Excellence can take several forms. There’s personal excellence: doing our best, seeking our highest potential, learning much, reflecting virtue. There’s organizational excellence: pursuing a mission, achieving much, transforming lives, creating happiness. There’s cultural excellence: advocating justice, promoting equality, demanding fairness, developing a social framework for compassion.
The subject of excellence popped into my consciousness recently when I heard the delightful news that IMLS has named four New England museums finalists for the vaunted National Medal for Museum and Library Service. This is a big deal, folks. Out of the 35,000 museums in the U.S. (IMLS’ count, not mine), just 15 were selected as medal finalists. Four of them (27% for those of you scoring at home) are our regional sisters and brothers. That’s a measure of excellence if there ever was one.
One of the cool things about this cohort is its diversity. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Fitchburg Art Museum, Nantucket Historical Association, and the Tomaquag Museum are all very different places serving very different audiences, confirming the notion that excellence crops up everywhere.
But look a little deeper and you’ll find some interesting commonalities. Outstanding, visionary leadership from both the executive director and board. Dedicated staff. And most important, a tenacious dedication to their communities, a fact highlighted in each of the museums’ nominations. The characteristics of those communities may vary, but the passion for serving them is red-hot in all four institutions.
Of all the elements that produce a culture of excellence in museums, I think a well-functioning relationship between the board and director is vital. When the CEO and the board are efficient and harmonious, all sorts of good things ripple throughout the operation: effective communications, esprit de corps, bountiful visitor engagement, big smiles all around.
Unfortunately, the board/CEO relationship in museums is frequently just the opposite. Antagonism, suspicion, anxiety, and power dramas often characterize museum leadership, which tend to cultivate a toxic “us versus them” mentality. The ripple here becomes a torrent of negativity throughout the organization, which usually translates into miserable employees and audiences alike. I have witnessed many a fine collection defaced by such a climate.
This is one of the reasons I’m excited for this summer’s NEMA Leadership Workshops. Titled High Impact, Low Drama: Optimizing Your Board/CEO Team, the series of six workshops this June will be customized explorations of governance best practices and maintaining a culture of teamwork. In each workshop, I’ll facilitate a discussion with participants to determine the key leadership issues in play at their institutions, then lead them through best and worst practices that have an impact on museum culture.
To participate, your museum needs to send its executive director and 1 – 5 board members so we can ensure a fruitful discussion. (Volunteer-led museums are encouraged to attend, but need to send their board chair and 1 – 5 additional board members.) The cost is low -- $65 per museum no matter how many people you send – so I hope we get a good turnout and good conversation. I’ll be visiting each of our six New England states, so pick one that’s most convenient for you.
OK. Enough of the commercial. I’d like to close by congratulating The Eric Carle, FAM, NHA, and Tomaquag for their achievements. And by congratulating all of us in the NEMA community who seek out excellence day after day, whether that excellence is applauded widely or kept completely to ourselves.
Dan