arts & business council

MetLife Foundation National Arts Forums Series

Arts & Business Council of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

The Creative Connection: A New Generation of Leaders Takes Center Stage
12/09/2003

Moderator: Craig R. Hamilton, WHYY

Panelists:

• Maida Milone, Executive Director, Creative Artists Network
• Michael Donato, Vice President, Patriot Bank, SBA
• Naomi Grabel, Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
• Whitney Hunter, Vice President, Leasing and Management, Jones Lang LaSalle

How to capture the attention of the next generation of leaders has moved from a discussion point to a necessity. An extensive study on leadership succession in the arts conducted by the Illinois Arts Alliance and released in early 2003 revealed that 70 percent of executives would leave their current posts in the next five years. As a generation of staff and board leaders move towards retirement, who will fill the void? One of the core responsibilities for boards of directors is assuring effective leadership for their organizations. This forum, "The Creative Connection: A New Generation of Leaders Takes Center Stage," drew upon the expertise of the panel to address the challenges confronting both board and staff in their efforts to attract new leadership for their organizations, with special attention being paid to recruitment of new leaders for boards. The focus of the panel was to address the motivations and character of those who will step in to fill this impending vacancy.

Given this expected migration of many of our community leaders, the Arts & Business Council of Chicago has developed new resources to effectively institute successful leadership succession, including "Planning for Succession: A Toolkit for Board Members and Staff of Nonprofit Organizations," published in 2003 in collaboration with the Illinois Arts Alliance. Workshops addressing new board recruitment strategies are slated for 2004.

In an effort to make some of the information presented by the panel more digestible, we have distilled the essence of the conversation into two lists that best reflect the thoughts of the panel.

What New Leaders Want To Be

• Involved. To take part in something larger than themselves, and through their contribution, become engaged in the civic community.
• Asked. To be brought into an organization and made to feel their input is valued and appreciated.
• Guided. To have a clear understanding of their role and expected contributions from the beginning.
• Effective. To feel, at the end of the day, that they have made a real impact through their actions and that their skills have been fully utilized.

Key Points in the Recruitment and Retention of Quality Board Members

• Limit your search to prospective members who have the full qualifications you need.
• Seek candidates who are not already committed to numerous boards and have the time, energy, and resources to devote to your organization. While high-profile board members may bring name recognition, they are often overcommitted and unable to provide the substantial time and resources demanded by the organization. Look for board members who have a passion for your mission and will make your organization a priority.
• Develop a personal connection with the product, cause, or mission.
• It is essential that you make sure that new board prospects truly understand, appreciate, and respect the work that you do before you try to solicit anything from them. Recruit only those who are committed individuals, who want to make a difference in your organization.
• Ensure your expectations are clearly outlined.
• Do not wait until a candidate has made the commitment to join your board to describe what you are expecting from him/her. They should be fully aware of the expected contributions and involvements to the organization, as well as areas they will not have an impact on.
• Involvement and engagement keep board members committed.
• If you do not continue to ask them to do anything meaningful and keep them involved, board members will begin to lose that personal connection they once had with the organization and become disengaged.

Eric McKissack engaged the discussion by noting the changing face of leadership has been driven in part by the change in the make-up of our communities; different cultures and different motivations bring an alternative perspective. The new leadership has brought a shift from a legacy model of involvement to an active one. New leaders are more self directed, wanting to "engage themselves in a cultural, civic, political, or social service area." Shawn Donnelley expressed agreement, and noted that recent mismanagement in the public and private sectors have also led to an increase in individual leaders’ sense of ownership and managerial involvement while on nonprofit boards.

Harry Gottlieb offered the perspective of a young, highly successful entrepreneur who had not yet been engaged as a leader in the community. In contemplating why he and many of his friends had not yet been solicited for board leadership, he came to the conclusion that they required outreach. He recalled an experience where he went to see a young and dynamic art group’s presentation, stayed for the discussion and was introduced to their key staff, and followed with a donation. But in spite of his obvious interest, he was never asked to become involved in the organization. Had this group capitalized on his fascination, they could have engaged a powerful resource.

Donnelley drew attention to the importance of clear expectations for the new leaders. Again referencing national management blunders in the corporate sector, she suggested new leaders have become more cautious and actively involved in their role as board members. Jim Andrews echoed these thoughts, with his own experience as board chair of an arts organization, and losing highly valued individuals whom he did not engage fully enough, or give clear enough expectations of their involvement.

McKissack also suggested that, for him, one of the most important aspects of developing a relationship with an organization was having clear communication and expectations between the potential board member and the staff. Having this essential framework laid out clears the way to an effective strategic vision and the implementation of that vision. Both Andrews and Donnelley felt that board members do not want to be seen as only corporate checks, a meaningless stand-in, but rather as partners in the growth of the organization’s vision.

To this effect, Donnelley noted that leadership in arts organizations takes many forms, one of them being fiscal leadership. She suggested that all too often the nonprofit community forgets that fundraising capacity should not be the sole criteria in seeking new board members. There are many large donors who would be happy simply making a larger financial contribution, without serving on the board and having to give of their time and ingenuity. She summed it up well with the statement "what you need on your board are committed people who will make a difference in your organization."

All of the panelists came to the conclusion that new leaders do not necessarily need or want to work with a large or glamorous organization, and because of a desire to make a substantial impact, many will choose well-run smaller organizations. McKissack also noted the need to reduce nonprofit reliance on highly visibile board members and identify talented, less visibile professionals.

In closing, Andrews suggested that if you needed to "sell" a person to be on your board they probably should not be on it at all. A more effective strategy is to follow the suggestion of Gottlieb and develop a personal connection with the individual.

To conclude, many of the attributes of new leaders fit well with the expectations and responsibilities of board members. We can expect that with the further dissemination of knowledge and experience, we will find a healthy crop of new leaders, ready to take the place of the old—if we simply put in the effort to involve and develop them.