personally. I think it is being able to create a context in which you have a
combination of two journeys. A journey of the individual as a professional, right? Then
he has a strong contribution to the company…? …If he performs well, he contributes to
the growth of the company…

For a leader to prioritize tolerance, diversity, and singularity as the means towards the creation of
a harmonious workplace that caters to people’s well-being is akin to what Lacan called “the
desire of the analyst” (Lacan, 1966, p. 84). Lacan (1966) defined it as a desire to obtain from the
analysand his/her absolute difference – his/her singularity. As Lacanian psychoanalysts would
say, leaders such as Dan are ultimately committed to their followers’ singularities, a way to make
a sustainable and psychoanalytical transformation in their lives, and as a consequence, assure the
transformation of their organizations for the better.
 45

CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER

RESEARCH

Summary and Conclusion

The in-depth, psychoanalytical exploration of the polarizing, recurring, and connecting signifiers
in the three themes above has demonstrated the power of art collecting in shaping the
development of leadership singularity of these leaders-cum-art collectors. As illustrated by the
signifiers that emerged through their reflective discussions of their leadership roles, business
realities, and their love for art collecting, one’s self-conceptualization need not be cast in stone.
Within Lacan’s theoretical framework, the concept of “leadership” is an imaginary construction,
for signifiers are powerful, but fluid, entities that allow for change and transformation through
ongoing self-examination and re-evaluation (Driver, 2013). Therefore, one need not be
imprisoned by norms and expectations, as defined by any rigid, iron-clad “words” or “narratives”
imposed by others.

Thanks to their pursuit of their art collecting passion, these interviewees had been inspired to
lead a much-examined life to determine the kind of person and leader they wanted to be and the
type of organization and life they wished to lead. In the process, they were able to come up with
creative reconceptualizations of leadership, which transcended normative practices. Their
narratives thus set forth a challenge and a vision to all leaders to assert a kind of leadership that
allows for the pursuit of singularity in individuals as a transformative strategy for creating a
dynamic organization. In the end, leaders-cum-art collectors in this research study are like a
burning flame that illuminates the path towards singularity for themselves and others. They bear
witness to the possibility of being liberated from an unconscious destiny and the creation of a
transitional space for individuals to be responsible for their pursuit of singularity.

While these themes have shown convincingly how signifiers can reveal the power of art
collecting in helping individuals to achieve leadership singularity, the absence of signifiers
(Lacan, 2015) can also be very telling. For instance, the interviewees were not always readily
able to encapsulate who they were in relationship to their roles as leaders and art collectors, etc.
 46

There were noticeable pauses, changes in the direction of speech, contradictions, requests for
confirmation, etc.:

Leadership, I think it’s you... It’s you having a voice... You are playing this role in many
situations. I think I’m really bossy… very demanding with others... But I think it’s a
question of determination, of wanting to do it right, of... Ah, it's bad, right? (Sara)

William is a person who... This is a difficult question! Who am I? I think I am a person

who has a good view of the world... If you ask my wife, she will say that I am super
difficult... How am I going to tell you? I am a person who is very interested in things...
(William)

Ah, [art] is a pleasure that I cannot explain. When I see everything together, there, it is a
satisfaction, very pleasant… It is this pleasure of getting what you don’t have [and will
never have]; it is almost a will to find words for a sentence. (Ilan) [bracketed statements
are my own]

These signs that encapsulate the struggles of the interviewees to articulate their roles as leaders,
or explain their love for art collecting illustrate the importance of the Lacanian concept of “lack”
— the void necessary to manifest the desire of the Self as Subject (Driver, 2013). The absence of
the signifier that causes the imaginary self to fall even temporarily (Lacan, 1977b) allows the
subject to move towards singularity. It also reveals their desire to find the “correct” signifiers to
convey exactly what they mean, which also reflects their essence of singularity — the
authenticity of their effort to represent who they truly are.

Within this void, stripped of the certainties of signifiers they can articulate, the interviewees are
further pushed to get in touch with their multiple identities (Ibarra, 2013). It is only through this
process of seeking to define who they are or what they feel that the subject of desire can manifest
itself (Driver, 2013): “The failed constructions [are] indicators of continued desire and a
connection to something more powerful, creative and free that cannot be contained by any of the
things [they say they are or want]” (p. 417). This seeking, this quest, lies at the heart of the
interviewees’ singularities. It is what had made them authentic individuals and inspiring leaders
in my eyes.
 47

Limitations

Although the number of respondents is ideal for an IPA study, the findings cannot be considered
to be representative of a population due to the small sample size. At the same time, it is
important to point out that the nature of the study is centered upon an in-depth exploration of a
phenomenon of singularity in leaders-cum-art collectors with vast collections. Thus, the value of
the study lies in the thoroughness and depth of the analysis through a multi-faceted application of
a theoretical framework, rather than its broad representative applicability to a wide population.

A second limitation is the online setting of the interviews due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a
result, it might not have been possible to capture all the nuances of the interviewees’ reactions
that would have been more apparent in an in-person interview.

