CHANGING CULTURES TRANSFORMING LEADERSHIP IN THE ARTS, MUSEUMS & LIBRARIES 67
understand the tools and functions that make a project a success, from the beginning of an idea to the final outcome.
Project working facilitates staff development and enables individuals to lead at all levels Both David and Rebecca stressed how project working supported the professional development of staff, allowing them to gain new skills and learn from the knowledge of others. David noted that ‘a project matrix encourages a culture of everybody knowing they could do it’. In this environment, if a member of staff is keen to ‘skill up’ in a different area, say a producer with an interest in the mechanics of fundraising, the opportunity is there. For the organisation, this way of working has had a positive impact on employee satisfaction, particularly among middle managers and junior staff. David pointed out that this way of working provided more internal pathways for professional development, meaning ultimately that junior staff are able to stay longer in the organisation without the risk of career stagnation.
Creating open feedback loops is vital to producing high-quality, relevant work Project working at Battersea Arts Centre is supported by a culture of actively soliciting and sharing feedback both across the organisation and from the wider community. A part-time organisational coach supports staff at all levels. Rebecca noted that in an organisation where people are often in their first or second job, this ability to seek personal guidance is incredibly valuable, particularly when working through challenges. As an individual who is connected to all parts of the organisation, the coach is able to see what is working and what is not and feed this back to managers. This also allows staff strengths and potential to be identified and supported, and affords staff anonymity in feeding back to the executive team. Battersea Arts Centre is also able to listen to external voices through ‘Scratch’, which informs decision making and development across the full range of the organisation’s activities. Scratch is a process in which ideas are constantly tested and evaluated, based on the premise that ideas become stronger when they are built over time and take into consideration a wide-range of responses. For David, ‘the beauty of Scratch is that you are constantly listening to people’, meaning ultimately that the ‘work becomes ever-more relevant’ and lower risk, as ‘you don’t throw all of your resources into the first test’. Scratch fosters an environment of continual self-evaluation, which goes beyond what David sees as the outdated ‘right to fail’ mentality, and instead looks both inside and outside the organisation for reactions, ideas and solutions. This process is now seen as critical to Battersea Arts Centre’s success.
Dispersed leadership has helped to develop and retain a more diverse workforce One central outcome of Battersea Arts Centre’s approach to cultivating a dispersed model of leadership and open channels of communication has been the development of a more diverse workforce. David noted ‘we used to have 5 per cent BAME staff; we now have 30–35 per cent – and this is continuing to go up. It is also similar in terms of disabled staff and the gender balance of the organisation’. David perceives this increase to be partly the result of stronger links between all projects, and the development of opportunities for staff who ‘would typically sit in an administrative function to have agency and power to connect across projects’. This extends to the provision of opportunities for staff to incubate and develop creative ideas, rather than solely responding to agendas set by the directorate. For David, this way of working has only reinforced how ‘so much of the work Battersea Arts Centre does requires a diverse workforce’.
Implementing project working has highlighted the importance of iterative processes Rebecca was clear that project working is ‘not bulletproof or perfect at all’ and has required continual evaluation. She elaborated that some areas of Battersea Arts Centre’s work do necessitate centralisation, such as fundraising and human resources, to prevent those working on more lucrative projects having a disproportionate amount of resource than others. Another issue has been the need to reintroduce a system of line management, after an initial manager-less structure had left some staff struggling to prioritise their workload. While acknowledging that project working and Scratch are often more time-consuming ways of working, Rebecca emphasised that for Battersea Arts Centre ‘the ideas you get out of the process outweigh the negatives’.