Leading Roles: 50 Questions Every Arts Board Should Ask

by Michael M. Kaiser

Overview

Not-for-profit arts organizations struggled to survive the recent economic recession. In this increasingly hardscrabble environment, it is absolutely imperative that the boards of these organizations function as energetically, creatively, and efficiently as possible. Michael M. Kaiser’s personal history with boards of arts organizations began when he served on the board of the Washington Opera (now the Washington National Opera) in 1983. Today, in his capacity as president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Kaiser recently completed a 50-state, 69-city Arts in Crisis tour. Board issues came up repeatedly as central to the success or failure of the organization. Drawing on these and many other conversations, nationally and internationally, Kaiser’s book offers members of boards and staffs the information they need to create the healthy atmosphere necessary to thriving arts organizations. Organized in a clear, readable, question-and-answer format, Leading Roles covers every aspect of board participation in the life of the organization, including mission and governance; fundraising and marketing responsibilities; the relationship of the board to the artistic director, executive director, and staff; and its responsibilities for planning and budgeting. Kaiser addresses boards in crisis, international boards, and boards of arts organizations of color. Throughout, he emphasizes the importance of transparency and clarity in the board’s dealings with its own members and those of the arts community of which it is a part, showing how anything less results in contentiousness that can immobilize an arts organization, or even tear it apart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781584659068
Publisher:	Brandeis University Press
Publication date:	10/12/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

MICHAEL M. KAISER is the author of The Art of the Turnaround: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations. He is a graduate of Brandeis University, class of 1975.

Table of Contents

Apology
Acknowledgments
Introduction
LIFE CYCLE
How Does a Successful Arts Organization Function?
How Does an Arts Organization Evolve?
Has Our Board Matured with Our Organization?
BOARD AND MISSION
Why Do We Need a Mission Statement? What Constitutes a Good Mission Statement?
How Should We Develop a Mission Statement?
Do Our Board Meetings Reflect Our Mission?
BOARD GOVERNANCE
What Are the Major Responsibilities of the Board?
How Many People Should Serve on Our Board?
What Are the Best Leadership Structures? What Kind of Board Leadership Do We Need?
Do We Need Board or Staff Diversity?
Do We Need Board Members with Specific Skills? Should We Have Other Not-for-Profit Executives on Our Board?
Where Do We Find New Board Members? How Should New Members Be Added?
Should We Have a “Give-or-Get” Policy?
Do We Need Term Limits?
What is the Function of a Governance Committee or Nominating Committee?
How Do We Fire Unproductive Board Members?
Apart from a Governance Committee, What Other Committees Do We Need?
Should the Artistic Director and Executive Director Serve on the Board?
BOARD AND FUNDRAISING
Are We Relying Too Heavily on Contributed Revenue?
How Do We Attract Corporate Contributions? Foundation Contributions? Individual Contributions?
How Do We Maximize the Results of Our Annual Gala?
How Do We Evaluate a Fundraising Plan?
Are Board Members Responsible for Fundraising? How Do We Get Board Members to Raise Money?
Are We Embarrassed about Our Organization?
Are We Ready to Mount a Capital Campaign? How Do We Pursue This Campaign?
BOARD AND MARKETING
How Do We Evaluate a Marketing Plan?
How Do We Get a Diverse Audience? A Younger Audience?
Are Our Ticket Prices Appropriate?
Why Are Subscription Sales So Much Lower Than in the Past?
Are We Using the Internet Properly?
Our Theater Is Empty, What Should We Do?
Our Theater Is Filled, What Should We Do?
BOARD AND STAFF
What Should We Think about When We Hire an Artistic Director or an Executive Director?
Should We Hire from the For-Profit Sector?
Is It Appropriate for Board Members to Do the Work of the Staff If They Are Not Doing It Well?
How Should the Artistic Director and the Executive Director Relate to Each Other?
BOARD AND PLANNING/BUDGETING
How Should We Approach a Strategic Planning Process? How Can We Make Sure the Plan Is Implemented?
Do We Really Believe the Budget We Just Passed? Where Should We Cut If We Need To?
Should We Build a New Facility?
What Are the Major Pitfalls of Planning We Should Avoid?
BOARD IN CRISIS
Our Organization Is in a Crisis, What Do We Do?
INTERNATIONAL BOARDS
Our Organization Is Not in the United States, Does That Make a Difference?
ARTS ORGANIZATIONS OF COLOR
Our Organization Is an Institution of Color, Does That Make a Difference?
SUBSIDIARY BOARDS
Should We Have a Subsidiary Board? A Volunteer Group?
BOARD AND PROGRAMMING
Aren’t All Artists Spendthrifts?
What Is the Board’s Role in Artistic Planning?
How Many Years Out Should We Be Planning Our Art?
Should We Form Joint Ventures?
Should We Build a Touring Program?
Do We Need an Education Program?
Epilogue

What People are Saying About This

Terrence McNally

“No one knows more about arts administration than Michael Kaiser. No wonder people the world over clamor for his attention and keen advice. The Kennedy Center’s not-so-secret weapon is an international treasure. The book is a goldmine.”

Judith Jamison

“Michael Kaiser has made it his mission to help arts organizations around the world succeed. He is an ambassador and trusted authority for arts administrators everywhere, generously sharing his proven expertise that I’ve seen firsthand. Michael’s book will take his life’s work one step further, elevating the world of arts management with his wisdom.”

Plácido Domingo

“Michael Kaiser is very competent and far-sighted in dealing with the extremely complicated economic and organizational aspects of performing arts institutions, especially in this period of grave crises. In my capacity as General Director of Washington National Opera, which makes its home at the Kennedy Center, I have worked with Michael, the Center’s President, and I share his approach to running not-for-profit arts organizations. I recommend his book to anyone who works in this area.”

Placido Domingo

"Michael Kaiser is very competent and far-sighted in dealing with the extremely complicated economic and organizational aspects of performing arts institutions, especially in this period of grave crises. In my capacity as General Director of Washington National Opera, which makes its home at the Kennedy Center, I have worked with Michael, the Center's President, and I share his approach to running not-for-profit arts organizations. I recommend his book to anyone who works in this area."

Editorial Reviews

"Leading Roles is a rich yet tidy cornucopia of solutions for the challenges facing the American arts scene . . . The author is compelling as he scopes the horizon, sizing up a future in which global cooperation will loom large for the arts."—Washington Post

“The musicians of ICSOM must continue to be our own positive advocates in a managerial climate that is resistant to a positive message. Mr. Kaiser's new book is a powerful tool that can assist us in articulating our vision.”—Senza Sordino, International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians newsletter

“After years of distinguished volunteer board service in many arts associations, and a 50-state, 69-city ‘Arts in Crisis’ tour, meeting with many other arts organizations, Michael Kaiser has committed his considerable wisdom and experience to paper, and written Leading Roles: 50 Questions Every Arts Board Should Ask.
Although aimed at associations in the arts - dance, opera, theatre - the book Kaiser has written should be must-reading for every board member and staff executive of every association. Leading Roles addresses every aspect of board participation in the life of an association, including mission and governance; fundraising and marketing; the relationship of the board to the artistic director, executive director, and staff; and board responsibilities for planning and budgeting.”—The Examiner, Washington, DC

From the Publisher

… Leading Roles, is a rich yet tidy cornucopia of solutions for the challenges facing the American arts scene. [Kaiser's] advice, presented as responses to a series of 50 questions, stems from his 2009 whirlwind tour that took him from Boston to San Francisco. All told, he made himself available to 11,000 arts leaders and concerned members of the public in almost every state.
—The Washington Post

Barbara Hall