
31st January was my final day as a Trustee and co-chair of the Arnolfini Gallery and it really is bittersweet to step down at this precise moment. The curtain falls on 6 years as a Trustee.
On the upside, I have enjoyed working with a very committed, passionate team that have always done their best for the gallery: I have not seen any self-promotion antics or questionable decision making done by anybody on the Board and that has been really refreshing and hasn’t been true of other leadership teams I have been involved with. The staff team have had to deal with some really difficult circumstances and uncertainty over the years and their commitment to opening the doors every day to enable the public to engage with the great art in the gallery has been humbling to see. As has their willingness to engage with different communities in different parts of the city to spread the message and show what art can do and potentially what they could be involved in.
On the downside, Arnolfini is at a crossroads in terms of defining what it wants to be and for who for the next 10+ years. Starting the project off has been one of the most exciting things I have done as it will define how Arnolfini fits in the city and the region for a good number of years – it is a proper “define the future project”. So why am I not staying? The last 18 months have been properly bumpy and have taken a huge amount of effort, time, brain bandwidth and stress, to the detriment of my family and professional lives. This means that I don’t have the enthusiasm and drive needed to really make the project a success. I know that and I don’t want to be involved at only an 80% commitment level when the gallery needs 100% to do the transformation that it needs.
What lessons have I learned:
It is trite but diversity is really important for organisational success. An art-philistine like me really does have a place on a Board running a gallery because of the value that the difference in perspective brings. Likewise, someone from an arts background will add value to Boards of engineering companies, law firms etc etc. And I mean diversity in all its forms, including socio-economic.
Horizon scanning is a key role of a Board member: what is going on in the world that could impact on what you are doing in your organisation. We didn’t get this right and it cost us. Which also leads on to:
Small decisions can have outsized impacts, both financially and operationally.
Be brave – sometimes decisions aren’t easy, you don’t have the full data you would want, you might have to do something uncomfortable or unpalatable, there might be risk. But if it is the right thing to do, then do it.
Listen to everyone – really listen. I have spent a good few Board meetings where the discussions were about stuff that I have no clue about. So take the opportunity to learn and try to understand why they feel those issue are important.
Give people time and space to consider their responses to challenges. Some people need more time to process and consider the ramifications than others. Don’t exclude them from the conversation as you will be missing out on real value.
I have enjoyed my time being part of Arnolfini and I wish the team working there, my fellow Trustees and gallery well for the future as it is a really exciting time to be involved.