A Governance Review

In the process of writing an article about governance and ethics, it became clear that it would be useful to first provide a precursor article with an overview of who’s who within orchestra governance.

150x150_ITA_Guy023One of the odd byproducts of increased public exposure by way of labor disputes is an increase in those on the outside looking in who have no idea how orchestra governance works. More often than not, the void created by that simple lack of knowledge can be filled by all sorts of counterproductive misperceptions.

Fortunately, Adaptistration features a series of essays on orchestra governance. Originally written years ago, they have been regularly updated and remain one of the more enduringly popular pages (perhaps unsurprisingly, that popularity spikes during labor disputes).

Head on over to the Orchestra Governance Essays
Postscript: Given Adaptistration’s new quiz functionality you never know when you’ll come face to face with a governance pop quiz! So hintidy-hint-hint.

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

Related Posts

2 thoughts on “A Governance Review”

Leave a Comment