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| In at nutshell: "Leadership is relationship." |
"Leadership
is relationship," according to James Kouzes and Barry Posner (social
scientists who have been systematically studying leadership for 25 years). So
they might (and I would) claim that you engage and motivate one of your most
valuable resources – the people who make up your internal coalition – by
focusing more on your relationships with them and less on short-term end
products.
The pressure
to produce – exhibits, attendance, funds – is strongly reinforced by our
visitors, our funders, and the bills that show up in the mailbox. And establishing
and achieving goals (as Cinnamon will describe in Sector 4) is a key component
of success. But rarely is there an outside pressure that reminds small museum
leaders how foundational creating trusting and empowering relationships is to
long-term success. Harvard
Business School recently redefined leadership: "Leadership is about making
others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in
your absence."
So how do we
make this happen?
Begin
with the heart of your museum and clarify
or establish your mission with board, staff and volunteers. Talking about
mission should not be about "wordsmithing." Encourage conversations
about what your museum does and why your work matters to your community. Be
sure to share (or better have someone else share) the stories that make your
heart swell. Arm your coalition with stories of children returning with their
parents after a school tour, or the visitor who shed a tear over the painting
that reminded him of his mother, or the genealogist who discovered the first
photo she'd ever seen of her great-grandfather in your collection. Use your
mission to refocus and remind your board, staff and volunteers about what is
most important.
In
working with your board, consider asking board members to share their
"passion stories" about why they joined. Then tie those stories back
to aspects of your mission and use them to motivate
discussion about what kind of board
members your museum really needs. If your goals require the museum to raise
money, forge connections to new audiences or partners, or develop expertise in
construction, marketing or management, then you can recruit board members to
help you meet your goals. Encourage those in leadership roles on the board and
those involved in nominating to recruit
for those skills and connections and to lay the groundwork with board
members who don't meet those needs to transition into a different relationship
with the museum. And as you move toward a more engaged board, include board development and education as a
part of the conversation. Most board members would like to learn how to fulfill
their role even better, so provide them with small doses of museum standards and best practices. Serving
on the board shouldn't be about attending a few meetings: that is not a
relationship. Instead, board service should be about developing a stronger connection
with a valued organization that knows what it wants each board member to bring
to the table.
In working
with your staff and volunteers, think about building a team. If a sports team is a
useful analogy for you, then think about your role as coach or quarterback. But
if sports teams are a bit foreign, you might think about a weight watchers
group or a chess club. These groups push
each member to be more successful and provide camaraderie, even if their
pursuits are individual. Host regular
staff and/or volunteer meetings that have a professional development component
(museum standards, customer service, topical education) and also a social
component (food, sharing mission stories, etc.). If possible, consider field
trips to other museums with follow up conversations about what effective and
ineffective and could apply to your site. And in your daily interactions, be
aware of how small acts of encouragement reinforce the kind of work you want to
see (and how being ignored or dismissed does not).
When you
focus your interactions with board, staff, and volunteers around NOT ONLY reaching
goals BUT ALSO about cultivating relationships, you help create a long-term foundation
for ongoing success. Next week, we turn our focus outside the museum to
consider your reputation in the community.
Stacy Klingler currently serves local history organizations as the Assistant Director of Local History Services at the Indiana Historical Society. She began her career in museums as the assistant director of two small museums, before becoming director of the Putnam County Museum in Greencastle, Ind. She was chair of the AASLH Small Museums Committee (2008-2012) and attended the Seminar for Historical Administration in 2006. While she lives in the history field, her passion is encouraging a love of learning in any environment.
Stacy Klingler currently serves local history organizations as the Assistant Director of Local History Services at the Indiana Historical Society. She began her career in museums as the assistant director of two small museums, before becoming director of the Putnam County Museum in Greencastle, Ind. She was chair of the AASLH Small Museums Committee (2008-2012) and attended the Seminar for Historical Administration in 2006. While she lives in the history field, her passion is encouraging a love of learning in any environment.
