Chorus America - From the President: Pockets of Greatness

From the President

Pockets of Greatness

Even in the face of significant external factors, great leaders find a way

Those of us involved in planning the National Performing Arts Convention (NPAC) have pledged to make this event something that no one organization could produce on its own. For example, our individual conference budgets don’t typically stretch far enough to allow us to engage big-ticket speakers such as management guru Jim Collins. His insights into what makes good organizations become great are sure to enlighten and inspire us all when we gather in Denver this June.
Another thing we want to leverage is the opportunity the Convention offers to facilitate connections with leaders outside our own disciplines. Thus we are creating a series of sessions to ensure, for example, that attendees from Chorus America will have meaningful exchanges with key leaders from opera, theater and dance companies, orchestras, chamber music groups, and more.

Since these pan-discipline conversations are new to us, my NPAC colleagues and I have been holding “rehearsals” in various cities, bringing together leaders from different performing arts groups to simulate the conversations we hope to have in Denver. We want to be sure that the questions we pose at the Convention will result in discussions that will be valuable for all of our constituents. Our most recent rehearsal included an impressive group of arts leaders that generously volunteered to test our Convention design.

Even though each leads a different kind of performing arts organization, it didn’t take long for them to reach consensus that the external environment was a huge barrier to their success. If only, they said, there were more funding for the arts…if only all children got the arts education they deserve…if only artists were as valued as are the bank president and the football coach.

With 20-plus years in this field, I could certainly relate. Like most of us, I’ve had gloomy “if only” days, too. But, while there are real and present dangers facing the performing arts, even if we could redouble our current efforts and the winds of change blew in our direction, it could take decades to make a significant impact on these monster issues. I left the convening thinking, “So what happens in the meantime? Can the performing arts make strides even in difficult circumstances?”

Ever since we snagged Jim Collins as a Convention speaker, I’ve been rereading his books. In his monograph, Good to Great and the Social Sectors, Collins uses The Cleveland Orchestra as an example of a nonprofit organization that has built “a pocket of greatness” even when facing external factors that are thwarting other organizations’ success.

Collins shares a story about when Tom Morris became executive director of The Cleveland Orchestra in 1987. The Orchestra was facing deficits, had a small and stagnant endowment, and a struggling local economy. Prior to taking the job, Tom Morris asked key board members, “What do you want me to do if I come here?” Their response was, “Make an already great orchestra even greater, defined by artistic excellence.”

While Morris couldn’t precisely measure artistic excellence, he and his team identified a variety of indicators such as: Are we expanding the range of what we can play with perfection? Are we invited to the most prestigious festivals in Europe? Do people increasingly mimic the Cleveland style of programming? Do composers increasingly seek to have their work debuted in Cleveland?

The Cleveland Orchestra went on to succeed in so many artistic ways, and also tripled its endowment (even accounting for the post-dotcom bubble decline in assets). Instead of throwing up their hands because of economic factors outside their control, or saying that artistic performance simply can’t be measured, Morris and his team weren’t deterred.

The choral field—and all of the arts—are buoyed by creative, effective leaders like this who somehow resist being weighed down by negative conditions. Even in the face of significant external factors, great leaders find a way.

Ann Meier Baker
President and CEO, Chorus America
Co-Chair, National Performing Arts Convention
This article is reprinted from The Voice of Chorus America, Spring 2008. Past issues of the Voice can be ordered from Chorus America by going to the Publications page of our website: http://www.chorusamerica.org/publications.cfm

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From the President
Pockets of Greatness
Even in the face of significant external factors, great leaders find a way Those of us involved in planning the National Performing Arts Convention (NPAC) have pledged to make this event something that no one organization could produce on its own. For example, our individual conference budgets don’t typically stretch far enough to allow us to engage big-ticket speakers such as management guru Jim Collins. His insights into what makes good organizations become great are sure to enlighten and inspire us all when we gather in Denver this June. Another thing we want to leverage is the opportunity the Convention offers to facilitate connections with leaders outside our own disciplines. Thus we are creating a series of sessions to ensure, for example, that attendees from Chorus America will have meaningful exchanges with key leaders from opera, theater and dance companies, orchestras, chamber music groups, and more. Since these pan-discipline conversations are new to us, my NPAC colleagues and I have been holding “rehearsals” in various cities, bringing together leaders from different performing arts groups to simulate the conversations we hope to have in Denver. We want to be sure that the questions we pose at the Convention will result in discussions that will be valuable for all of our constituents. Our most recent rehearsal included an impressive group of arts leaders that generously volunteered to test our Convention design. Even though each leads a different kind of performing arts organization, it didn’t take long for them to reach consensus that the external environment was a huge barrier to their success. If only, they said, there were more funding for the arts…if only all children got the arts education they deserve…if only artists were as valued as are the bank president and the football coach. With 20-plus years in this field, I could certainly relate. Like most of us, I’ve had gloomy “if only” days, too. But, while there are real and present dangers facing the performing arts, even if we could redouble our current efforts and the winds of change blew in our direction, it could take decades to make a significant impact on these monster issues. I left the convening thinking, “So what happens in the meantime? Can the performing arts make strides even in difficult circumstances?” Ever since we snagged Jim Collins as a Convention speaker, I’ve been rereading his books. In his monograph, Good to Great and the Social Sectors, Collins uses The Cleveland Orchestra as an example of a nonprofit organization that has built “a pocket of greatness” even when facing external factors that are thwarting other organizations’ success. Collins shares a story about when Tom Morris became executive director of The Cleveland Orchestra in 1987. The Orchestra was facing deficits, had a small and stagnant endowment, and a struggling local economy. Prior to taking the job, Tom Morris asked key board members, “What do you want me to do if I come here?” Their response was, “Make an already great orchestra even greater, defined by artistic excellence.” While Morris couldn’t precisely measure artistic excellence, he and his team identified a variety of indicators such as: Are we expanding the range of what we can play with perfection? Are we invited to the most prestigious festivals in Europe? Do people increasingly mimic the Cleveland style of programming? Do composers increasingly seek to have their work debuted in Cleveland? The Cleveland Orchestra went on to succeed in so many artistic ways, and also tripled its endowment (even accounting for the post-dotcom bubble decline in assets). Instead of throwing up their hands because of economic factors outside their control, or saying that artistic performance simply can’t be measured, Morris and his team weren’t deterred. The choral field—and all of the arts—are buoyed by creative, effective leaders like this who somehow resist being weighed down by negative conditions. Even in the face of significant external factors, great leaders find a way. Ann Meier Baker President and CEO, Chorus America Co-Chair, National Performing Arts Convention This article is reprinted from The Voice of Chorus America, Spring 2008. Past issues of the Voice can be ordered from Chorus America by going to the Publications page of our website: http://www.chorusamerica.org/publications.cfm