Examination of aesthetic leadership qualifications and behaviors: A research on Genchlik Sahnesi Stage in Eskishehir City Theaters

The aim of this study was to determine the aesthetic leadership qualifications and behaviors of the director of the Genchlik Sahnesi in Eskishehir City Theaters. Qualitative research approach was adopted and case study design was used. The participants of the research were the theater actors and the director of the theater which is active in the Genchlik Sahnesi in 2019. The research data was collected through semi-structured observation, semi-structured interviews and the researcher's diaries. In order to analyze the collected data, content analysis method was used. In this study, firstly, the phenomenon of aesthetic leadership was investigated and different approaches developed in this sense were examined. Then, the research was carried out based on the aesthetic leadership dimensions mentioned in the literature and analyzed under these dimensions. The findings of the research were supported by the opinions of the director and observation data and as a result, it was revealed that the focal person - director had aesthetic leadership qualifications and behaviors. The focus person has aesthetic leadership characteristics such as a nice looking, solution oriented, having effective communication skills, detailed. In the same context, aesthetic leadership behaviors are developing individual relationships, using emotions as knowledge, raising awareness, standing against artistic negativity, team building, establishing emotion based relationships, developing trust relationships. Keywords: Leadership, Aesthetics Leadership, Art, Theater