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Panel
Discussion
Leadership and Institutional Change: Taking it to the
Next Level
Saturday, June 3, 2006
David
Cohen, Contemporary Crafts Gallery and Museum, Portland
Kate Eilertsen, San Francisco Museum of Craft and Folk
Art
Michael Monroe, Bellevue Arts Museum, Seattle
Contemporary
Crafts Museum & Gallery
When
David Cohen was hired, CCMG had been in the same
location since its founding in 1937. The building is in
a residential neighborhood off the beaten track and with
practically no foot traffic. Despite a first class
collection and good reputation David found the museum
stagnating and asked the question: “Is this place worth
saving?” The Board met for 1 ˝ years, decided a move was
necessary, and came up with the specs for a new site.
They found space in the Pearl District, a growing mecca
for high density housing and creative enterprises.
Several other art galleries will be in the same building
to better take advantage of the traffic from First
Thursday and other arts district promotions. CCMG will
leave the building it has inhabited for 69 years in the
spring of 2007. To become better known as a museum
instead of a gallery they will keep the gift shop, but
plan to stop selling art out of exhibitions.,
San Francisco
Museum of Craft and Folk Arts
When
Kate Eilertsen was hired in 2004 she had been lead to
believe the museum was in good shape, but soon
discovered it was in debt and the previous director had
alienated almost everyone. After the first step of
cutting staff and programs it became obvious that the
only way to survive was to produce more earned income
and the only way to do that was to leave the Fort Mason
site and relocate somewhere more easily accessible by
public transportation nearer to a more commercial area.
The city helped them find a suitable site in the museum
district downtown near the convention center. Since
SFMCFA couldn’t afford a long down time they managed to
raise the necessary money in 6 months. Moving was
relatively easy since the museum has no permanent
collection.
One
source of earned income is the museum shop which now
grosses $200,000 per year and has a goal of $400,000 per
year. In addition, admittance paying visitors have
increased by 500%.
Bellevue Art
Museum
Michael Monroe was hired as director of a museum that
had failed and closed. The community was divided about
the institution’s future, so he committed not to reopen
until 3 million dollars had been raised. He decided to
return to the original vision and format – that of a
craft museum, partly because that niche was missing in
Seattle art scene. Many local donors were angry with
this decision, and as a result most of the money was
raised out-of-state. Since there were clouds over the
old administration and since any success would have to
be spectacular to overcome the past failure, Michael
made sure all his planning and goals were totally
transparent. When BAM reopened it did so with a Board
of Directors who were all business people and a mostly
young and enthusiastic staff. Results: the slowest day
the museum has now is busier than the busiest day of the
previous operation.
What
provokes institutional change and what are obstacles to
change?
The
possibility or reality of failure provokes change.
Discomfort with change among board members, staff, the
public, and artists is the biggest obstacle. All three
panelists were hired as directors at a time when things
were going wrong or had already gone wrong; it was their
job to overcome the human obstacles, as well as physical
ones. They had no devotion to the institutions’
traditions. Unlike the long-timers, they asked
questions and never said, “But we’ve always done it this
way.”
What
role does the Director have in implementing change?
Must have a creative vision of new possibilities for the
museum. It is a distinct advantage to come with a good
track record at another museum and to be a seasoned
professional in the field.
Must
build trust among the board, staff, donors, and other
constituencies. Each group needs to have ownership and
buy-in for a new direction, and each group should have
the opportunity to connect with the other groups. Since
change is difficult for some, new blood may have to be
recruited. Inflexible or reluctant staff and board
members often quit, but may have to be eased out. If a
leader has the trust, others will follow, even if they
can’t yet see the change in a totally positive light
yet.
Must
“manage the message” to win the larger community over.
It is important to have good press – a positive mention
in a major magazine will cause others to jump on board.
The staff and board needs coaching on what to say in
public about a move or other change so they will not
contradict the official message.
Transparency is important – the words and actions of the
Director have to match. Go with small increments and
don’t promise too much, especially to big donors.
How can
the Director develop an excellent board?
If a new Director has conflicts with a strong old Board,
a facilitated retreat may help find common bonds. The
facilitator may end up saying the same thing as the
Director, but a board often finds buy-in easier coming
from an outside voice. Be sure to check the references
of the professional facilitator – not all are effective.
To
attract a dynamic board (as opposed to Old Mossy Back
Slugs) there should be a definition of qualifications
for board members, rules about attendance, contribution,
and work written into the by-laws. Make sure
expectations are clear: that the Board’s duty is to set
policy and raise money, not to play staff member.
It is
better to have a few good board members than lots of
fair ones.
What
about problems of succession and continuation?
A
development/marketing director is a key to
continuation. There are 32 non-profits looking for
development directors in Seattle today. It is a good
field to enter right now.
There
is a cult of personality – the Director is often “the
brand.” It is a problem because of the impossibility of
plugging in a new person when “the brand” leaves.
How is
it possible to measure success after a PLAN has evolved
from the MISSION?
It is
very hard to measure success. Try to move toward a
higher quality, learning what works and what doesn’t as
you go along.
It is
most important to set priorities – that is what
effective leadership is about.
Just as
an artist is always reformulating and moving on,
directors must do this. An organization is like a
sculpture -- parts can be stuck on or pulled of. Take
risk, gets lots of ideas and combine them. Stopping
means getting rigid and losing insights.
When
you have the perfect situation and are successful, how
do you avoid getting stale?
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Transition from success to higher success
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Try
new things because one failure won’t put the
institution at risk
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Have a facilitated session for everyone to dream,
vision, and ask: what else can we do?
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Form community partnerships or grow an endowment
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