Last, but not least, I was acutely aware of my potential bias throughout the whole research study.
By adopting a qualitative approach, which required my interpretations of the data, it was
inevitable that who I am – my history, emotions, and thoughts — would “influence how data
[we]re gathered, interpreted, and presented” (Tufford & Newman, 2010, p. 2). Based on my
acute awareness of my own preconceptions and their effects, I “bracketed” my perspectives to
mitigate the negative effects of my subjectivity (Tufford & Newman, 2010).

Suggestions for Further Research

First, as a variation of this research study, one could conduct in-depth case study analyses of
individual interviewees, pertaining to their relationships with their art collections. The
assessment of the impact of the interviewees’ art collecting on their professional work could be
extended to a wider scale, instead of just being limited to leadership roles. Other possible effects
that could be studied could be the impact of art collecting on the interviewees’ management of
relationships with key individuals in their personal and professional lives.

Second, the insights derived from this research study about the effectiveness of signifiers in
revealing singularities in individuals or their unconscious selves could be transformed into an
organizational leadership workshop. Participants could be asked to pick out their favorite items
or activity and speak about it. The analysis of their master signifiers could be invaluable in
helping their leaders and colleagues to understand them. Such an exercise could be useful in
 48

enhancing programs for leadership development or addressing team challenges. The research
study would thus analyze the effectiveness of such a workshop in achieving its objective of
increasing organizational understanding of their employees through the lens of signifiers.

Finally, the validation of the concept of singularity in leadership also suggests that this concept
should be studied in greater depth in future research on organizational leadership. Leaders from
diverse organizations, with a track record for their innovative leadership approaches, could be
interviewed in one-on-one, semi-structured interviews, in order to develop an instrument for
rating the level of leadership singularity in an individual. Such an instrument could thus add to
an increased understanding of the different kinds of leadership required for adaptive
organizations today.
 49

“I imagined this as a portal, where the leader seeks his/her ‘lack’ on the other side”
- Lucas Lenci, photographer
 50

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Appendix A
Participation Invitation Letter

Dear X,

Hope this message finds you well, safe and healthy in these extraordinary times.

As you may know, I am completing the Executive Master in Change (EMC) program at
INSEAD. For my master’s thesis as part of the program, I am investigating the extent to which
art collecting influences leadership “singularity”, a term used in Lacanian psychoanalysis to
define what differentiates someone from others.

Based on your leadership position, as well as your pursuit of art collecting, I would greatly
appreciate 1-2 hours of your time to explore your roles as leaders and art collectors, as well as
your relationship with the art pieces in your collection. I would also like to request the
opportunity to view your collection through your mobile phone during this one-on-one, online
interview.

Please rest assured that the anonymity and the confidentiality of your responses will be
preserved. In terms of your art pieces, I will feature some of them in the thesis only you're your
permission.

I am certain that our dialogue will greatly enrich and enlighten my research study.

If you are interested, would you be available for an interview on Zoom in the next few weeks?
Thank you in advance and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Warm Regards,

Guilherme
 56

Appendix B
Participation Invitation Letter for Contacts of Potential Interviewees

Dear X,

Hope this message finds you well, safe, and healthy in these extraordinary times.

As you may know, I am in the midst of completing my master’s thesis as part of the Executive
Master in Change (EMC) program at INSEAD. I am investigating the extent to which art
collecting influences leadership “singularity”, a term used in Lacanian psychoanalysis to define
what differentiates someone from others. Therefore, I am seeking dedicated art collectors who
occupy a leadership position in their work — business leaders in organizations and influencers
whose significant impact is not linked to their association with an organization.

The one-on-one, online interviews should take no more than 1-2 hours. Interviewees will be
asked some questions about their leadership roles at work and their art collecting pursuit. As I
will be conducting the interview online, it would be great if the interviewees could do the call at
the location of their art collection so that they can show me some pieces. Alternatively, I can also
send the questions by email and have them answer in writing and send me pictures of the
collection in response to my questions. In other words, I am flexible and open to adapt to
whatever is convenient for the interviewee.

Please assure your contacts that the anonymity and the confidentiality of their responses will be
preserved. In terms of the pieces of art, I will put some of them in the thesis only with their
permission.

I would really appreciate it if you could introduce me to your contacts who are available for
interviews over the next few weeks.

Thank you very much for your help!

All the best,

Guilherme
 57

Appendix C
Interview Guide

1. Self: How would you describe yourself?

2. Leadership (Self as Object)

• What does the word, “leadership”, mean to you?

• Do you consider yourself to be a leader?
• What is your leadership style?

3. Art Collecting (Self as Subject)

• How would you describe your relationship with art and art collecting?
• Do you consider yourself to be an art collector? Why?
• Why do you collect?
• How have you been choosing the pieces of art in your collection? Any regrets?
• What criteria are important for you when choosing a piece of art?

Questions Posed After the Art Collection Tour

• Could you identify 1–3 pieces of art that you like the most?
• What does each one of them tell you about yourself? What do you feel when you see it?

My reminders during the interview (beyond narratives):

• Signifiers (any?)
• Self as instrument (what am I feeling? Why?)
• Interviewee’s environment
• Interviewee’s body language
• Silence and pauses
• Evidence of Transference
• Interviewee’s emotional role(s), fantasies, wishes