We wrap up season 3 with one of my most requested topics of all time: the topic of how to lead change. If you ever find yourself asking questions like ‘How do I get buy-in from my board?’ or ‘Where do I even begin when it comes to implementing new ways of doing business in my arts organization?’, this episode is for you. 

We talk about what the experts say about fear of change, resistance to change, and other barriers to change; debunk three big myths about change; and share five things that actually work to drive change effectively at your arts organization.

No matter what role you fill within arts management, leading the change is one of the most important skills you can build. This episode unpacks the research every arts manager and leader needs to know.

Hey, everyone.

2

Welcome to the final episode of

season three of the Offstage Mic.

3

It's really amazing to see the

growth of the podcast every

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season and especially this season.

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So many of you listening are new

here, and I'm just so happy this

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podcast is bringing high value

to your work in arts management.

7

I'm recording today from

home in San Francisco.

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And when this airs, I'll just be back

from speaking at the Opera America

9

National Conference and getting ready

to hit the road for a few book tour

10

stops and other conferences this summer.

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And today we are talking about a topic

I get a lot of questions on no matter

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where I'm at, whether I'm here at home,

on the road, or even abroad working there,

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and that is the topic of how to lead.

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Change.

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So really, the last two episodes of the

season, I would say, are about change.

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The last episode was about

change at my own business.

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And this final episode of the season is

about how to lead change at your business.

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I get this so much.

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For example, Aubrey, how do I bring

others along in what I'm trying to do?

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Or I love your content and strategies,

we really think the same way, but

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how do I get a buy in from my fill

in the blank artistic director,

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my boss, my board, whoever?

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Or sometimes the question takes the form

of, Aubrey, I am the decision maker, the

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chief executive, or department head, or

founder, or insert leadership role, and

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I am in for new ways of doing business,

new approaches to arts management

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that serve our art and field better.

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But where do I begin?

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That is actually a question

that is about leading change.

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If any of those thoughts or

questions resonate with you, this

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episode is for you, my friend.

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So here's the agenda.

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We are going to cover what the experts

say about fear of change, resistance

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to change, barriers to change, all

of those kind of things, and how that

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applies to us working in arts management.

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We're then going to talk about

three misconceptions about

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change at arts organizations.

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And then lastly, five

things that actually work.

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If there's three misconceptions,

what are five things that

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we can actually do instead?

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This season we have talked about so many

important tactical strategies, how to

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grow subscriptions, the playbook for

major gift fundraising, the math and

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money on the table when we diversify

our audiences, better copywriting.

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All of those things are really

important to the business of

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running an arts organization.

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And to our bottom line, right?

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It took me a long time though to

understand that the biggest part

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of my work isn't actually growing

audiences or retaining newcomers

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or creating places of belonging.

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And all of that is a huge piece of

my work, a huge piece of my business.

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So what I came to realize, whether

back when I was leading an orchestra

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or in other art management roles, or

now over the last several years of

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running my own business, the biggest

part of my job is in fact this topic,

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the topic of motivating change.

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And maybe that sounds odd.

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It took me so long to realize that

given that the literal name of my

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business is Changing the Narrative.

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That's named after the blog I started.

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About 10 years ago now, which as an

aside, wow, that totally blows my mind.

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It's been a decade now.

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But the point is this topic of leading

change is actually one of the most

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important skills we can build as arts

leaders, no matter your role or title

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in this field of arts management.

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We'll get into it all in just a

moment, but first I have to tell

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you about a free masterclass I have

coming up that really brings all of

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these topics this season together.

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The topics of building audiences,

boosting subscriptions, expanding

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the donor base, and this topic today.

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Of bringing others along

on this work with you.

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So if you're listening to this episode

in real time right around when it comes

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out, I am teaching this masterclass

live online later this month.

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It's called the Audience Growth

Masterclass, Four Steps to

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Building Audiences and Revenue.

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And it is, by design, a combination

of the tactical elements and

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strategies you've heard me talk about.

