Jerry D. Yoshitomi
The Conceptual Emergency in Arts Leadership
Posted by Mar 15, 2016 5 comments
Jerry D. Yoshitomi
Congratulations and appreciation to our colleagues at The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for this thoughtful, action-provoking report, Moving Arts Leadership Forward. It describes A Field at Risk. Or, to use a phrase coined by the International Futures Forum in the U.K., we have a conceptual emergency. Some key concepts from the report:
- P. 15: Failure to take into account these dramatic changes in the larger landscape could result …in decisions that inadvertently reinforce the status quo, leading to stagnation in the sector.
- P. 1: The change required is in many ways antithetical to the more traditional form of leadership that our sector currently embraces.
- P. 10: Most executive leaders express a desire to change organizational culture to be more inclusive of generational expectations, but feel they lack models and the support for doing so.
- P. 10: Increasing cross-generational leadership across the field would help it better reflect—and maintain relevance in—a continually diversifying environment.
- P. 14: No longer feasible for one leader alone to manage and respond to the increasingly complex and changing environment.
Our hierarchical organizational structures, financing systems, boards of directors, and senior leadership have not only failed to create pathways for younger leaders to assume leadership positions, but also have concurrently discounted the needs and aspirations of the next generation of audiences, customers, and donors. What is needed, therefore, is not merely a change in leadership, but rather a field-wide effort in Leading Change at all levels of the organizational hierarchy.
- Peter Drucker: “Managing is doing things right, leadership is doing the right things.” While graduate arts management programs have effectively communicated management methods, there is limited opportunity for arts leaders, whether they be early or mid-career, to learn and practice leadership skills on projects and experiments that will advance the field while concurrently propelling their own careers. Emerging leader affinity groups have not yet progressed to become laboratories for field changing experiments that might be training grounds for leaders of change. Knowledge management and dissemination of leadership intellectual capital could serve as a future bridge between past, current, and future generations of leaders.
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In Three Horizons, Bill Sharpe suggests that when the current system (horizon) gradually goes into decline (some say that it already has), a second system with similar values will attempt to take its place, but it will similarly fade. It will be the third horizon, with new values and customers that will prevail. This is similar to Christensen’s Innovators’ Dilemma in which organizations focus on a smaller and smaller number of high value customers and choose not to address the next generation of customers who will provide high value in the future.
- Structural and systemic change is clearly required. I am surprised this well-researched report failed to address the role that boards of directors, donors, and foundation/government funders play as organizations choose to ignore new constituencies and generations of leaders. There is definitely a need for a flatter, more horizontal, operating and governance system, suggesting a narrower gap between the top and bottom organizational salaries of an organization or a wider gap for the ages of Board Members. Imagine that board of directors that might have an equal number of members from each generational cohort: 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, & 70s.
- While the report emphasizes the importance of the next generation of leaders, there are many talented younger boomers and Gen Xer’s who have served for years as bridges between generations and are more than capable of taking over. They have much of the same experience and intellectual capital as older boomers, but have the benefit of closely observing hierarchical leaders reluctant to change. A word must also be said for the wisdom of elders. It’s vitally important that we elders step forward sharing the wisdom from our years of service.
- In addition to the report’s recommendations, one further suggestion might be to consider an environmental approach to addressing sector needs vs. a funder/grantee approach. For example, instead of directly supporting emerging arts leader cohorts, environmental strategies could be developed that encourage change throughout the sector, including the engagement of emerging leaders. These might be similar to recommendations made by the Urban Institute’s Investing in Creativity.
- I commend the writers of the report for including Distributed Leadership Quotient Quiz. The Cross-Generational Mindset Score might encourage organizations to self-certify that they are with the program, similar to companies and organizations certifying that they are eco-friendly or the Australia Council’s Artistic Vibrancy self-assessment, for example. It is a practice that could be easily observed without the necessity of grants or mandates. A companion Am I Prepared to Lead Quotient Quiz might assist aspiring leaders to assess in they have both the management and leadership skills necessary for leading change.
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s report, Moving Arts Leadership Forward, describes a changing arts leadership and workforce. Americans for the Arts, in partnership with the Hewlett Foundation, has asked a diverse group of arts leaders to respond to the report’s findings and the recommendations it makes for the field.
Comments
I wonder if commenting on my own Blog post is similar to talking to myself? Maybe it is, so for now, I'll keep my follow-up comments to myself.
However, I'd be pleased to hear from others.
jy
It's been of interest to me to see the responses to my short post on facebook vs. comments here. About 80 likes and/or comments on facebook and 200 click-throughs from there to this post. However, only one comment here thus far. There seems to be a great deal of interest in continuing the conversation at a number of conferences and gatherings. I'm clumsily cutting/pasting from Facebook to this blog:
This is what I said on facebook. "I'm participating in a blog post regarding the next generation of arts leadership. If that's of interest to you, please let me know, and click this link". These were the responses:
David Rowell Jerry, it is of a great deal of interest to me. Thank you.
