Presentation from 2016 Museums and the Web conference in Los Angeles. Focused on applying 21st century leadership models in the cultural heritage sector, including Lean, Agile, Radical and Open. (apologies for slideshare-caused formatting problems) http://mw2016.museumsandtheweb.com/session/digital-practice/ Formal paper here: http://mw2016.museumsandtheweb.com/paper/the-agile-museum/

1. The Agile Museum
21st Century Leadership, with a Capital L
Paper co-authors: Douglas Hegley, Andrew David, Meaghan Tongen
artsmia.org

2. artsmia.org
Douglas Hegley
Director of Media and
Technology
Minneapolis Institute of Art
@dhegley
http://www.slideshare.net/dhegl
ey
Image Soure: http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11113/111131358/3367143-road-runner3.jpg

3. artsmia.org
Psychology?
This leadership
strategy needs
some serious
analysis

4. Image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Minneapolis_Institute_of_Arts.jpg

5. Leadership:
Why Change?
artsmia.org
Image source: http://bottlewood.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/old-business-men-photo.jpg

6. Competition is Fierce (and it’s not us versus us)

7. 7
VUCA
Volatility
Uncertainty
Complexity
Ambiguity
Winding River, (1890) Edgar Degas, Minneapolis Institute of Art , 2009.19.1

8. 8
VUCA – Museum Examples
Volatility – Endowment funds and the recession
Uncertainty – “Treasures of King Tut” suddenly coming
to town
Complexity – Explaining attendance changes, too many
variables
Ambiguity – Shifting tactics that are not aligned with
strategy

9. 9
VUCA prime
Vision – purpose is greater than a perfect plan
Understanding – listen so that you can respond
Clarity– see through the fog, respond to what matters
Agility – communicate and change quickly
Adapted from https://growthandprofit.me/2013/07/04/how-to-manage-volatility-uncertainty-complexity-and-ambiguity-part-2/

10. Leadership with a Capital L
artsmia.org

11. artsmia.org
“One does not ‘manage’ people. The
task is to lead people. And the goal
is to make productive the specific
strengths and knowledge of every
individual.”
- Peter Drucker
Image source: http://54ventures.com/demo-images/fuse-slide-4-11-1800x800.jpg

12. 12
Adapted from: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/articles/manager_leader.htm

13. 13
Adapted from: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/articles/manager_leader.htm

14. 14
Adapted from: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/articles/manager_leader.htm

15. Lean
Agile
Radical
Open
artsmia.org

16. 16
Background image source:http://www.aisquared.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/libraries.jpg

17. Lean
artsmia.org

18. 18
A Lean organization:
• No bloat, no waste
• Bottom-up & decentralized
• Efficient
• Unpredictable
• Yet, still manageable with a
NEW set of leadership practices
Image source: http://www.engineering.com/portals/0/BlogFiles/bigstock-Bottom-Up-5819008.jpg

19. 19
Practices?
• Frequent experimentation
• Direct customer feedback
• Validated learning
(build – measure – learn)
Less upfront investment
Fewer spectacular failures
Image source: http://andstillipersist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/130916-130916-lab-scientist.jpg

20. Agile
artsmia.org

21. 21
What makes it Agile?
Image source: http://www.movetechsolutions.com/movetech_slns/getmedia/f837ae24-5484-49b6-9abd-d7bd753aa766/agileplandoact.png
Fast
Tests things
Collaborative
Responsive
Iterative

22. 22
Image source: http://hqworld.net/gallery/data/media/40/black_and_white_study_of_a_spiral_staircase.jpg
Agile Methodology
• Active user involvement
• All stakeholders collaborate & cooperate
• The Team is empowered to make
decisions
• Requirements are lightweight and visual
• Start small, iterate incrementally
• Deliver frequently
• Complete a feature before moving to
the next
• Apply the 80/20 rule
Adapted from: http://www.allaboutagile.com/what-is-agile-10-key-
principles/#sthash.5DgaON2g.dpuf

23. Radical
artsmia.org

24. 24
Radical Leadership
Key concepts:
Focus ALL work on delighting the customer
Be TOTALLY open about impediments to improvement

25. 25
Radical Leadership is based on
 Clear & frequent communication
 Authenticity
 Open-ended discussions with deep listening
 Trust
Image source: http://blog.marketo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/trust-fall.png

26. 26
What’s so radical about that?
No ‘boss’ hoards power jealously
No ‘boss’ treats others as things to be manipulated
Image source: http://www.themalaysiantimes.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Manipulative.jpg
NO

27. Radical Leadership: The Servant Leader Model
Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_leadership
• shares power
• puts others first
• mentors &
supports
• gives credit
Image source: http://www.fratrem.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/merlin-robertgreenleaf.jpg

28. Open
artsmia.org

29. 29
Image source: http://putnam-consulting.com/wp-content/uploads/photodune-12772856-diverse-group-people-working-together-concept-m.jpg

30. 30
You can’t
handle the
truth!

