Leading

Minneapolis, Minnesota


Kate Barr is one of the stars in the firmament of nonprofit organizations in Minnesota – or, anywhere, for that matter. I have known her for years, first for her appreciation of the arts, particularly dance, but also for her stellar leadership of the Nonprofits Assistance Fund. As a former senior banker, Kate is versed in the "can't-argue-with-certain-basics" that should underpin all nonprofit organizations. Her background has given her expertise in how to use the tools of finance and good management to make things happen and get things done.


I wish often that I could channel Kate's wisdom which she shares periodically and succinctly in her blog. The best I can do is link to her posts in the column to the left. Her latest offering, "Who Said Leadership Was Fun?" sums up a great deal in a small space. Some excerpts:

The Minnesota Council on Foundations invited Judith Alnes from MAP for Nonprofits and me to contribute an article for their current issue of Giving Forum.... When I read the article in print today, this statement in the conclusion really jumped out for me:

Those of us in leadership roles should remember that this time will be judged by the actions we take or the actions we fail to take.

That’s a lot of weight being carried by leaders of nonprofits....

Sometimes, being a leader requires you to take responsibility for tough problems and be held accountable for the results.... If you’re the one who has to stare at the budget column or read the letter informing you of a funding reduction you know what this feels like....

This is a time to learn a new leadership approach or adapt well developed leadership practices. I have some ideas about what needs to change and I hope that you will weigh in as well.... [Read the whole post.]

• • •

My two cents: Who was it that said “Know thyself”? This seems particularly necessary in a time when so many organizations are dealing with existential issues and fighting/hoping for survival. When we cannot change the world, we only can change our perceptions of and reactions to it. I always have found that when I make myself vulnerable and open to the worst possible outcome I find great strength and energy. Still, it can be challenging to maintain a posture of openness in the presence of inertia or the absence of reciprocity. One needs an immersion and grounding in the realities of his/her organization’s “numbers” and in the limits of one’s individual capabilities, knowing at all times what is the bottom line. With and without other people, I ask two questions: What is the worst thing that could happen? If it happened, can I live with that? If the answer to the second question is “yes,” then anything short of the worst is a gift, and I can live with it. GP

Cheers for young people, jeans, and scuffed shoes

Minneapolis, Minnesota


They held the annual Ivey Awards in downtown Minneapolis last night to celebrate our 68 professional theaters and to recognize artistic excellence among organizations large and small and people old and new.


Festivities began with a VIP pre-party at Seven on Hennepin, followed by the main awards show at the State Theatre. The red carpet post-party took place at Mission and its spill-over "patio," the IDS Crystal Court. Thanks are due to the financial sponsors.


Melissa Gilbert and Steve Blanchard, lead actors in the Guthrie Theater's production of Little House on the Prairie, served loosely as emcees of the tightly-run State Theatre proceedings, attended by 2,000 of the onstage, backstage, and front-of-house people who make the theater community tick.


Performers from several organizations provided entertainment throughout the 90-minute production, including members of the Brave New Workshop, Buffalo Gal Productions, the Guthrie Theater, Nautilus Music-Theater, Theater Latte Da, and Cantus.


Awards for overall excellence were presented to Open Eye Figure Theatre for Prelude to Faust, and to Workhouse Theatre for 'Night Mother. Recognition also was bestowed upon Frank Theatre for the emotional resonance of The Pillowman; Interact Center for the innovative concept and idea behind Broken Brain Summit; Ordway Center for the Performing Arts for costume design, scenic design, and choreography of Cabaret; Gremlin Theatre – and Gary Geiken, Katie Guentzel, John Middleton, Carolyn Pool, Matt Rein, and Alan Sorenson – for ensemble acting in Orson's Shadow; and to Chanhassen Dinner Theatres and Tamara Kangas for choreography in 42nd Street.


The Ivey Awards recognized three actors for individual performances: James A. Williams as Troy Maxson in the Penumbra Theatre production of Fences; Kate Eifrig for her portrayal of nine characters in 9 Parts of Desire at the Guthrie Theater; and Jarius Abts for his performance as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Jungle Theater.


Matthew Amendt, a 26-year-old actor, received the Emerging Artist Award for writing The Comedian's Tragedy, presented at the Theatre Garage last summer.


A 90-something-year-old Don Stolz was summoned to the stage to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from Diana Pearce of KARE TV and from the Guthrie's legendary – and last year's lifetime recipient – Sheila Livingston. Stolz founded Minnesota's Old Log Theater 67 years ago, pre-Guthrie, pre-Children's Theater, and pre-all-the-rest. According to the couple next to me, Stolz was still giving pre-show curtain talks as recently as Sunday night.


I had a blast and enjoyed every minute of the evening save one. Following his introduction by Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak, I joined whole-heartedly in the standing ovation that greeted Dominique Serrand's arrival to present an award. He could and should have made the presentation and dispensed with his lament for the demise of Theatre de la Jeune Lune, the organization he co-founded 30 years ago that crashed and burned earlier this year, following a recognition that years of financial mismanagement and accumulated debt necessitated closure.