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All season long and this idea of

leading your arts organization

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forward, leading new ways of doing

business, no matter your role in the

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org chart, I'll share more at the end

and how you can save your free seat.

78

But right now we have some

things to talk about how to lead

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change at an arts organization.

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There is so much to share

with you on this topic.

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Let's get to it.

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The final episode of season three of

the Offstage mic starts right now.

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I'm Aubrey Bergauer and

welcome to my podcast.

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I'm known in the arts world for

being customer centric, data

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obsessed, and for growing revenue.

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The arts are my vehicle to make the

change I want to see in this world, like

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creating places of belonging, pursuing

gender and racial equality, developing

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high performing teams and leaders, and

leveraging technology to elevate our work.

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I've been called the Steve

Jobs of classical music at the

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Sheryl Sandberg of the symphony.

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I've held off stage roles

managing millions of dollars in

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revenue at major institutions.

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And as chief executive of an orchestra

where we doubled the size of the audience

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and nearly quadrupled the donor base.

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And now, I'm here to

help you achieve this.

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In this podcast, we are sorting through

the data inside and outside the arts.

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Applying those findings to

our work and bringing in some

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expert voices along the way.

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All to build the vibrant future

we know is possible for our

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institutions and ourselves as off

stage administrators and leaders.

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This podcast is about

optimizing the business around

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the art, not sacrificing it.

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You're listening to the Offstage Mic.

104

Have you read CoreStorm's new

State of the Arts report yet?

105

It's a data driven resource for all

things arts education in the past year.

106

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Imagine tapping into more than 10

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Yes, you heard that right.

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Thriving.

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Visit corestorm.

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like the acronym for state of the arts

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co

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Aubrey Bergauer: All

right, let's get into it.

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I'm going to talk about one

truth about change, then three

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misconceptions about change.

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So, the truth, the truth is change

is a necessary and often inevitable

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part of running any organization.

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Not just an orchestra, chamber ensemble,

chorus, theater, museum, opera, or

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dance company, but any organization.

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If you want to do things like

implement new processes, adopt new

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technology, restructure the org

chart, or reframe your approach.

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Anything like that.

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You want to do something differently

than how it used to be done.

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That's change.

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Particularly, that is change

management, which is what we

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are really honing in on today.

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That is essential.

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Change management is essential

for growth and progress.

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We all know change can

be met with resistance.

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I guess that's another

truth, but we all know this.

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We've probably seen that play out.

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in our own like personal lives

too, if we're being honest.

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I know I have definitely at some

points been resistant to change.

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So that's the truth.

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Change is necessary.

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Change is inevitable.

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And yet, there are some misconceptions.

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Misconception number one of

three to share with you today.

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The number one misconception about change

is that it's a matter of willpower.

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That is not true.

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According to a Harvard

researcher, lecturer, and

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author, Her name is Lisa Leahy.

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She's the author of Immunity to Change.

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That's her book.

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She is specialized in identifying personal

and organizational barriers, basically,

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to change for more than 30 years.

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She has said most people basically

have one model of change that we

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rely on, and that's this willpower

model, or in other words, kind of the

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New Year's resolution model, right?

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We go for change based on what we know.

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She has a whole book on this, as I said,

but the very fast explainer is I've heard

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her say, Sometimes willpower can work.

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So let's be honest, let's be fair.

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Sometimes willpower can work,

but often it's more complex.

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Those are her words.

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And that willpower model doesn't give

you purview into all that's going on.

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So what's really important is that

resistance to change is usually about

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something deeper going on within

us, usually, whether that's at an

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organization or in our personal

lives, something deeper there.

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We'll get back to that.

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For now, part of this misconception

is that more often than not, Lack of

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change is not about lack of desire.

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That is what Lisa Leahy says.

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She says the real crux of it is

that we were never taught the right

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framework to begin with, right?

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We had New Year's resolution

model on display for us for

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our entire lives, right?

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So we kind of learn that way.

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Instead, what's really kind of

bubbling beneath the surface, this is

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what Leahy and her co author Robert

Keegan call competing commitments.

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That's what's going on.

