There were two excellent articles in the Chicago Tribune over the weekend dedicated to the ongoing executive search process to replace Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) president Deborah Rutter.
First up is an article published on 1/31/2014 by Tribune music critic John von Rhein which provides a meticulous review of the CSO’s history in order to better understand where it is today. And be careful not to miss the bits about the hall renovation.
Next is an article published on the same day by Mark Caro, which takes a closer look at Rutter’s accomplishments along with details such as key members on the search committee.
A Few Thoughts On The Search Process
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the CSO has a unique internal culture and any performing arts organization this large and complex would benefit from a thorough, and independent, administrative and board audit to help define where strengths and weaknesses currently exist. Feeding this data in the search parameters will only help avoid potential errors or oversights when identifying and reviewing candidates.
Based on my professional experience, this is the one area within an executive search process where most groups fall short; as a result, they may do a superb job at creating executive criteria to help identify who they want, but that’s not the same as identifying who they need.
The bigger the organization, the more important this step becomes.
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Have you or anyone else in a position to know done a publicly-available study of the impact of a strong CEO vs. a middling vs. a poor CEO regarding various indicators of orchestra association performance? I should think that a board would have to evaluate and grade any candidate on quite a number of factors. In some cases something not blowing up might be taken as evidence of competence, but it may just indicate good fortune or inertia. Evaluating “vision” requires a certain mindset and experience that may not be present on some boards. The Minnesota Orchestra CEO and board–or at least the voting majority–seem not to have had a clue about what could or would happen with the recent fiasco, for which they are now famous.