Coaching the Arts Quarterback

by Joe Kluger

Although modern management gurus Warren Bennis³ and Peter Drucker⁴ have debunked the myth that there is a genetic factor to leadership, it was many years earlier that Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers football team, said "Leaders are not born; they are made."⁵ Arts organizations now recognize the need for executive leadership training, albeit with a bias that although cognitive learning programs are valuable they are not a substitute for on the job training.

What has not been discussed with nearly as much frequency in arts administration circles is the kind of experiential learning that is necessary to develop a successful arts leader. According to the Center for Creative Leadership⁶ (CCL): only "experiences that challenge you are developmental;"⁷"you only grow from challenges when you have the ability to learn from them;"⁸ and true learning can occur only where there is feedback from others, time to reflect on that feedback, and a supportive environment in which to practice ameliorative behavior.⁹

Effective arts supervisors understand that subordinates learn from experiences only when they receive ongoing, specific, timely feedback about an error, understand what behaviors caused it, and know what modifications are necessary to correct it. The challenge for arts CEOs is that the mechanisms to provide regular feedback on their own performance are often lacking, even when human resource systems are in place for others on staff. Boards of non-profit arts and culture groups often place a higher priority on policy matters and fundraising than providing guidance and oversight to the CEO. An annual review of the CEO's performance is helpful, but even when done thoroughly by the Board Chair or an HR Committee, it is not as effective as ongoing feedback.

The members of the senior staff team, who are most aware of the leaders' strengths and weaknesses, are another underutilized source of feedback for executives. Yet, how many arts leaders solicit such feedback? How many really mean it when they say, "Tell me what you think?" And, how many leaders make it safe for subordinates to give them honest, critical feedback? According to Bennis, "One of the tragedies of most organizations is that people will let the leaders make mistakes when they themselves know better."¹⁰ Experienced "leaders know the importance of having someone in their lives who tells them the truth.¹¹ The challenge for inexperienced arts leaders is that when they get feedback, they do not always hear it; and even when they do, the ongoing support mechanisms are often not in place to allow for a developmental learning experience.

Feedback can also be inhibited by the myth that, because a successful leader is so critical to the organization, criticism of the leader somehow weakens the organization. There is a growing sense in business literature, however, that this heroic model of leadership is flawed and, according to author Jim Collins, not correlated with long-term organizational success.¹² Assuming the leader has all the answers is also inconsistent with Bennis' view of leadership development that there can be "no progress without mistakes... indeed, if you don't make mistakes, you aren't trying hard enough."¹³

Recognizing the internal organizational challenges of providing developmental learning experiences for leaders, executive coaching has become an accepted support mechanism in the corporate world in the last decade. It is not a remedial method for correcting poor performance, but a process to help both seasoned and rising executives to become more effective leaders. We accept in sports without question that even a talented athlete like Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr needs the guidance of a coach like Vince Lombardi to be successful. Why should it be a sign of failure or weakness for an executive to receive advice and counsel from a coach?

Executive coaching has not yet become widespread in non-profit arts and culture organizations, in part because of the resources, in terms of both time and money, required to hire a qualified external coach. A typical 12 month coaching program of bi-weekly two-hour sessions costs between $9,000 and $12,000. While this is significant for an arts organization on a tight budget, it is minimal relative to the costs of replacing an executive with great potential who fails to achieve it. It could also be a modest cost relative to the loss of income to an organization because an arts executive did not listen carefully enough to the indirect communications from a disgruntled, but conflict averse, major donor.

Furthermore, executive coaching can save the organization money in the long run by creating more effective leaders, who inspire and motivate employees and volunteers to work toward shared organizational goals.

Executive coaching builds the skills that enable leaders to inspire (rather than command) respect and to exhibit the behaviors that motivate "followers"¹⁴ to work together toward these goals. Executive coaching is an ongoing, confidential, one-on-one relationship between a leader and coach – supported and paid for by the organization – through which they:

• Reach agreement on the desired attributes and behaviors for someone in the leader's position.
• Implement self-assessment instruments, which provide data on the executive's personality type, emotional intelligence, and approach to interpersonal relations.
• Determine which stakeholders can provide the most meaningful feedback on the executive's behaviors (i.e. 360º feedback from customers, peers, subordinates, and supervisors).
• Collect 360º feedback (provided anonymously by stakeholders and shared only with the executive and coach).
• Analyze the results of the self-assessment instruments and stakeholder feedback and create a list of the executive's strengths and areas for development.
• Develop an action plan, with specific goals and strategies for behavioral changes that leverage the executive's strengths and create developmental learning opportunities. Examples of goals are: becoming a better listener; providing direct reports with more appreciative feedback; and respecting the time of others. If the executive's goal were to be a better listener, examples of strategies could be: don't interrupt people; paraphrase what others say; make eye contact; and pause five seconds before responding.¹⁵
• Agree on a timeline and process for measuring results. It is very difficult for colleagues to perceive behavioral changes, because perceptions are set by previous interactions. An executive who shares his or her coaching goals with colleagues and solicits their ongoing feedback is more likely to have behavioral changes noticed. After six months, a mini-survey of key stakeholders provides a valuable assessment mechanism of whether the executive has succeeded in the targeted areas for improvement.¹⁶
• Review the results and modify the action plan as necessary.
• Establish a transition plan, which weans the executive from the coaching relationship and teaches the executive to solicit direct feedback from colleagues regularly and adapt his or her behavior accordingly.

Executive coaching is not appropriate in every situation. It is not effective if the executive is not motivated to change behavior; if the organization is trying to make a case for termination; or if the executive lacks the intelligence or skills to do the job.¹⁷ When the executive is willing to make a sincere effort to change; when the organization, the executive, and the coach work in partnership to achieve maximum learning and impact; and when there is mutual trust and respect between executive and coach; the individual and institutional benefits can be tremendous. All that is required is the recognition – as John F. Kennedy said – that "leadership and learning are indispensable to each other"¹⁸ and the acknowledgement that "it is the capacity to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from their followers."¹⁹

3  Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus. Leaders (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.,1985). 207. 

4  Peter F. Drucker, Forward in Frances Hesselbein ed., et al., The Leader of the Future. (New York: Jossey-Bass, 1996).

5  Vince Lombardi, http://www.vincelombardi.com/about/quotes/leader.html.

6  One of the most respected resources for increasing the leadership capabilities of individuals and organizations.

7  Cynthia D. McCauley ed., et al. The Center for Creative  Leadership Handbook of Leadership Developmen (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004). 1.

8  Ibid, 2

9  Ibid.

10  Warren G. Bennis, On Becoming A Leader, Cambridge: Perseus Publishing, 2003). 179.

11  Ibid, 188.

12  Jim Collins, Chapter 2: Level 5 Leadership" in Good to be Great. (New York: HarperCollins, 2001).

13  Bennis, On Becoming A Leader, 179.

14  Bennis and Nanus, Leaders, 85.

15  Marshall Goldsmith, "Coaching for Behavioral Change." www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com/cim/articles_alpha.php

16  Ibid.

17  Ibid.

18  John F. Kennedy, speech prepared for delivery in Dallas the day of his assassination, November 22, 1963.

19  Bennis and Nanus, Leaders, 56.