Kristin Runnels Printed this out yesterday and it's on my list to read! I've been familiarizing myself with Emiko's work for years, so an initial glance through the publication was about what I expected, but I'm sure there is PLENTY to digest!
Judith Luther Wilder Great way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, you crazy Irishman!
Jerry Yoshitomi I wore a button all day that said "cute leprechaun" that Cindy gave me.
Daniel Phoenix Singh Very interested!
Jacob Yarrow Interested.
Itzik Becher Interested
Janet Cowperthwaite Yes.
Elisabeth Hayes Yes!
Joanna Maratta Very timely report in Canada as one of new liberal government arts focus through Dept if Canadian Heritage recognises the need to support younger arts professionals. I hope many will read this. JY Response: Maybe we could do a conversation during REAL TIME at Pacific Contact?
Jennifer Bowker This is great to see! Felt alone experiencing this glass ceiling. Never getting ahead as an arts administrator disillusioned and dissatisfied with many of the past organizations who refused to change significantly to attract a new generation. Tired of ...See More JY Response: There might be a conversation about the report during Pacific Contact in Vancouver on April 1 & 2. Or if you're not able to join that, maybe start a facebook group in Canada
Michael E. Alexander Jerry, I am very interested in this. I look forward to being involved. JY Response: One of the ways to start might be to encourage all arts organizations in LA to take the survey that's part of the report, and then maybe do a ongoing working group on this.
Ken Foster Michael E. Alexander would love to talk with you about hosting something here in LA through USC Arts Leadership.
Joe Randel I'm also interested. Thanks, Jerry!
Inga Petri Interested. Want to talk next week? Monday?
Cathy Barbash Interested
Michael Mushalla Very interested. Let me know when you would like to speak.JY Response: Thank you for your response. Are you available to talk next week?
Kyoko Yoshida I'm interested in. Thank you for the invitation.
Diem Jones Jerry...thanks for the analysis and recap of a fabulous report
David O'Fallon Very interested. This is a much needed conversation Jerry. And Glad to see someone else reading IFF posts. JY Response: David: I think that three horizons has much to say to us. It's in parallel to Christensen's work on the Innovators Dilemma. Is the IFF work being applied in the arts here in the U.S? It's also gaining resonance in Canada. David O'Fallon not often applied as far as I know jerry. I'm excited by your posts because it signals that we might have more of this thinking, of edge pushing, of seeking new patterns.JY Response: I'm in the process of writing a short paper on three horizons and its relevance to the arts. Would you be willing to be a reader/commentator of the first draft David O'Fallon would be excited and honored to do so.
Michael J Kondziolka Interested JY Response: Thanks for your response. I'd be very interested in hearing your take on all of this.
Wiley Hausam Hi Jerry! I'm interested too. JY Response: Wiley: thanks for your response. I know you'd have much to say on this topic.
Linda Grimes Interested JY Response: There seems to be a lot of interest in LA. I know that Emerging Arts Leaders group is having a conversation on this on March 30
Laura Sweet Of course I'm interested! Thanks for continually raising important topics and issues dear Jerry!!
Eric Wallner Hi Jerry, I'd love to help in any way! Important conversation!
Amy Dupain Vashaw Hello, Jerry and all. Definitely interested in participating in a discussion. Thanks!
Gretchen Douma Absolutely interested! And thanks for posting.
Ken Foster Hey Jerry great to see your comments. I was fortunate to be able to join Emiko, Angie Kim of CCI and Mike Courville of Open Mind Consulting to provide some context in a "pre release" of the report to the monthly meeting of LA Funders. Both the Arts Leadership Program at USC that I launched in 2013 and the Mid-Career Leadership Fellows Program at APAP that I co-designed with Scott Stoner, now in its second year, were created with the recognition that the world of arts leadership today is vastly different and requires different ideologies and skills than when we started. This was one of those moments when the research confirmed what I had intuitively understood about the context within which we work. That said, the report is generationally focused for sure and touched only slightly on two other key areas that need much more attention and ACTION - Board governance (or lack thereof) and racial and ethnic diversity and its transformative impact on arts organizations. In both cases, I think fundamental change in current practice is required and I am working on this in my work with both USC and APAP. I believe the plan is for us to present again at GIA in October and I will talk with Emiko about possibly adding WAA and APAP to that schedule.
JY Response: There's an excellent blog post regarding the issue of ethnic and racial diversity that merits further examination and discussion. It's my opinion that the Board of Directors issue is the elephant in the room and it's cousin is Funder proclivities, including the Boards of Funders. I'm wondering if your Center at USC might be willing to take on an assessmet of the Board issues?
