ARTSblog

Jennifer Armstrong

Now more than ever, professionals of multiple generations have knowledge and skills to share with one another.  The strategy suggested in the green paper to best share these assets to further the field is a collaborative and participatory leadership structure versus a top down hierarchical structure.  In the proposed strategy, not only is leadership developed at all levels within an organization – strengthening the individual, organization and field – but it also helps to prepare for smoother transitions and successions at any level at any moment.  It seems like such a logical approach, so what stands in its way of success? People.

It always comes down to people.  Our capacity to learn. Our capacity to change. Our capacity to communicate.  Our capacity to share.

Learn – More leaders in executive positions need to learn how this system might work and be successful for them.  How can we make this model and training more available and attractive to execs? Has collaboration been taught and cultivated in all of us? How can we strengthen that skill across all levels of leadership? Read the rest of this entry »

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I was recently captivated by a keynote speaker’s unique perspective on leadership. He asked all of the leaders in the room to stretch both of their arms up and reach for the sky. That’s what leaders do; they see a vision and reach for it. However, after awhile, their arms will get tired. The question posed to us was, who will stand by them to help them keep reaching? Many are quick to criticize and tear down those in leadership positions, but do we do just as much or more to support leaders trying to move us toward something new? Read the rest of this entry »

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There have been numerous leadership studies in the last ten years. There is an abundance of writing on leadership in the field.  Across seemingly all fields, the topic of leadership succession and development has been discussed at great length.  As new classes join the ranks, more voices are joining the dialogue.  Is the conversation changing?   How?  Who is actually reading and reacting to this bounty of information?  Are we merely talking to ourselves?  So many individual voices, but organizationally and systemically, are we really stopping to question, evaluate and change?  What is the tangible progress?  Is it enough?  Will the issue of leadership development and succession continue to be so significant for Gen X and Y ten years from now? Twenty?  Will it be a different conversation?  What about for the generations rising behind X and Y?  Do we need more radical movement or just more engagement in the discussion?   Is this truly a never ending conversation? Should it be?

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Change happens. We make change happen.  Change changes us. We change places.  Becoming an arts leader is no small change.

Didn’t many of us start out in this business to make change, or at least to contribute to change already occurring? Did we really sign on to a life of low pay and low profile for the excitement of the status quo?  Is that what keeps our artists and audiences growing, the lure of monotony?  What are the road blocks that prevent us from being innovative agents of change? Read the rest of this entry »

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Welcome to the Green Paper discussion on Leadership for the Arts. We encourage you to read the full Green Paper available in the tab above and make general comments at this time. Be sure to keep your comments brief—Jennifer Armstrong, the Ambassador for this Green Paper will soon begin deeper, threaded conversations around specific paragraphs, sections or themes that appear in this Green Paper. Follow this conversation thoroughly by adding the Leadership feed to your RSS reader!

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