09.10.24
Moira Sinclair, Chair of Clore Leadership and Chair of Factory International in Manchester is an experienced cultural leader and a trustee of National Landscape and the National Theatre Foundation. Moira also chairs the Investment Committee for the Arts Impact Fund.
Moira Sinclair has been Chief Executive of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation since 2015 and before joining Arts Council in 2005, was Director of Vital Arts. Moira has also worked in local government, and in theatre and production management. As Executive Director London and South East for Arts Council England for nearly 10 years, Moira oversaw a portfolio of 322 funded cultural organisations, with a particular focus on the resilience and sustainability of the cultural sector and workforce development.
Last October, I wrote an article, ‘Can the show really still go on?’, as a direct response to a discussion last summer, initiated by Tarek Iskander, Battersea Arts Centre’s Artistic Director & CEO, about the number of theatres losing their artistic directors and theatres shortening or cancelling their runs.
The problems that theatres were experiencing were not unique to them nor new, but the issues felt particularly acute, caused by a myriad of challenges from the impact of Covid-19 to increasing financial constraints to changing expectations of the workforce. And the solutions were not easy to see.
It was at this point that the seed of an idea was sown, and Clore Leadership conceived of the World of Work initiative. The aim was ambitious - to explore the complex and rapidly evolving world of work and empower leaders to instigate collaborative solutions to drive change. Since then, in partnership with Arts Council England, we have met with 356 leaders from the cultural sector to talk face to face, and we surveyed 426 online, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
We have invited leaders to open up. We’ve asked them to interrogate their current working environment and reflect on the leadership models the cultural sector will need to evolve or adopt in this brave new world. We have asked them to be honest about the challenges and the gaps in their own practice. And we researched what was happening beyond our sector too.
And what did we find?
87% of our survey respondents felt that demands on leaders had become worse. There is a clear message about the impact that external pressures are exerting on the sector. Interestingly, leaders felt this wasn’t a capability issue - they had the skills and experience to execute the work. But the workload itself had grown beyond capacity and that demands placed on them were just too high. Some sectors also reported significant workforce turnover in the sector which has led to a loss of organisational memory.
Our leaders’ responses also suggested that they rely on more traditional, hierarchical leadership styles in this sector with ‘leader-led’ solutions, rather than calling on their teams for support and recognise the assets that they might hold. Why is this? Why don’t we feel able to ask for help? In the wider world, leaders seem to be more willing to embrace internal collaborations to solve issues and there is clearly learning for us there.
Another issue close to my heart was the debate about boards: how they can be more effective in support of the executive teams and, if we believe an increased diversity of experience and thought is critical to that efficacy, what are the conditions to enable that intention to become a reality? A significant discussion point for many was the question of whether trustees should be paid, and I am left pondering the role, support and training boards and Chairs might need to contribute to a thriving cultural sector and my own contribution to that. You can read more about our findings in the full reports on our website.
It feels as though the work we have been doing has been both timely and cathartic for the sector. Leaders are clearly under-siege and overwhelmed, with problems being internalised: they are operating in survival mode.
As someone who has also been working in the arts for over 30 years, was a Clore 1 Fellow back in 2004/5, and is currently Chair of the Board of Clore Leadership and Chair of Factory International as well as the outgoing Chief Executive of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, I have an overview and I hope I can empathise and understand the impact of the changes in the landscape as well as the hopes and fears of the leaders in the sector. The challenges are real. The workload is real. And the experience of burnout is real.
So, what next?
We may have shone a light on the sector, identified and brought together all the issues, but here comes the tricky part. Solutions. Strategies. Imagining how things can be done differently. And that’s why we are seeking partners and collaborators to create and make change.
Across the Autumn, we are actively looking for sector organisations and agencies who can work together and/or with us to push forward these critical Interventions for Change. And we’d be keen to hear from individuals who have design ideas they would like to offer.
These ambitions include refocusing and strengthening continuing professional development (CPD) for leaders and board members; prioritising workforce care and development over and above facilities investments; strengthening the sector voice; pooling data and case studies and finally improving shared resources and collaborative practice for the sector. You can read more about the plan on our website. How might you support this agenda? What priorities sit squarely within your remit? What galvanises and energies you into action? Let’s work together, share the load and open up the opportunities.
From the early discussions driven by Hilary Carty, Director of Clore Leadership, about a hugely timely ‘state of the nation’ piece of work centred around the cultural sector, this has been an opportunity for reflection and crucially for a future focus. We won’t shy away from continuing to advocate for appropriate investment in culture as an important bedrock for this work. But we can also offer practical and informed glimpses of how else we might reach towards a thriving, hopeful, well equipped cultural sector.
I can’t wait to see what happens next.
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