"The angels we hoped for have not appeared," he mourned. "The powers that be have spoken with their silence." Invoking Samuel Beckett in blessing, Serrand concluded, "Go on failing. Only next time, try to fail better."


I appreciate that Serrand has a background in European traditions where generous and indulgent support for the arts is a given and carries the character of an entitlement. While I laud the sensibility of that approach, my sympathy has its limits. Enough!


Too many of us work too hard to convince our fellow citizens, of all political stripes, that the arts merit even a pittance of public support. At our best on this side of the pond, we offer investment in artistic endeavors that require the reciprocity of good stewardship: pursuit of artistic excellence, good governance, and fiscal responsibility. Ultimately, Jeune Lune failed on the latter two points.


Several young people took the stage to receive awards last night. Unable to afford fancy suits, in their jeans and scuffed shoes they represented all the starving artists who seek only a chance to create and present their work. The tears they choked back bespoke their disbelieving amazement that, for a brief moment, the community in which they labor had lifted them from the ashes of their chimney hearths and welcomed them to the ball.


Serrand and his colleagues burned their tickets to the dance on the altar of organizational dysfunction and inattention to business basics. In this, they were abetted by what I call "the collective we" that looked away when deficits became chronic, plans became unrealistic, and the ties that bound them to the community frayed beyond repair. Finally and, perhaps, unfairly, we acknowledged that we owed no more and, in the tradition of Minnesota Nice, we kept the angels at bay and allowed the silence to speak for us.


I believe in second and subsequent acts, however, and hope that in his next adventures Serrand will be able to "fail better," if fail he must.

Diversity in the ranks

Minneapolis, Minnesota


Here is an article of interest from the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. – GP

Minorities say nonprofit boards not looking deep
enough among their numbers
By April McClellan-Copeland

June 22, 2008
The Plain Dealer


Randell McShepard, vice president of public affairs at RPM International, found himself in high demand last year as 22 nonprofit organizations asked him to serve on their board of directors.


McShepard has a high-profile position at his company and much experience serving on nonprofit boards, including the United Way of Greater Cleveland and Business Volunteers Unlimited, an organization that links businesses and nonprofits and trains nonprofit boards.


But McShepard, who is black, said the 22 invitations really underscore how nonprofits are not digging deep enough to tap into the wealth of talented minority professionals in the community.


Read the full article

Nonprofit governance: How unsexy and irrelevant is that?

Minneapolis, Minnesota


The recent announcement that Theatre de la Jeune Lune will shut down permanently prompted many analyses about what went right as well as wrong during the storied lifetime of a mainstay in the Twin Cities' cultural milieu.


One commentary by David Hawley on MinnPost.com ("With Jeune Lune's triumphs over and legacy clear, its wondrous nomads move on," 6/24/08) celebrated both the endings and the beginnings to be found in Jeune Lune's demise. One passage by Hawley caught my eye, and that of several others:

I remember, decades ago, when I was chatting with a Jeune
Lune core member ... who was lamenting about having to deal
with a board of directors in order to gain the benefits of nonprofit status.

"Their job is to get money for us," the performer said. "But they want to
talk to us about what we're doing and all that. It's none of their business
and a terrible waste of time."

Well.


There is no need to pile on and credit this sentiment as a fatal flaw in the organizational culture that led to Jeune Lune's demise. The sentiment is alive, healthy, and expressed regularly by artists in all disciplines.


I have heard this sentiment, and worse, from agents of more than one arts organization during the current calendar year alone. You also may have heard the comments; hopefully, you have not made them yourself.

"No one, least of all a donor, is going to tell me how to run my organization!"


"I founded this organization and I will shut it down before I give up control!"

These statements do not emanate from mature organizations. They almost always are found among small and midsize groups.


I used to think such expressions were born from desperation and the poverty mentality that grips many in the smaller arts world. Now, I see them as ignorant and arrogant. Or just plain stupid. They hurt all of us.


Any artist who wishes to exercise total control with no accountability is free to operate as a sole proprietor or as a for-profit business. However, once one crosses over and assumes the mantle of an incorporated, 501(c)(3), your business becomes the public's business. And the public relies upon your board of directors to look after its interests.


We might whine, curse, and complain if we must. Then we need to grow up and step up to the plate of adult nonprofit governance.


The Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence, created by -- and available for pdf download from -- the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, articulate 10 principles of accountability and 133 management practices that can inform artists, administrators, board members, and wanna-bees.


For sure, as the Principles state, "Board members should be committed to the mission and dedicated to the success of the nonprofit." However, "Nonprofit board members are responsible to make decisions in the interest of the organization and no other party, including themselves."


The Center for Nonprofit Management at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis offers regular classes in all aspects of nonprofit management and governance. One need not be a regularly-enrolled student to attend. I have found several classes helpful over the years.


Yes, there is a lot of nuance about the checks and balances of governing and managing nonprofits; that is grist for future posts.


The basics remain relevant. If we care enough to do our work in the arts, then we should care enough to get it right in practice and in attitude.