JY Response: If you're thinking about adding a conversation at WAA and APAP, I would be pleased to join you
Lori Robishaw I'm interested, too, Jerry--I look forward to seeing you in Ohio in May. JY Response: Yes, looking forward to seeing you, and hope that this might be part of the conversation at Arts Impact Ohio Ohio Citizens for the Arts
Jim Rice Very interested thanks
Julieanne Case Yes. Letting Margaret know too
Vera DeVera Thanks Jerry, looking forward to what's next! JY Response: Thanks, Vera, let's keep it going. I know that you've always been committed to engaging the next generation of leaders
Diane Ragsdale Jerry! This is great ... so enthused to see this discussion happening and that you are part of it. Remember GIA??? X JY Response: Yes, so many times revisiting similar conversations. However I think the Hewlett research has taken us to a new place. Speaking of GIA, I was re-reading a GIA article written in 1996 entitled "we are now the elders." I guess the next article should be. "NOW we REALLY are the elders." I am disappointed that we do continue to revisit the topic. I'm hoping that the Hewlett research and the AFTA blog will be the springboard (though I'm too old to actually jump off a springboard) to further conversation and then actual change.
Alan Kita Very interesting. But does the leadership in the arts come innately or does it need to be "passed the torch?"JY Response: It actually should be 'seized'. Another way to think about it is in a relay race, when the next runner is ready with hand outstretched, it's important to see that as well.
Karen Schmidt Hanner Hi Jerry! Would love to get this blog ...
Roger Tomlinson Thanks Jerry. Absolutely pertinent and relevant. Here in UK current funding environment for the arts is most challenging since WW2 at dangerous moment of demographic change. Arts leadership needs new perspectives and more creative skills, instead of managing decline. JY Response: Has the IFF Three Horizons work had any resonance in the arts sector there? Roger Tomlinson Recall the late Tim Roberts quote: "In the arts, well-meaning incompetence is still incompetence". JY Response: I'm not certain 'well-meaning' is correct in this case
Others who liked the post on Facebook
Today's LA Times has a great column on Boomers and Millennials in the workplace, including suggestions on how to deal with Boomers' deflated egos.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0325-friedman-millennials-boo...
As a 30 year old millenial working for a non profit arts organization in Canada, your blog and the articles you referenced has put on paper (and given proper terminology!) to many of the thoughts and concerns I've had over my 5 year career. In particular, your comment about the report's oversight in the role a board of directors can have on reinforcing a non-hierarchical leadership structure.
In reflecting on my own experience, I have been given complete autonomy to lead the projects I manage, but overall I'm not given the recognition for this work (and I'm not equating 'recognition' with 'praise' here). As many non profits do, we operate with a team-based approach, which while vital and I think natural in this industry, can be very restricting on the individual's understanding and confidence in their own contributions.
As an emerging arts professional (most often 15 - 20+ years younger than the professionals participating in my programs), it has concerned me greatly over the years that the board and organization overall see me strictly as a logistics administrator for the projects I manage, instead of a leader and colleague. Reading these materials has given me some ideas and I think I need to lead and empower myself to make this change. A good start might be having the opportunity to report on my projects at board meetings (perhaps the ED report become a staff report? Is that going too far?!). Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks, Jerry, for your thorough and thoughtful commentary on the new report from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation on leadership in the arts. I read the report with great interest, having facilitated a program in Columbus, OH for five years called the Next Generation of Leaders Program (NGL). http://www.strategiclinks.info/next-generation-leaders/
I had the honor of serving as the thought leader and facilitator for small cohorts (up to 10) "emerging" leaders from 2009 - 2014. The goal of this leadership development/fellowship program was to train the next generation of executive directors to serve central Ohio's leading arts organizations. The program began in 1999, and I was fortunate to have participated as an emerging leader in 2003, after being in the field for 15 years. With no strict age requirement and loose guidelines for what constituted an "emerging leader," we had a mix of what the report terms early- and mid-career leaders. This flexibility always made for rich cross-pollination of experiences and a group coaching atmosphere. Not to mention a rich network of more than 100 graduates with a shared experience over the 15 years of the program.
While many of the program graduates are doing wonderful and important work in central Ohio and around the country, none of them are executive directors of major arts organizations in the this region. A few are executive leaders of small arts organizations, with the majority of program graduates working in programming, marketing, and development positions for organizations of all sizes.
In analyzing data we collected over the years, it appears there are a few factors that contribute to these facts:
In my work with nonprofit boards, I find that board trustees, and their late-career executives stuggle mightly with succession planning. I find very few who are actively engaged in this process in meaningful, sustainable, and effective ways.
I hope the organizational self-assessment in the report will serve as a conversation starter for organizations and arts leaders at all levels. It will take candid and strategic conversations on this topic to move the needle in the future. Perhaps funders might consider supporting "leadership labs" to create and highlight effective models of distributed leadership in the arts. For example, what does a distribured leadership organizational chart look like? Our future as a sector depends on curcial conversations that wil help us discover, create, and share new ways of working.