Naomi Russell reflects on a formative experience in her own career when she was part of huge changes for a theatre company in London – this transformed its future artistically and financially. She gives pointers of what to consider when thinking about change, how to pace change, characteristics of ‘change makers’ as individuals and give practical examples and insights. She challenges those attending on how to think about what change means for them individually inside their organizations – after all, as they say, the only person you can change is yourself…

1. Working to create something wonderful
Naomi Russell
Managing Director
Wonderbird
Congres Podiumkunsten
Rotterdam, 29 mei 2012
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2. The world we live in is
constantly changing
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3. Cultural organisations need to be
ready and able to cope with
changed and changing
circumstances whilst staying true
to their artistic mission and values.
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4. Change creates sterkte.
It can be good.
To be effective for the long term it
has to happen Inside Out.
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5. First steps
First in the heart is the dream, then the mind starts
seeking a way…. Langston Hughes
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6. Back to your
roots
Establish your core and
what can never change
• What are you called?
• What do you do?
• Where have you
come from?
• What makes you unique?
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7. Are you up for the ride?
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8. Or in this?
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9. Most likely to be this…
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10. Seriously….
However great the vision, if you have the wrong
people you won’t achieve it.
• Build teams with aptitude as well as skills
• Find people who are more than 100% committed
and want to be part of achieving great results
• That’s how you stay a team and are motivated
when things are tough
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11. Great art, great ideas.
Prioritise these things above all else.
What is the point of giving access to
mediocrity? Access to excellence is
the only thing we should settle for
and make happen.
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12. Be excellent.
What can you be best at?
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13. Align action and values
• Who does your
organization say it is?
• What’s it actually like
at ground zero?
• If these things are
different take steps
to change that
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14. The roman road
‘turn neither to the left nor to the right … keep your
eyes on the road’
In a world of constant
change, agreeing your
fundamentals is more
important than ever
Discipline is essential to
define what is your ultimate
goal and make decisions
based on what will get you
there
If it doesn’t take you forward
on the journey – don’t do it!
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15. Set the right
priorities
and…STOP
doing!
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16. Leadership & collective
accountability: without vision and
drive from the very top of your
organisation – the Artistic
Director, Managing Director and
Board, change is virtually
impossible.
Inside Out change requires top
down leadership and bottom up
commitment and contribution.
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17. Individual accountability: be
proactive and set yourself
targets, identify where you can make
a contribution: find reasons to do
things rather than not to.
For you: This will play a major part in
your professional development and
job satisfaction. For your
organisation: it will deliver more.
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18. • What does failure look like?
• How do you avoid it?
• How do you learn from it?
• How do you feel about it?
• Facing the prospect of failure
and how to avoid it can be one
of the most effective ways to
make a strong plan
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19. My father and my grandfather taught me that
you need to be perserverant. You should never
discourage, you must have good ideas and go to
the end of your ideas with perserverance and
stick to it. I think in business it’s really key to
success. Bernard Arnault
Pace yourself.
It’s a marathon not a
sprint!
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20. Changemakers
Never satisfied –
what else can we do
better?
Highly
Visionary and totally
knowledgeable
committed, reliable
(expert or generalist)
Connected
Communicators Generous and open
Impactful and
ideliatistic
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21. Are you a changemaker?
If you are one, how do you behave
in your organisation? How do you
respond to those who aren’t?
If you aren’t one how will you cope
with a changemaker?
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22. Be adaptive whatever role you
perform. Adaptive people
demonstrate: resilience, creativity, are
happy to be stretched, are optimistic
in the face of disappointment. Learn
to be adaptive whatever your role in
an organisation and find reasons to
do rather than not to do.
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23. Facing the fear: when confronted with
challenge do you face it or avoid it?
Change is unsettling. It can bring out
responses in individuals that are varied
and often nothing to do with work and
all about you! When it’s happening
recognise your personal response. Aim
to do one thing a week differently
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24. Case study: Winning Words
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25. A single ambitious idea to ‘carpet the nation in poetry’
alongside the Olympic Games in 2012 by William
Sieghart, poetry enthusiast, philanthropist and
Chairman of the Forward Arts Foundation transforms the
life and future of this small charity, in existence for 20
years.
The project itself creates: 6 permanent commissions of
poetry in the Olympic Park, 100 poems across the
venues for the games, 7 towns across the UK doing their
own poetry installations, a nationwide education
programme and online poetry game, sports presenters
and footballers reading poetry to camera for
broadcast on Big Screens during the games itself and
an anthology with leading publisher Faber.
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26. Change has resulted in: Winning Words changing the
future for a small poetry charity. £1m is raised (x10
usual annual budget) for the project, FAF becomes a
National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council
England, new vistas for funding are opened up, along
with a new strategic role for FAF and impact on the
poetry sector in UK as a whole.
Change also meant: a founder and Chairman who
was very emotionally connected has had to learn to
operate differently, existing freelancers used to doing
their own thing have had to learn to become part of
a team and integrate their work, partnerships with
poetry organisations FAF barely talked to have
needed to be forged (!) and stronger financial
reporting has taken 2 years to achieve!
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27. Case study: Young Vic Theatre
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28. What can we be best at? The Young Vic’s
artistic and financial transformation from
2000 onwards included reinvigorating the
idea of the Young Vic from its founding
principles, setting ambitious financial targets
to support new artistic vision, dismantling a
relationship with the Royal Shakespeare
Company to create room for work by young
directors and giving away 10% of tickets
whilst building a risky budget.
Was it successful? Yes.
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29. Battersea Arts Centre: artists’ process
DECEMBER 05 - JANUARY 03, 2009
driving change
nister
es unfold
Winning
pers The
ost
he praise
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30. Playgrounding at Battersea Arts Centre meant applying the
principles of ‘Scratch’ to the architectural and building
development process. Scratch encourages artists to
experiment and take risks, to listen and respond to
feedback and to take time to develop their ideas.
This approach placed artists and audiences at the centre
of the design process for the capital project. It allowed
ideas to be tested before large expenditure committed.
It resulted in more inter-department working and
understanding, and a working practice where every
member of the team has habitual time for
thinking, creativity and own projects.
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31. National Theatre, London: Finance
and IT as changemakers?!:
Efficiencies in areas of an
organisation considered the most
boring can have a profound
impact on audiences and other
theatre companies as the National
Theatre in London and the global
consulting firm Accenture showed.
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32. The NT had aspirations to be leaders in the
field of digital and innovation. This matched
Accenture’s brand values.
Accenture seconded a consultant to the organisation who helped with
strategic advice on IT infrastructure, finance, website and ticketing
capabilities.
Accenture also spearheaded a project for the NT to use technology
more effectively in Front of House areas - and worked with internal
teams to create a 'big wall' - a touch screen interactive wall that
showcased production related content
The finance and ticketing capabilities are now shared services with
smaller theatre companies, provided by the National Theatre, having
sector wide impact.
The relationship has a 'back of house’ and 'front of house'
execution, and as well as being £ effective ensured a strong relationship
was formed between sponsor staff and NT staff
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33. So, what’s the change your organisation
needs to see?
• 50:50 requirement of own income: subsidy by 2016?
• Different domestic or international touring patterns?
• Working in partnership with another organisation?
• Restructuring?
• A more active board?
• Attracting new audiences?
• Raising more money: full stop…
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34. Thank you
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