Today I began to imagine what it's like to stand in the shoes of people working in Christiania.
These are the shoes of Ingrid who works in the art gallery. She has four pairs of shoes with her at all times to respond to different aspects of her work. She has tiny feet and beautifully pedicured painted toenails. She first lived and worked in Christiania in 1972. She is very proud of the new linoleum that has been put down on the kitchen floor. She feels like cleaning it now.
The gallery sells posters of all the work made by artists to advertise all of the events that have taken place in Christiania over the last 37 years. Business men bring their corporate clients here for group talks and tours so that they can see how free-thinking Copenhagen is.
I was reading today that aesthetic leadership is currently seen as a key concept for management studies, where aesthetic workers can provide critical insight on crucial concerns and alternative ways of thinking about problems and received wisdom.
Perhaps I need to pay attention to my feet if I am to make a spectacle of myself. Visual communication is significant and accounts for over 70 per cent of the messages and therefore assumptions formed at reception. In one piece of organisational research I carried out, on equal opportunities and the distribution of power, the women – particularly in administrative or 'support' roles – power-dressed very carefully. Fridays were dressing down day which seemed to be even more of a challenge. They worked really hard at being taken seriously. A well accessorised suit and a manicure could set just the right tone
The dress code appears very relaxed here but the devil is in the detail.
