HowlRound Theatre Commons: We are in the midst of an historic shift in the North American theatre. Dozens of smart, capable, talented people are stepping into leadership positions for the first time in their careers. While many have been leading in areas both inside and outside their organizations, few have any direct experience at the helm of an institution the size they are about to take on. More importantly, the unprecedented length of tenure of many of the departing leaders means many of the institutions themselves—the staff, board, audiences, and funders—have very little experience with a transition at this level.
1 comment:
This is a great article that walks the readers through what we need to remember in transition of leadership, not only in theaters but in everything else as well. I couldn’t agree more with the following quote: “I want to be clear that the underlying presumption is that the incoming leaders are qualified, talented, exciting hires. It is the readiness of the environments, and our readiness as a field to foster their success, that I speak of here.” This verbalizes and pinpoints why I was feeling worried even though I was more than happy to see new female and poc leadership in theater. It was because if the new leadership does not yield good and quick result as the previous one, there would be no more opportunities in the future. It is so easy to point the fingers and find fault with minority and individuals than with the group or the culture. In the sense the first point he brings up is really important that success of a leader is a shared responsibility of the group. The weight of the burden is heaviest on the new leader, but everyone in the group should also share the weight as well.
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