Betsey Horth: Managing an Organization at the Intersection of Creativity and Leadership

Creative leadership – the process of turning creative thinking and exploration into tactical, tangible results – defines the last 20 years at SETC. As Betsey Horth leaves the organization, she shares insights on this concept that has been the driving force in her work and outlines some of the problem-solving principles she used to guide SETC’s transformation during her two decades as executive director.

“Creative leadership begins with providing an open environment that encourages the engagement of many, having a flexible mind-set, and welcoming original thinking,” Horth says. “Then you build on that to deliver results. You start with the “What If?” that inspires, move on to the “What Now?” of making it happen, and continue with the “What Next?” for fine-tuning. And then you repeat all of the above!”

Horth’s emphasis on imaginative problem-solving is a direct product of her own longtime interest in the field of creativity. While teaching costuming in the early 1990s, she was so drawn to the concept that she returned to school at Buffalo State College in New York to pursue a master’s degree in creativity. “While most people were going to graduate school for arts administration, business or other terminal degrees, in 1992 I went off in search of a degree that would help me understand the creative process,” says Horth.

When SETC hired her as its executive director in 1999, Horth approached the new role with a keen interest in building an organizational culture that fostered ingenuity. Her specialization in creativity – combined with a background in acting, costuming, teaching, writing and marketing – provided a powerful confluence of expertise. She could offer a diversity of perspectives to match the diversity of theatre constituencies SETC aims to serve – and she was able to navigate the fluidity of roles required to lead a small staff in the production of one of the nation’s largest theatre conventions.

SETC naturally became her testing ground as she worked to advance her own entrepreneurial thinking, leadership principles, business practices and creative problem-solving concepts. Over the past two decades, Horth’s methods and values not only have blossomed but also have taken root within the Central Office staff and in the organization as a whole. The practices she fostered have become integral to how SETC conducts its business and fulfills its mission.

Her creativity-focused approach differs so much from the traditional arts management track that Horth believes she could write a book that might be helpful to others in the arts, detailing the techniques and tools she’s put into practice at SETC. The following general concepts offer a glimpse into the methods Horth used to grow SETC into the major theatre organization that it is today.

Community Building

SETC is composed of an intricate and sprawling web of communities. It’s a membership organization that serves all levels of theatre practitioners within all theatre disciplines, one that welcomes participants from across the nation, and one that hosts its events in a variety of cities around the Southeast. Accordingly,one of Horth’s primary directives has been to create and maintain meaningful relationships wherever she can. “Relationships are paramount – up and down the spectrum,” Horth says.

Those relationships build the networks that keep day-to-day office operations running smoothly, allow SETC to hit the ground running at disparate host cities and event venues, and expand opportunities for others in innovative ways.

One of SETC’s guiding practices in building community stems from Horth’s master’s thesis, “Theory and Applications of Networking in the Field of Creativity” (1994). Horth’s research stressed the importance of “reciprocal exchange,” a process that occurs when two or more individuals or organizations uncover a common interest, which leads to each providing something beneficial to the other.

SETC often employs this principle in forging partnerships for events at the SETC Convention. “I search for beneficial reciprocity especially when working in new locations,” Horth says.

Example: Beneficial Reciprocity in Action with a Community

A few months before the 2018 SETC Convention in Mobile, SETC staff members were touring the parking area of the Mobile Convention Center when Brandt Wilhelm, the director of operations for the convention center, offhandedly asked if the organization would be interested in painting one of the main walls by the elevator. Within moments, the idea for a Scenic Painting Masterclass was being floated – and details soon were being worked out. SETC tapped several scenic design experts to lead the class, and when convention time arrived, students worked under their direction to paint a mural depicting the Azalea Trail Maids of Mobile, with the convention center covering the costs of materials, including paint supplied by Sculptural Arts Coating, a convention exhibitor. Bottom line: The convention center received a great face-lift for its parking area, and participants in the workshop got tangible training in the art of mural painting.

Scott Bradley (front) was the scenic designer for SETC’s mural project in the Mobile Convention Center parking garage. He taught students and supervised work on the mural along with other designers.

Porfirio Solorzano

Example: Beneficial Reciprocity in Action with a Festival Host

A second example of reciprocity repeats itself annually as part of the annual convention. SETC produces two competitive theatre performance festivals: the Community Theatre Festival and the High School Theatre Festival. Each competition requires its own theatre venue which, of course, requires money to operate. However, neither competition generates the funds to cover those costs. So, Horth applies the principle of reciprocity in her search for host venues.

