Executive Affairs – Page 4

Questionable Management Spurs Police Investigation In Glenwood Springs, CO

Friday, May 26th, 2017 by Drew McManus

Fictional devo staffers, imaginary grant writing software, and a lack of annual audits are only part of the concerns that ultimately led the Glenwood Springs police to investigate the Glenwood Springs Center for the Arts (GSCA) finances. The 5/22/2017 edition of the postindependent.com published an article by Ryan Summerlin that reports on the latest in suspected governance fail and possible criminal behavior. The investigation centers on management practices of former executive …

Breaking The Glass Ceiling Back In 2004

Tuesday, October 11th, 2016 by Drew McManus

One of my all-time favorite interviews is from 2004 with Marianne Lockwood. At the time, she was serving as executive director for Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) after spending 20 years with the ensemble growing it from a tiny vanity ensemble project into one of the first, and arguably, only genuine new model orchestral performing arts organization. Although female executives were certainly not unheard of at that time, there were far …

Examining The Value Of Morals Clauses

Thursday, March 31st, 2016 by Drew McManus

A morals clause, a provision in a contract or work agreement that prohibits or penalizes certain behaviors, have been around since the early part of the 20th century but by and large, they haven’t entered into mainstream employment agreements throughout the performing arts field. For the most part, they really aren’t applicable and/or the salaries involved didn’t rise to a level that would trigger these sorts of concerns. But the steady …

If You’re Over 40 And Make Decisions About your Org’s Website, You Need To Watch This Video

Monday, March 14th, 2016 by Drew McManus

We’ve all been in one of those meetings where important decisions need to be made about something crucial to an arts organization’s success and the senior executive responsible for making the decision seems hell-bent on a direction that screams out-of-date and out-of-touch. That’s HiPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) decision making at its worst. Although experience is worth its weight in gold, it doesn’t come without baggage and effective executives will be …

How To Stop Saying No To Ideas

Thursday, October 29th, 2015 by Drew McManus

Experience is a wonderful thing; it provides leaders with the ability to analyze a large amount of variables in short order while simultaneously arriving at a decision with a reliable degree certainty that it is indeed the best course of action. After a certain career threshold, this skill becomes a second skin, you wear it so comfortably that you don’t give it another thought. But how often do you take the …