31. Re-cap:
Lean approach
Agile methods
Radical leadership
Open organization
artsmia.org

32. So …
Does that describe your organization?
artsmia.org

33. 33
Traditional Organizational Management Models
Persist

34. 34
Look familiar?

35. 35
Small World Networks: The Next Phase of Business Evolution

36. Self-organizing Teams
artsmia.org

37. 37
Find & Empower Your Talent
Nick Cave
Soundsuit, 2009
Minneapolis Institute of Arts

38. 38
• Don't wait for a leader to assign work - greater sense of ownership and commitment
• Manage their own work as a group
• Benefit from mentoring and coaching, but not from command & control
• Communicate most with each other - and commitments are to project teams (not
management)
• Improve their own skills and suggest innovative ideas & improvements
• Normally become high-performing, measure greater job satisfaction
Principles of self-organizing teams

39. 39
Radical Transparency
Rene Magritte
The Promenades of Euclid,
1955
Minneapolis Institute of Art
68.3

40. 40
Radical Transparency
Definition:
Use of abundant networked information
to access previously confidential
organizational process or outcome data
(adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_transparency)
M.C. ESCHER (Dutch, 1898-1972), Hand
with Reflecting Sphere, 1935, lithograph 12
Courtesy of The Walker Collection
“… the idea of everyone knowing everything,
could actually be a major driver of increased
organizational performance … the biggest
reason companies fail is because people lose
focus and get off track”.
- Ryan Smith and Golnaz Tabibnia
Adapted from: https://hbr.org/2012/10/why-radical-transparency-is-good-business/
(emphasis is mine)

41. 41
Transparency is NECESSARY for success
“It’s really about transparency. If you have
information, you can’t hoard it. I have only seen
excellence achieved … when everybody had the same
fact set”.
- Dottie Mattison, CEO of Gracious Home New York
Interviewed by Adam Bryant for NYT Corner Office, April 3, 2016.
(emphasis is mine)
Image Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/03/business/dottie-mattison-talk-less-but-ask-why-more.html

42. 42
INNOVATION via
empowerment
“When you don't have to ask for permission,
innovation thrives.”
Steven Johnson
Where Good Ideas Come From
Image source: http://www.everfreshstudio.com/blog/wpcontent/uploads/2012/02/P2205938.jpg

43. 43
Imagesource:http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0232/0661/products/HEA1-2_1024x1024.jpg?v=1418328580

44. 44
The Art of Boxing by George Bellows, the National Gallery of Art
Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/1909_Stag_at_Sharkey's.jpgImage source: http://images.inc.com/uploaded_files/image/1940x900/hurdles-track_1940x900_33807.jpg

45. 45
The Art of Boxing by George Bellows, the National Gallery of Art
Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/1909_Stag_at_Sharkey's.jpgImage source: http://images.inc.com/uploaded_files/image/1940x900/hurdles-track_1940x900_33807.jpg
Historical bias
Senior Management Commitment
Decision-making
Conflict

46. 46
The Art of Boxing by George Bellows, the National Gallery of Art
Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/1909_Stag_at_Sharkey's.jpg
Historical Bias
Feedback on a conference submission on this topic
(this is an actual quote )
“Museum leadership does not come from
technology”

47. 47
The Art of Boxing by George Bellows, the National Gallery of Art
Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/1909_Stag_at_Sharkey's.jpg
Staff is Excited, Management … Not So Much
Image source: http://knotop.com/wp-content/uploads/happy-employees.jpg
Image source: http://www.channelweb.co.uk/IMG/546/131546/ian-vickerage-cut-out-imago-suit-arms-folded.jpg

48. 48
Cool Blue
Do a select few
Seek funding & partners
(We wish we could do them all)
Risk: Too many at once
(saying yes to everything)
Red Flag
Do only if necessary
Stop! (or proceed with extreme caution)
(We wish we could have none)
Risk: Bogs down & exhausts resources
Green Light
Do these fast
Make a prioritized list, get moving
(We wish there were fewer)
Risk: Resources pulled away from Cool Blue
Gray Fog
Do only if there are resources
“Busy work” or dreamy distractions
(We wish we had more time)
Risk: People fall into it , esp. in times of stress
High
High
(Hard)
Low
Low
(Easy)
Importance,
Via STRATEGY
Difficulty,
via practical
REALITY
Decision-Making

49. The Art of Boxing by George Bellows, the National Gallery of Art
Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/1909_Stag_at_Sharkey's.jpg
Conflict

50. 50
Hint: If you ignore conflict, it will NOT go
away
1. Practice calm – don’t escalate
2. Listen deeply to understand
3. Find common ground
4. State fact with tact
5. Focus on the problem, not the person
6. Don’t accuse – ask in order to investigate, not to
interrogate
7. Look ahead, not back
8. Confidence matters (even if you fake it until you
make it)
9. Recognize stepwise successes

51. 51

52. 52
“I feel like I’m working at a 100-year old
start up.”
- Tim Gihring, Mia Brand Narrator
1915 2015

53. Thank you
Questions?
artsmia.org
@dhegley
www.slideshare.net/dhegley
http://mw2016.museumsandtheweb.com/paper/the-agile-museum/