“The first question I ask myself when entering into a potential site review is, ‘What other value does SETC bring to a potential host theatre?’” Horth explains. “By examining what we have to offer other than money, SETC has been fortunate to have host theatres over the years provide us the theatre space for mutual benefits and reduced costs.”

For college hosts, SETC has been able to provide a variety of benefits. The college's theatre students get an opportunity to run the competition, garnering valuable on-the job experience. SETC also may provide students with convention registrations in exchange for access to the school's theatre facilities. Colleges and universities also benefit from attracting participating High School Theatre Festival groups (composed of potential college students) onto their campuses. High school hosts, meanwhile, have received convention registrations for students and had workshops brought to their campuses at no charge.

Horth finds the initial networking efforts in a community can have long-term effects. “When we are invited to return to these venues, it confirms the reciprocity concept of networking theory,“ Horth notes.

For example, at the 2020 SETC Convention in Louisville, KY, the Community Theatre Festival will be held for a second time at Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS), a magnet school open to students by audition only. In 2013, the last time the convention was in Louisville, the school hosted the festival – and SETC provided convention registrations to 15 of their students at no charge.

Sustainable Financing

When it comes to most financial decisions, Horth has made a point of running SETC, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, more like a for-profit corporation. She believes it is vital that all funding for a service, an event or an office expansion be accounted for before embarking on the new endeavor.

In addition, Horth is adamant that SETC’s fiscal health should not depend on grants or other outside funding. “We rely on our products and services to generate our income,” Horth says. Simply put: “Make it before you spend it.”

New projects are accompanied by mini business plans. Each project must have its own blueprint that takes into account the costs associated with it.

Example: Business Plan, Masterclasses

In 2009, SETC introduced masterclasses – more intensive programs offered in addition to the traditional workshops at the SETC Convention. As the concept developed, Horth identified a number of associated costs, including location, talent, logistics, travel, food and beverage. Next, she added a figure that she calls “and then some.” This, she says, is “a highly untechnical term that is vital for covering hidden costs and developing sustainability.” Once the cost of the masterclasses was calculated, Horth turned her attention to the revenue stream. Masterclasses were a new event – an added value for those attending the annual convention – so participants were asked to pay a nominal fee. This fee was developed using a 60/40 model, with 60 percent of the income going to cover SETC’s expenses and the remaining 40 percent going to the presenter. This allows SETC to cover its costs – and attract presenters at the top of their fields.

Example: Tailor-Made Sponsorships

Horth’s approach to developing sponsorships is another example of using ingenuity to bring benefits to those attending the SETC Convention. SETC often turns to other companies and organizations to help fund events and products that enhance programming. Horth’s operative philosophy has been that SETC does not have to make money on these added values,but that the costs do need to be covered. Developing the right sponsorship opportunity comes down to identifying what audience would be served, who could benefit from reaching that audience, and what unique connections could be made.

For example, receptions at SETC events add an important dimension to the networking already taking place. However, the cost for food and beverage isn’t covered by event registrations. Some of the questions that frame sponsorship solutions are: Who would possibly garner increased exposure from hosting a particular reception? What can we make sure they get in return? How would it benefit them?

“Sponsorships add ambiance to SETC through connecting the targeted constituency to the sponsor’s interest,” says Horth.

In what’s become an opening night standard at SETC’s annual convention, Disney Theatrical Group sponsors a cocktail reception in honor of workshop presenters and professional company representatives. Through this outreach effort, Disney representatives have the opportunity to connect with their audience – the segment of SETC’s constituency that would be interested in and capable of producing their shows.

For 15 years, a rotating selection of tech companies – such as Barbizon Lighting, 4Wall Entertainment, Robe Lighting, InterAmerica Stage, 1st Street Music & Sound Co. and Point Source Audio – have sponsored the annual SETC Convention Design/Tech Mixer, where they provide entertainment and throw swag to the 400 designers and technicians in attendance.

Frequently, companies or organizations reach out to SETC seeking sponsorship opportunities. Two universities wanted to reach the High School Theatre Festival attendees. One now sponsors an Opening Night Masterclass and Pizza Party; the other, a printed festival program that is handed to every attendee. Once again, this is beneficial reciprocity in action:

SETC attendees receive added value, and the schools receive targeted publicity.

A sponsor tosses T-shirts into the crowd at the 2018 SETC Convention Design/ Tech Mixer. By offering sponsorships of events such as the Design- Tech Mixer, SETC offers companies a chance to connect with their SETC audiences and provides enhanced networking opportunities to convention attendees.

