Slidedeck from MCN.edu Conference, November 2017 While every organization’s leadership model is unique, many in the cultural heritage sector face shared challenges in defining and shaping what “leadership” means. This panel discussion will provide unique perspectives on leadership by including an emerging professional, a non-manager, a manager, and an executive - together exploring different traditional and innovative leadership models they’ve encountered and how those have played out for them individually and within their departments and organizations. Panelists will provide real-life examples from their experiences and the impact upon them professionally and personally. In addition, panelists will consider both the near-term horizon and the longer view in discussing the future of leadership in the cultural heritage sector. In the words of Catherine Aird, "If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning" (His Burial Too, 1973). During the session, traditional hierarchical models will be compared with so-called Servant or Host leadership as well as the even newer model of a networked organization with decentralized authority. The aim of the session is both to inform and to debate a variety of leadership approaches in order to foster conceptual and practical knowledge. We will explore questions such as: What constitutes effective leadership? What is the role of a leader? What are the pros and cons of various forms of leadership? Is an organization’s leadership style malleable or fixed? How do considerations such as gender, institutional mission, workplace culture, personal and institutional values, and the wider cultural context impact individual and institutional leadership styles? What do you do if your own organization’s leadership style doesn’t match up with yours? Is it possible to “manage up”? What is the present and what is the potential future of leadership models in our sector? Our panel, wide-ranging not only in experience and hierarchical level but also in terms of institution size, type, and mission, should allow an equally wide range of MCNers to formulate their own answers, and to take away strategies and practical tips for exercising personal leadership as well as influencing their institution’s overall leadership style. #MCN2017-T43 With: Claire Blechman @cblechman Andrea Ledesma @am_ledesma Meaghan Tongen @mltongen

1. Perspectives on Leadership from Multiple Organizational Levels
CLAIRE BLECHMAN, DOUGLAS HEGLEY, ANDREA LEDESMA, AND MEAGHAN TONGEN
November 9, 2017

2. Today: Perspectives on Leadership
Our panel represents
• Emerging professional
• Museum staff
• Departmental manager
• Executive-level
2
from across the traditional hierarchy

3. Today: Perspectives on Leadership
Our panel represents
• Emerging professional
• Museum staff
• Departmental manager
• Executive-level
Goals Today:
• Explore & inform – real-life experiences
• Debate – no single answer (sorry)
• Practical information
3
from across the traditional hierarchy

4. Introductions
Roger Mayne, Untitled [two women shaking
hands], 1929-1999,Gelatin silver print, Gift of
Lora and Martin G. Weinstein, Minneapolis
Institute of Art, 93.70.64

5. Leadership
Douglas Hegley, Chief Digital Officer, Minneapolis Institute of Art @dhegley http://www.slideshare.net/dhegley
Image Source: https://i2.wp.com/davidgodot.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/elephant.jpg?resize=636%2C310
Maybe if we ignore it,
it will just go away
Umm …
6+ years, 20+ years in museums, 27 years in nonprofits

6. Claire Blechman @cblechman
MCN 201706
Digital Asset Manager,
Peabody Essex Museum
Art | History | Culture museum, founded
1799
Mid-level non-manager (no direct reports
but plenty of project management)
4 years at PEM, 8 years in publishing
I used to be the ropes course instructor at
Girl Scout camp Image Source: King of the Hill. © 20th Century Fox

7. Meaghan Tongen
MCN 201707
Digital Program Manager
Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) - founded in
1915 art museum with > 89,000 objects
Mid-level manager (leads small department +
cross-functional team leadership)
4 years at Mia, 7+ years in nonprofit/education
Certified Scrum Master, lover of post-it notes Image Source: http://cheezburger.com/6086374912

8. Andrea Ledesma
MCN 201708
Digital Content Coordinator,
The Field Museum
Natural history museum | Collections
established in 1893, over 30 million objects
(and growing!)
Entry level, non-manager
<1 year at the Field Museum. approx. 5 years
in museums
Image source: Warner Bros. Pictures

9. What is
Leadership?
Image Source: http://www.issues4life.org/images/visionstrategytactics.png

10. Productivity
High
Low
Leadership Involvement
None - Ignoring
Demanding without
understanding
Learning
Prioritizing and
Empowering
Controlling
Micro-managing
Hovering
What Constitutes Optimal Leadership?
Low High

