We know that the language of “future leaders” can be confusing – there are any number of programs and organizations using similar language. Our initial definition for our audience was “people who see themselves three to five years away from senior positions in nonprofit cultural institutions.” But the environment is much less predictable than it was even a year ago, and it is no longer as clear to people where they will be in three to five years.
As we’ve been having conversations with communities across the country, we’ve been challenged to think more specifically about who our target audience is. It’s become clear to us that there are any number of ways to define our audience. Some of the alternate ways to describe the characteristics and interests of our audience include:
- Mid-career professionals, with 5-15 years of experience in the field interested in advancing to the next level of leadership, in part, by acquiring additional skills
- Professionals who have just come into a leadership role in a smaller organization and are interested in pursuing additional formalized training
- Professionals working their way up through larger institutions interested in understanding the politics and paths of advancement and in expanding their professional networks/mentors
When you boil it down, we see our target audience as people with experience, who are dedicated to the field, and have aspirations to move into more senior roles. We don’t see age or educational background as a factor. And we see our audiences coming from both the administrative and artistic sides of organizations.
What do you think – do these descriptions fit your vision of our sector’s future leaders? If no, what are we missing?
I really like the broaden picture of the target audience. In this era of cutbacks and penny-pinching, professional development opportunities have become available to only the executive leadership of arts organizations. One of my favorite “perks” of the job is traveling to a conference where I can network, socialize and learn with colleagues in the arts industry. Bringing this type of experience to the locals is what makes Future Leaders so exciting.
I especially like bullet #2 – Miami is full of “green” arts executives that are craving any and all opportunity to further their leadership capacity. The nurturing and molding of these colleagues is crucial to the future success of our local arts industry.
On another (semi-related) note, here is an interesting letter to arts administrators from Adam Thurman of the Court Theatre in Chicago that addresses some of the frustrations of working in the arts.
http://blog.artsusa.org/2009/05/27/an-open-letter-to-arts-administrators/#more-1334