Porfirio Solorzano

Resourcefulness

Much of SETC’s growth has been rooted in an almost stubborn insistence on making great things happen out of limited resources. Horth credits her family as the source of her resourceful nature. Her childhood was spent in the Pennsylvania country, where her parents bought a 150-year-old stone farmhouse. In what Horth calls “a labor of love and ingenuity,” her family worked to restore their home and land by themselves. “Rube Goldberg had nothing on my parents,” says Horth. “Their resourcefulness had them always looking for multiple ways to solve a problem.” That same creative problem-solving process has helped spawn a number of new programs designed to serve SETC’s membership.

Example: Ready to… Programs

In 2008, Troy Snyder, chair of SETC’s Design and Technology Committee at the time, approached Horth with a concern about the declining number of graduate-level entrants in the annual Design Competition. “I actually think I channeled my father overnight,” Horth says. She regrouped with Snyder and other key leaders the next day, and Horth pitched an idea for a “Ready to Work” (now, “Ready to Design”) program, offering professional work opportunities to select graduate entrants in the Design Competition.

“I got there by asking myself what a grad student might want from entering the competition,” Horth says. “The recognition or cash prizes weren’t enough, and the critiques of their work by leading designers no longer meant much to students about to embark on their professional careers. And with that, ‘work’ entered the solution.”

Flash forward 11 years, and SETC now partners with four professional theatres in offering annual Ready to Design awards. Each sponsoring theatre selects one graduate entrant from the Design Competition as its winner. That winner is offered professional work as a designer on a production in the company’s upcoming season. A number of these designers have been invited to return to work on other productions at their sponsor theatres. One winner, Josafath Reynoso, went on to win the Gold Award for Emerging Designer at the 2017 World Stage Design exhibition in Taipei for the scenic design he created for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof while working at sponsor theatre Triad Stage.

The concept of building direct pathways to immersive and rewarding professional experiences has since expanded to two more “Ready to” initiatives. Early and mid-career directors have the Ready to Direct competition, and playwrights now have the Ready to Publish award sponsored by SETC and play publisher Stage Rights.

The Ready to Design initiative provides talented designers with a work opportunity and valuable exposure. The scenic design that Josafath Reynoso created for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (above) as a 2015 award winner working at Triad Stage in Greensboro, NC, went on to win the 2017 Gold Award for Emerging Designer at the World Stage Design Exhibition in Taipei. Reynoso now works internationally as a freelance scenic designer and is an assistant professor of scenic design at the University of Richmond.

Josafath Reynoso

Organic Growth

While some challenges spark solutions overnight, others take patience. Horth advocates for being non-hasty whenever you have the luxury. “Nonprofit organizations can sustain themselves if they take their time, pay attention from all directions, and move together,” Horth says.

When she started at SETC, Horth was methodical in learning the ins and outs of the organization. “Perhaps it was my initial insecurity in taking the position or the challenge of understanding the dynamics of the organization, but I started slowly,” she says. “As I grew, I learned how to grow the organization.”

Patience helped Horth become the leader she is today, and it’s also been a key in keeping SETC on steady financial footing as it’s bulked up in staff members, expanded its offerings and reckoned with the implications of its own growth. Another important component has been Horth’s insistence on making the effort to listen, look full circle, work cooperatively and seek out diverse points of view. “By paying attention and working collectively, we have been able to build a strong SETC foundation,” Horth says. “We haven’t run into a wall yet that we can’t figure out how to manage through, over or around.”

Example: Branding a Changing SETC

The origins of the Southeastern Theatre Conference date to 1949, when 55 Southerners convened for a meeting. Seventy years later, roughly 26 percent of SETC’s members do not reside in the Southeast. Those who do often pursue careers and schooling outside the region, and many non-Southerners choose to live, work and study in the South. Thus, one of the more confusing challenges Horth dealt with was how to maintain SETC’s Southeastern heritage while acknowledging a national – even international – audience.

“Boiled down, our regional name and the reality of our reach had become a branding contradiction,” Horth says. “We grappled with this dilemma for several years in the office, with board members and anyone who wanted to explore the issue.”

After all those years of conversation, Julie A. Richardson – a professional director and stage manager who has been involved with SETC for decades – offered a simple solution one day at a strategy meeting.

“Why don’t we add ‘nationwide’ to our mission statement?” Richardson asked.

