On 13 November 2024, an article calling for “those with battle scars to sit on arts boards” was published on Arts Hub: https://www.artshub.com.au/news/opinions-analysis/the-case-for-those-with-the-battle-scars-to-sit-on-arts-boards-2760539/

John Daley and Rachel Krust argue that arts boards need to have members that “know first hand how to run the organisation’s core business”. From my experience putting former arts CEOs, Artistic Directors and Management Directors on Boards can be both a strength and a weakness. It’s a strength because of the point made by Daley and Krust but that’s exactly why it’s a weakness. Just imagine what it would be like as an arts CEO having members of a board that were continuingly challenging and second-guessing your artistic and strategic plans? Yes, a board has to have an overview of a company’s activities, but they are not there to plan their operations.

In my experience, where I have been useful on arts boards is with small to medium sized companies. Because they lack resources,  I can act as sounding board if that’s what the leadership team want and can provide advice on arts industry issues – again, if that’s what the team wants. As the CEO of a large arts company, I wanted (and mainly got) smart outsiders as Board members who ask good questions and listen to my answers. The best board members I’ve worked with have been astute enough to realise what they can usefully contribute as well as what they need to learn about the company and the environment in which it operates. The governance horror stories I’ve heard from colleagues are usually about micromanaging chairs and boards and this could be a temptation for someone who’s been an arts CEO.

The main area where arts boards can go wrong because they don’t understand the nuances of our companies is in choosing an Artistic Director. They understand the role of an administrative leader – the management of people, finance, buildings, stakeholders. But they don’t always understand of the role of the AD. I remember being surprised a couple of years ago when a major company chose Person X rather than Person Y as their Artistic Director. So it wasn’t a shock when Person X didn’t last very long in the job. In a recent conversation with a board member from that company I discovered that Person Y was rejected because they didn’t come into the interview with a detailed written statement about what they were going to do. The type of preparation one might expect from an applicant for a Managing Director role. Instead they just talked about art and artists. The board viewed this as someone unsuited to take a leadership role. If they’d listened more carefully and got advice from industry experts, they would have realised that this skilled artist was just the person they needed to heal and refocus the company.

Whenever I’ve helped boards create recruitment and selection processes for a new Artistic Director, I’ve recommended that they set up an advisory panel of people from their arts sector so they can hear what the company and the industry needs in an artistic leader. I also recommend that a couple of those artists/creatives/arts managers be on the selection panel to provide the industry knowledge required to make the best decision. The result has always led to an informed panel making a good choice.

I’ve been on boards in industries and sectors where I didn’t know the detail of how the company needed to operate. But that’s my job – to learn enough to fulfill the key roles of a board member, of understanding and approving strategic plans and budgets, of hiring, helping and firing key leadership staff, and of guarding the organisation’s assets for the future.

For more of my thoughts on Arts Boards, check out my book: The A to Z of Arts Management.