I was reading Shannon Daut’s post on the lack of executive opportunities for emerging leaders and it got me thinking:  true - there are very few Executive Director positions available, and usually those are offered to seasoned, rather than next generation leaders. Of course this makes sense when experience (or a name) is held higher than untapped vision. With the emergence of more graduate programs focused on arts administration, the competition is even greater: we are becoming more educated, more skilled, and we are looking for a challenge.

So perhaps we should be creating our own challenges.

Last year I joined fellow community members and arts-minded neighbors to create the North Brooklyn Public Art Coalition, which produces, presents and supports public art while addressing the needs of the North Brooklyn community. In keeping with its advocacy efforts, I moderated a conversation of 25 arts leaders of Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick. We gathered to discuss the role of public art in our open spaces and, more broadly, the state of the arts in our community. 

I am of two minds about leadership trainings. On one hand I believe any time invested in thinking about leadership is worthwhile. On the other hand, we should not expect classroom-based, curriculum-driven instruction to work in a vacuum. Whatever combination of the words “leadership,” “management,” “academy,” “institute,” “fellowship,” or even, “university” we use, if we think packing ourselves off to leader camp for a day or a week is some sort of silver-bullet solution to either our demands for professional development or our organization’s whimperings for change then we are sorely mistaken.

Yes—we can read about and listen to mantras on teamwork, ethics, giving and receiving feedback, results-based decision making, strategic planning, emotional intelligence, and business acumen but without a complimentary system with which to practice these skills are we really supporting leadership development? No amount of leadership lecturing can help a young manager who is returning to an organization that doesn’t want to change.

What is it about cross-sector collaboration that turns on young arts professionals? Whether its art therapy, eco art or political activism through the arts, my peers seem particularly drawn to social service, urban design, environmental, health and economical revitalization partnerships. This inclination speaks to our interest in expanding the scope of our organization’s artistic work so that it may touch and speak to a broader public. It also speaks to emerging leaders’ diverse professional interests.

Los Angeles-based institutions have picked up on the trend of cross-disciplinary art practices and art programs. Artist collaborative Fallen Fruit recently curated an exhibition and participatory event series at LACMA that brings together concepts of urban farming, sustainability, politics and architecture called EATLACMA. Edgar Arceneaux and Watts House Project wants to ignite economic revitalization through community engagement with the arts. LA Commons invites the public to investigate the LA urban landscape through cultural treks through the city. The Unusual Suspects brings play-writing, play producing and acting opportunities to probation camp teens to inspire, change lives and ultimately reduce recitivism. These are the types of civic engagement projects that my peers and I are eager to conceive and be a part of.

When someone leaves an organization one has to ask: did they jump or were they pushed?

The ‘arts leaders of tomorrow’ are leaping, and getting shoved out of the arts non profits all the time – and it’s one of the biggest problems those of us who want to see dynamic arts organizations contribute to a vital society must solve.  (By the way I know everyone is sick of debating what ‘emerging’ means in the leadership discussion but can we get a cool acronym or something to shorthand the group of people in the early part of their careers in the arts?).

I've been writing about leadership and young nonprofit professionals for the past three years, and what I've finally come to is this: one of our biggest misconceptions about leadership is that it has something to do with a title.

The nonprofit sector often operates as if leadership were a noun. They look to "the leadership" to provide the answers, and blame "the leadership" when ideas fail or solution don't come fast enough. I've heard many a young professional talk about leaving their organization because of disappointment in "the leadership." The problem with this sentiment is that it assumes that leadership is a position at the top of the org chart and that it's the responsibility of one person (or a select few) to lead the agency to success.

That's why we use the term "emerging leaders." Because we think that until you've reached the CEO position or ascend to a senior management role or reach the ripe age of 50, you have not yet "emerged."

But what if we thought of leadership as a verb?

The American String Teachers Association’s second principle in our vision for the future of string and orchestral music education deals with “influencing policy at the local, state, and national levels to promote the arts as a core component of a well-rounded education and of thriving communities.”

If we are going to influence policy, who do we need to sell on the benefits of string and orchestral music education to do so?  Who are the people who, on all levels, would be our best advocates? 

I would hypothesize that the answer can be found in the last two words of this second principle – “thriving communities.”  Take a look at the communities where the arts play a key roll in the health of the area.  Those are the communities that understand the importance of the cultural element.  My own current hometown of Gadsden, Alabama, is a perfect example.  The downtown area, once despondant and going the way of many small downtowns in the United States, has enjoyed a resurgence in the past 20 years, including occupancy rates over 80% and a monthly downtown festival, First Friday, that is ranked among the best in the Southeast.  When did the change occur?  When the Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts became the occupant of an otherwise vacant department store in the heart of downtown.