Leadership Development for Artist Organizations
I belong to dozens of artist societies and organizations, and I’m always dismayed when I see one (or more recently, several) of them making plans to dissolve. The reason they give to their members is always the same – they aren’t able to recruit new board members.
I recently read an editorial in the newspaper that stated
the problem quite simply –
“The current leadership is derelict one of their primary
responsibilities – leadership development at every level, but particularly at
the senior management level. Whether they are corporate CEOs or local school
boards, leaders must be engaged in continuous succession planning to ensure
that when the current chief departs, for whatever reason, there are candidates
in waiting.”
Here's some tips that I learned along the way that have proved helpful when recruiting and mentoring new leaders...
Don’t micro manage: Be available to answer question, but let the
new person work on their own. Allow the new person to work at their own pace
and on their own schedule. Remember, it’s not the process of work that’s
important – it’s the results. For instance, a new newsletter editor will likely
want to design the layout using the software that she is already experienced
using, rather than learn a different software that the previous editor used. If
her end result is a great newsletter, did it matter which software she used to
design it? Absolutely not.
Share resources and tools: In order to ensure that the new person is
able to do the job, she must have access to the necessary tools and resources
required for the position. This could mean administrative access to the
website, social media, membership files, archives, image files, etc. It’s
important to share these items with the new person so that they can be fully
prepared for the job and ready to do the work when they start their position.
Don’t
be jealous: The success of the new
person does not diminish the legacy of her predecessor, nor anyone else. In
fact, a good mentor will cheer her protégé on, and be proud of her accomplishments.
A good mentor will be proud of her protégé and hold her up as an example of her
own good teaching methods.
Be
open to new ideas: New people bring
new ideas with them, and that’s how successful organizations grow and prosper. It’s
important to encourage everyone to share their ideas openly and candidly and let
everyone discuss new ideas and brainstorm together. Never be afraid to let
other people come up with ideas; it seldom creates problems and it usually
creates solutions.
Although
I only recently started my new job on the Board of Directors of the National Watercolor Society, I’ve already started looking at potential candidates that I
can start training for my position. The people that helped me transition into
my role were extraordinary mentors, and my goal is to do the same for volunteers
that follow after me.
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Annie
Strack earned Signature Membership in dozens of international artist societies
and is an Official Authorized Artist for the USCG. She draws from her previous
career in corporate management to build her successful art career, and since
2005 she’s been sharing her business and marketing expertise with the readers
of Art Calendar, Professional Artist, Crafts Report, and other magazines. She’s
served on the Board of Directors for dozens of organizations for over 40
years.
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