“We audibly gasped and then embraced the elegant solution,” Horth says. “Instead of paying $20,000 to a PR firm to help us adjust our branding language, we looked within our collective community and found this one word that captured the essence of who we are today.”

Three months later, SETC’s Board of Directors adopted the revised SETC mission statement: “Connecting You to Opportunities in Theatre Nationwide.”

Analysis Meets Mind-Set

Most business leaders will agree that analysis is key to improvement. For Horth, that doesn’t mean just any analysis. How the analysis is presented and couched is critical: “I believe in mind-set,” Horth says.

Many businesses and much of the theatre community use the term “post-mortem” to analyze a project or production upon completion, but Horth avoids the term with a passion. “I refuse to use a label that in the medical world means ‘after death,’ ” Horth says. “The term frames the event examination as picking apart the dead.” Horth warns that inherent in this terminology is an attitude of “It’s over. Let’s wallow in sadness over what went wrong.”

Horth prefers the word “debriefing,” a term and a process she learned during her graduate school study of creativity. “The purpose of the exercise is to expand thinking versus closing it down, to look at continuous improvement rather than move on from a completed project. The tools are useful for completed projects, programs and just about anything that requires or benefits from a qualitative review.”

Example: The SETC Debrief

After every major event, the SETC Central Office team gathers to celebrate the completion of the project and to examine“what worked” and “what didn’t.” Process templates are also sent to anyone outside the office who contributed major energy to the leadership or management of the event.

The emphasis in Horth’s approach is to create a safe environment in which all members on the team are motivated and invested in continually improving the work they do on behalf of the organization. Daylong debriefs start with a continental breakfast and continue through a delivered lunch well into the afternoon.

Horth’s process has developed from two methods of analysis she was introduced to at Buffalo State College during her master’s program: PPCO (Pluses, Potentials, Concerns, Overcomes) and ALU (Advantages, Limitations, Unique connections). Both tools are built on the same basic structure:

Focus first on positive observations. Celebrating the “pluses” – successes, both big and small, collective and individual – creates a celebratory environment while sharing and tracking details of what worked to the group.

Next, jump into the challenges. Challenges are framed in a problem-solving terminology rather than stated as a “problem” or a negative verdict on a piece of action. For example, Horth notes, “Instead of saying, ‘There wasn’t enough time between workshop sessions,’ we would frame it as a question: ‘How might we create more time for our attendees to get from one workshop to another?’ ”

Finish with opportunities. These often stem directly from the positive and challenging observations already discussed.

After the debrief, notes are formatted and exchanged among participants. Now the problem-solving can begin. Often problem-solving of the challenges is instantaneous because the challenge has been framed as a question.

Continuing with the real-world example mentioned above, a challenge with convention workshops was solved through this process: Workshops were scheduled too soon after each other. As a result, programs started late and even later as the day progressed. Presenters’ challenge: How to have more time to set up? Attendees’ challenge: How might I get to a session that is in another building? The solution, Horth notes, was threefold: “Increase time between sessions from 10 minutes to 15 minutes; keep similar programming in a designated area of meeting rooms; and consistently schedule presenters who need audio-visual aids in the same room, lessening set-up time.

SETC’s team was able to solve multiple challenges from multiple perspectives.”

Continuous Improvement = Transitional Change = Growth

A final key tenet in Horth’s work is continuous improvement. Instead of “growth,” her focus is on the process itself.

“The conscious practice of including all individuals willing to ‘roll up their sleeves and dig in,’ in addition to maintaining an openness to explore ideas and methodically build them into tangible outcomes, created an environment in which change occurred in steps, which ultimately resulted in the growth of SETC,” she says.

New ideas haven’t originated just with individuals. Organizations also have found SETC an open and accepting place to explore innovative ideas and programs.For the last five years, SETC has partnered with USITT (United States Institute for Theatre Technology) on LiNK, a graduate school recruitment event. And, in 2017, the Institute of Outdoor Theatre merged with SETC. In both instances, SETC’s services increased and the organization grew in new,unexpected directions while continuing to serve its mission.

Horth believes the process of creative leadership can be applied anywhere, taking different forms in each organization in response to the objectives and needs of that entity and its leaders. However, the benefits of using a creative process are the same across all types of businesses and organizations, she says.

“The value of creative leadership is in integrating theory into ‘practice,’ which demands a continual process of openness,commitment from others, and a willingness to explore what can happen,” Horth says.“When you balance that with the concrete principles of running a business, anything is possible.”