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Competing commitments are unknown

or subconscious thoughts or beliefs

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that conflict with the new goal.

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For example, when we are trying to get

the board on board with the new idea,

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it feels like a big undertaking, or we

fear that having some success in our

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role will have a result of even higher

expectations for delivering even more,

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which feels like a never ending slog.

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Some people say that about revenue goals.

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If I'm successful, they're just going

to raise the goal any next year, right?

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Or, you know, just thinking of adding

something else to an already full plate

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feels overwhelming, even though it

could save time later down the line.

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These are all examples

of competing commitments.

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None of those things aren't wrong,

but they do compete with whatever

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level of desire we have to do

something differently, again, in

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our lives or in our organizations.

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So therefore, challenging those

thoughts often means, to put different

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words to it, it often means we're

challenging closely held beliefs

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that we have or long time assumptions

that probably served us in the past.

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Long held beliefs, long

held assumptions, probably.

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We've developed those beliefs

and assumptions because they

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did serve us at one point.

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So the competing commitments are really

something that challenges that, which

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may be necessary to move forward, but

that's why barrier to change is there.

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With that groundwork, the point is

willpower is not the way through that.

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You don't muscle your way through

something that competes with a

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deeply held belief, value, or

assumption that you previously had.

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And that is true whether we want to lose

a Few pounds thinking more on like the

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New Year's resolution track or in our

arts organizations if we want to move a

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team of people forward also doesn't work.

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We're going to talk more when I

get to the five things that do

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work on like how do we start to

address these competing commitments.

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But for now, second misconception is that

people are lazy or just don't want change.

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Here's a true confession for me.

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This is one big myth I

believed for a long time.

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I thought that some people were

just intractable, or if I'm

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being honest, I thought people,

some people at least, were lazy.

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This is, I mean, kind of a common

misconception, but the truth is the

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longer I'm around in this industry,

the more I agree with this idea that

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lazy isn't really the right word.

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We're in a sector where people work

their asses off on a daily basis.

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I see that all the time everywhere I go.

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We're going to talk about working smarter.

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There's a whole other conversation

to be had about working smarter

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or what's the most effective

work or better use of our time.

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For now, suffice it to say, I'm going

to talk about I realized that laziness

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or obstinance just isn't quite the right

way to describe why people in arts and

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culture can be resistant to change.

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And the experts back this up.

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To bring in another expert here, another

set of experts, Chip and Dan Heath,

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they're brothers, they're both professors

at different schools, they're bestselling

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book on change, it's called Switch, How

to Change Things When Change is Hard.

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And they write Point blank, people

are not lazy, they're exhausted.

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Okay, so what does that mean?

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We just talked about the competing

beliefs or competing commitments,

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competing thoughts we hold.

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So Chip and Dan Heath, they tackle this

internal tension and they describe it

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instead of competing commitments, they

talk about the tension between our

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rational brain and emotional brain.

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Some examples.

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Rational brain would say, I want

to look great in a swimsuit.

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But our emotional brain says, but I can't

stop eating pumpkin bread this fall.

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This may or may not be based

on personal experience.

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Somebody tell me you're with me here.

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Our rational brain, to give an example

for our organization, says, I want to do

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things X, Y, Z at my organization because

I think it could make a difference,

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think it could make an impact, think it

could bring in more revenue, whatever.

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But the emotional brain says.

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I think we need more resources or money

or people or whatever before I can begin.

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That one I've definitely thought

many times before in my own roles

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I've held over the years and I

literally talked about it in the

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last episode about my own business.

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This emotional, well, I called it my

own limiting belief in the last episode.

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So emotional versus rational

is the tension here.

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The problem with all of this is this

is the equivalent of a mental seesaw.

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Whether we're consciously aware

of it or not, that's what's

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happening in our brains, and that

is taxing and tiring for our brains.

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And the Heath brothers write that,

quote, When you hear people say that

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change is hard because people are lazy

or resistant, that's just flat wrong.

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The opposite is true, they go on to say.

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Change is hard because

people wear themselves out.

