Leadership in the arts
Whether you are pursuing a career in business or in the arts, the role of the leader is about managing contradiction.
In business, the leader is paid to think and operate strategically yet the demands of shareholders, customers and the company dictate that the majority of their time is spent managing tactical issues. Last year some 22% of Chief Executive Officers in Fortune 500 Companies lost their jobs. Their average tenure was just four years. (Harvard Business Review July 2002).
In the arts, the leader is expected to manage through a minefield of contradiction. They must satisfy multiple stakeholders including government, funding bodies, sponsors, audiences and their own Board of Trustees, each with different and often opposing agendas that may result in a conflict between commercial and cultural aims, or even undermine the organisation?s core business. Arts leaders are expected to produce artistic excellence within limited resources, yet maintain financial stability; they must manage a commercial business enterprise, although creativity is rarely market-orientated; they are no longer funded just to direct an arts organisation, museum or gallery, but must also fulfil a political agenda addressing regeneration, education, social inclusion and multiculturalism. In effect, the arts leader?s role has never been more demanding.
So how to navigate through this minefield? The success for the Chief Executive lies in being given a clear mandate by the Board of Trustees and the funding bodies that defines their individual and collective expectations and sets realistic objectives against which the executive will be assessed, measured, rewarded or fired. Managing expectations becomes a critical dynamic in the success or failure of the Chief Executive.
Therefore, it follows that the leader must be aware of these objectives before taking on the position, just as the stakeholders must equally invest the time to work through and identify realistic goals at the selection stage. Once defined, the Board must then appoint someone who has the requisite skills to deliver against these expectations, whether artistic, commercial or financial. Likewise, the Chief Executive should expect the full support and necessary resources of the organisation to enable him or her to deliver the set mandate. Consequently, it is critically important that arts leaders learn how to manage ?upwards? through their Chair and Board as well as ?downwards? through their management team.
What, then, are the requisite skills needed by the Executive and sought by the Board to be able to deliver increased levels of transparency, effective governance and artistic and financial results? The necessity for change in the arts leadership model has become critical. Connections, networks and artform knowledge are no longer sufficient.
In our experience, leadership qualities can be measured by aptitude, attitude and capability. Whether a leader in the private sector or in the arts, there is little difference in the characteristics required. As a rule of thumb, leaders should possess:
? Vision - a capability to define the future state
? Tenacity
? Emotional intelligence
? Intellectual energy
? Physical energy
? Communication
? Passion
? Commitment
? Inspiration
? Self-belief
? Capacity for change
A formidable list and one that includes both qualities inherent in an individual and skills that can be taught and acquired. It is hardly surprising that a high percentage of commercial leaders now work with a personal executive coach to help them through the leadership minefield. Unlike a mentor, a coach is usually someone from outside the industry who provides counsel and support and becomes a critical sounding board on a wide range of personal and professional issues. The coach prepares the individual leader to take full advantage of the circumstances, environment and resources at their disposal and offers a perspective that can be distanced and enlightened.
As the Chief Executive of a Fortune 500 Company or of a cultural organisation, the ability to manage contradiction is essential. Recognising where it occurs in your own organisation is the first step - how to manage it then becomes the priority. Joining the ranks of the 22% who failed should never be an option.
Heather Newill is Director of the Arts, Entertainment & Media practice at Friedlander Sachs e: heathernewill@eu.spherion.com