11. What is a leader’s role?
MCN 2017011

12. Cy Wakeman’s Model
12
Role of a leader:
● Eliminate emotional waste
● Encourage good mental processes
Image source: https://people-equation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Cy_pro-shot_2017-WorkHuman-8x-239-1024x683.jpg

13. Decision Making for Leaders
(DMFL)
13
Decide
Consult (individually)
Consult group)
Facilitate
Delegate
Image source: https://people-equation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Cy_pro-shot_2017-WorkHuman-8x-239-1024x683.jpg

14. Servant Leadership / Host Leadership
● Initiate
● Invite
● Create space
● Define boundaries
● Build connections
● Co-participate
Adapted from: http://www.hrreview.co.uk/analysis/analysis-hr-news/mark-mckergow-and-helen-bailey-the-six-new-roles-of-engagement/54146
Image source: http://bit.ly/2xDVBbz

15. Host Leadership (continued)
Responsibilities of a Host Leader
● People (not “resources”)
● Radical autonomy (share power)
● Listen
● Clear obstacles
● Appreciate & give credit
● Block those executive torpedos
Image source: http://www.themalaysiantimes.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Manipulative.jpg

16. MCN 201716
Managing expectations
• Servant/host leadership
model
• Do more. Do less.
• “The person taking diligent
notes in the meeting almost
never makes the killer point.”
(Sandberg, Grant)
Illustration by Tara Jacoby. Image source: https://jezebel.com/women-at-work-were-doing-all-the-office-housework-too-1684271715

17. Gender & Leadership
MCN 2017017

18. What is the role of staff, of team members?
MCN 2017018

19. Host Leadership: The Team
● Accept the invitation
● Be present, as your best self
● Understand the “house rules”
● State fact, with tact
● Be accountable
● Find your agency
● Seize the opportunity

20. Leadership Models
Present and Future
MCN 2017020

21. Traditional Organizational Management Models Persist

22. 22
Look familiar?

23. 23
Image Source: http://seapointcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Top-Down-Leaders-Pyramid.jpg

24. artsmia.org
Image Source: http://king6socialstudies.weebly.com/uploads/2/1/8/7/21875770/8409138_orig.jpg

25. Panelists: What is the structure at your organization?
● Pros?
● Cons?
MCN 2017025

26. 26

27. Agile as Leadership Paradigm
MCN 2017027

28. Agile Leadership
28
What problems are we trying to solve?

29. Scrum
Roles:
Product “Initiative” Owner
Scrum Master
Team
Executive Sponsor
29

30. Conflict
When Leadership Concepts Clash
MCN 2017030

31. Leadership conflict may:
MCN 2017031
• Occur across the organizational hierarchy
• Flare up between departments
• Look quite different in separate organizations
• Involve the same words, with different meanings
• Arise when Mission and actual behavior don’t match
• Change over time
• Catch us by surprise

32. Resolving Conflict
From “stuck” to building forward momentum
MCN 2017032

33. Uh oh, we’ve gone off the rails ... Now what?
MCN 2017033
• Realization - need to see it before you can start to fix it
• Managing up – is it possible?
What is the difference between managing up and being manipulative?
• Context - where does your institution fall?
• “If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning.”
Catherine Aird (1973)

34. Getting “unstuck” - working toward solutions
MCN 2017034
• Empathy and active listening
• Tap into staff passion – we all believe in the mission
• “Professionals give others the benefit of the doubt – they assume noble intent”
Cy Wakeman (2017)
• Find your agency
Where can you make a difference?
What would great look like?

35. The Future
What *could* leadership look like in our sector?
MCN 2017035

36. The Future
MCN 2017036
Image source: https://media.wired.com/photos/59325a8f4dc9b45ccec5d65d/master/w_1000,c_limit/Wired2.jpg

37. artsmia.org
Questions and Discussion (and here’s some suggested reading)

38. Thank you
MCN 2017038
Claire Blechman @cblechman
Douglas Hegley @dhegley
Andrea Ledesma @am_ledesma
Meaghan Tongen @mltongen