Executive Master in Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurial Leadership
Meet the faculty: Jörg Reckhenrich
Jörg Reckhenrich is an Art Expert, Systemic Consultant and Artist in Residence at the Jean-Baptiste Say Institute. With a deep passion for positive psychology, his ambition is to help leaders and their teams to regularly challenge their strategy. He has developed The Art of Positive Leadership, bringing his unique perspective as an artist to business contexts. In the Executive Master in Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurial Leadership (EMDIEL), Jörg conducts the Improbable Workshop - a multi-day art thinking event. We had the pleasure of speaking with Jörg and asking him about his thoughts on the state of leadership and his passion for thinking outside the box, challenging conventional approaches and developing creativity in leaders.
ESCP: Jörg, in a world where data is king and monitoring employee’s routines and performances has become possible in many areas, what does positive leadership look like to you?
Jörg Reckhenrich: To me, positive leadership is about creating an environment where each person feels valued, trusted, and motivated to bring their best. It’s about leading with empathy, understanding each team member’s strengths, and encouraging open communication where everyone feels safe to share ideas, take risks, and learn from mistakes. A positive leader celebrates strengths and acknowledges individual growth and effort. Ultimately, positive leadership lifts people up and unites the team around a shared vision.
ESCP: You are bringing The Art of Positive Leadership to businesses across the globe. Could you explain to us what’s behind this concept and what inspired you to create it?
Jörg Reckhenrich: Humans are creators. Therefore, the Art of Positive Leadership is about seeing leadership as a creative process—much like art. I was inspired to develop this concept by seeing how powerful leadership can be when it goes beyond managing tasks to truly nurturing human potential. Just as an artist brings vision and intention to a canvas, a positive leader brings empathy, inspiration, and adaptability to their team. It’s about recognizing each person's unique strengths and crafting an environment where those strengths can flourish together.
ESCP: Why do you think art is important in the personal development of leaders?
Jörg Reckhenrich: Art brings a deeply humanistic perspective to leadership, which is essential for personal development. Engaging with art helps leaders connect with their own emotions, values, and vulnerabilities—qualities that are foundational to leading authentically. Art encourages self-reflection, empathy, and seeing things from multiple perspectives, which are critical skills for understanding and motivating others.
ESCP: What role do you think art or art-thinking can play in business innovation?
Jörg Reckhenrich: Art-thinking plays a transformative role in business innovation, especially in today’s complex, paradoxical world. Unlike traditional approaches, art-thinking encourages leaders to embrace ambiguity, take creative risks, and explore challenges from multiple perspectives. By engaging in more experimental, open-ended situations—much like an artist with a blank canvas—leaders can discover fresh, unexpected ideas that wouldn’t emerge through conventional methods.
ESCP: In the EMDIEL, you run the Improbable Workshop, a creative journey that takes participants from building a bold initial concept to displaying their piece of art. What impact does improbable have when it comes to dealing with uncertainty?
Jörg Reckhenrich: Improbable goes beyond handling uncertainty; it equips participants to address today’s complex paradoxes, like the Innovation-Sustainability or Profit-Purpose Paradox. These challenges require a mindset that balances seemingly opposing goals—creativity with responsibility, profitability with impact. Through a flexible, iterative art-making process, Improbable teaches teams to view uncertainty as a space for exploration. Participants develop a strong, open-minded attitude, learning to approach ambiguity as an opportunity for meaningful, values-driven innovation.
ESCP: Has the EMDIEL produced an artwork that has made a particular and lasting impression on you? If so, what was it and what moved you about it?
Jörg Reckhenrich: Yes, one artwork made a lasting impression on me, especially in how powerfully it conveyed the risk of data leaks. The students created an installation using hospital infusion equipment filled with red liquid, symbolizing sensitive information, which dripped onto the floor and eventually disappeared. What moved me was how tangible and unsettling it made the concept. Watching the liquid leak and vanish captured the irreversible loss of personal data in a way that you could *feel*. It brilliantly illustrated the urgency of protecting our information, showing how art can make abstract issues resonate on a deep, lasting level.
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