Messing up the Narrative

I was thrilled to see that Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago was honored by the Wall Street Journal as one of the Top Small Workforces in America.  They are the first nonprofit arts organization to receive such an honor.

I hope Steppenwolf talks a lot about how they won that award because if they do, they may help to reveal one of the deepest, darkest secrets of the arts world:

Many arts organizations are bad places to work for.

And if you think I'm just talking about not paying people much money, you're wrong.

When researcher Richard Florida asked 20,000 creative professionals what motivated them to give their best at work, here were the Top 10 factors (in order)

1.  Challenge and responsibility

2.  Flexibility

3.  A stable work environment

4.  Money

5.  Professional development

6.  Peer recognition

7.  Stimulating colleagues and bosses

8.  Exciting job content

9.  Organizational culture

10.  Location and community

(h/t to Seth for providing this list in his book Linchpin)

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Money is fourth on the list and there are plenty of non-monetary factors that organizations of any size could use to keep people motivated and attract top talent, both administrative and artistic.

Organizations that can create an environment which provides those 10 things (in varying degrees of course) are more profitable, able to effectively accomplish their mission, have less employee turnover and can sustain themselves much longer . . . then organizations that fail at providing those things.

Yet we continue to operate under this myth that artistic talent is all that matters.

We continue to believe that just because a person can direct a play, or choreograph an exciting dance routine . . . they are automatically qualified to build and lead an organization.

No matter how times we see great artists come together and then fall apart before their time we continue to believe that all we ned is "better art" and everything will be fine.

It's time for us to elevate our conversation.

It's time for us to understand that without organization, infrastructure and all those other words that upset immature artists . . . it's virtually impossible to do your best work over the long haul.

Go back and look at that list of 10 motivators.

Then really look at your organization and think about how your coworkers would rank each of those factors.  It may be the most important discovery you make.

You can't separate the art from the environment it is created in. 

Build a supportive environment for your artists and administrators.  The art you seek will be soon to follow.

 

Comments

[Chris Casquilho]

I know this looks like shameless self-promotion, but check out my blog post on arts and economy - it makes a similar argument about the role of arts in a community, and how a community prepares the ground to have arts, not the other way around (which is a common assumption). http://henslowesdiary.blogspot.com/2009/12/on-canaries-and-mineshafts.html

[Adam]

I've got no problem with shameless promotion. Plug away

[Melinda Lewis]

Great post--the same paradox applies to a lot of nonprofits, in all fields: we think that because we're "doing important work" we don't need to take care of the people who work with us, as employees. Thanks for highlighting the importance of doing both, and giving some tools to help organizations improve.

[Adam]

No problem. Peopke have told me this post has mysteriously landed on the desk of a lot of bosses. :)