C

As D. Heinze said in an editorial in an Arts Management Newsletter, arts organisations should have the capacity to change – in response to challenges from the environment and because of audience and stakeholder expectations. Jim Phills ran a number of arts leadership programs at Stanford University, and after discussions with the participants, concluded that “the notion of leadership as managing change in order to ensure the continued vibrancy and effectiveness of the organization was a recurring one”. Resistance can show itself in outright conflict involving unions and industrial action, but more likely in arts organisations, it will show itself through delays and detachment where staff have no investment in the process or the outcome. While most of the challenges listed under the heading of “change” in management textbooks tend to be the response of individuals to change, B. Walmsley points out that one of the biggest barriers for arts organisations is money.