Whitney Roux
Professional development takes many forms, from hands-on workshops to panel discussions. Important opportunities for leadership and building relationships with mentors provide a robust calendar of growth options. An Emerging Leader’s plan for success needs to explore how to best combine education tracks to improve at their current job while simultaneously growing into their dream career.
As a Steering Committee member of the Rising Arts Leaders of San Diego (RALSD), I work with my committee to develop programs that fit the needs of emerging leaders in arts and culture. We build workshops, facility tours, and discussions around issues that affect our arts community, meanwhile crossing departmental bridges with networking events and social gatherings. But personally, I have found that the best professional development happens when you get your hands dirty.
I always advocate for our members to step up and take a leadership role with Rising Arts Leaders either by serving on a committee or acting as an ambassador at events. I also preach that by getting involved you can experiment without the pressure of your work environment while practicing skills and building your resume. The Next Gen Leadership Initiative Report, conducted by the James Irvine Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, reports that those who took leadership roles in an Emerging Leaders Network were likely to “attain promotions, increased work responsibilities and pursue new job opportunities.”
This hands-on approach to professional development gives participants a platform for leadership to experience difficult decision making and accountability (Next Gen Leadership Initiative Report.) These outcomes make better informed leaders whose abilities will serve the sector for years to come. In my personal experience, I was able to develop a Mentorship Program for RALSD that benefited our mentees and the mentors. Working with other committee members we brainstormed ways to make mentorship both a “job level” and a “career level” program. Our solution was teams of mentors, each one dedicated to a specific theme. For example mentees would discus donor stewardship from a major donor, a development director, and a private foundation manager. These teams help build that mentee’s network and understanding of the theme, as well as give them application at their current position.
My personal responsibility involved oversight for program development, communication with the mentors and mentees, ongoing management of the program, and event planning for the kick-off event. I took the many lessons I learned from the experience and implemented them in my own job, which included improving my program management processes at work. I found ways to better organize a communication timeline, practiced my public speaking skills, and gained experience in collecting feedback from attendees. Leading the mentorship program also put me and my work in front of leaders of the field. Working closely with the mentors opened doors as they invited me to take part in other projects they were working on, and introduced me to people in their networks who would want to get involved with RALSD and my organization.
On a larger scale, Rising Arts Leaders of San Diego are using hands on professional development to fight the brain drain of arts and culture offices abandoning San Diego for perceived greener job pastures elsewhere. The Next Gen study found that after participants took part in professional development, 80% felt more committed to arts and culture, and 73% said it made them more likely to stay in the field. RALSD started asking our members what would make them stay in the arts and what do they need to keep them in San Diego. We a currently planning to use this data to inform an Arts Administration Service Organization Round Table. Other members of the Steering Committee and I are taking part in our own professional development by leading a conversation with leaders from local arts service organizations around these issues. Through this discussion we hope to create solutions to at least one challenge specific to our community. Being able to retain educated and innovative emerging leaders will provide arts and culture a brighter future.
Professional Development is important in getting promotions, meeting people in the field, and it is imperative to elevate your career and build leadership skills. My work with RALSD has been extremely rewarding professionally and personally. I am a better program associate today, and I know it will contribute to me being a dynamic executive director in the future.