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So now whenever I see behavior

that looks like laziness, whether

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in myself or in others, I.

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try to reconsider that there's likely

an underlying mental exhaustion going

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along with that competing commitment.

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We're going to talk about how to

crack that net again, how do we

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get unexhausted in a moment, but

right now let's talk about the

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third misconception, which is that

discipline and creativity can't coexist.

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That's wrong.

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That is a misconception.

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Discipline and creativity can coexist.

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For whatever reason, humans tend to

think that creativity and discipline

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are enemies, or that the two are

somehow a version of the competing

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commitments we were just talking about.

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I don't know why that is, the humans

just feel like they can't go together,

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and maybe there is some truth to

feeling like the two compete, but To

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me, this one is completely backwards.

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The other one, the first two

misconceptions I definitely personally

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identify with a little more.

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Let's break it down a little bit.

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This is another expert here.

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So former Stanford professor, Jim Collins,

he is one of the OG business authors.

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If you're familiar with his work, he

says that his research showed that

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this thinking is backwards, that

creativity and discipline are enemies.

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That is backwards.

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He says it's not a binary

choice of one or the other.

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The very quick summary of his research,

to put some context here, is he compared

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good companies versus great companies.

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And how he defined that is great companies

outperformed their peers in whatever

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industry, whatever sector, over time.

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Like 10 years or more had sustained

growth, sustained success, sustained

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revenue, all those kind of things,

compared to their competitors.

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And across industries, across

sectors, he sought out to measure.

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Why?

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Why is that happening?

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What's the difference between a

good company and a great company?

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And he found, he found a lot of things,

but on this topic, he found that

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both creativity and discipline are

needed in a successful and sustainable

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organization and for its employees.

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Now this is no matter your sector.

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We're not, this Definitely true for arts

and culture, but true whether you're

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talking about any kind of industry,

manufacturing, transportation, technology,

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I mean, you name it, this is true.

320

Both creativity and discipline are needed.

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I think the reason why this one is so

much more clear to me is because the best

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example I can think of of why this is

backwards, comes from our own industry.

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It comes from our artists.

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I'm going to use musicians as an

example here, but I think this is

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true for pretty much any artist in any

artistic discipline I can think of.

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But to be specific, there is no

successful musician I have ever

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met that got there without having

discipline in their own work.

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Discipline in the practice room for sure.

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Successful musicians, especially

the ones winning orchestra jobs, you

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know, You know, you all have played

scales how many times, how many ways.

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You practice it fast

when the passage is slow.

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You practice it slow when

it's technical or fast.

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You practice it slurred.

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You practice the notes

staccato, and on and on and on.

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You play the excerpt and

iterate on the success.

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You make it better and better.

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You analyze what didn't work along

the way, and then you address it.

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That is what practice is.

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Even musicians, successful

musicians, you know, it's self

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recording and then listening back

to really assess what went well.

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Okay, do it that way

again or do more of that.

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And assessing what could

still use some improvement.

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Try it this way or this

other way next time.

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The most successful artists are the

definition of disciplined iteration.

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So disciplined to be able to do

all of those things in the practice

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room for hours and hours on end.

347

And yet, Artists, as we know, are

also the bedrock of creativity,

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showing us, exemplifying for us that

these two things are not a dichotomy,

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they are a false choice, but rather

both creativity and discipline are

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essential for change or improvement.

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Just hands down, this is so clear to me.

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So the idea that creativity and

discipline can't go together.

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Should not even be up

for debate in my mind.

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There's just way too much evidence,

including the evidence staring us

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in the face, in our own field here.

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What is the harder concept or harder

thing, I think, is to put them together

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in the context of an organization.

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Here's some examples.

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First for a musician again, and

then the comparison example of, or

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analogy to within an organization.

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If you're a musician, too much

rigid discipline and the line

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you're playing or the excerpt you're

playing sounds almost robotic, right?

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Like it's technically accurate, but the

delivery doesn't allow for too much or

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for any maybe musicality to come through.

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That's if you're too rigid,

have too much discipline.

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If you have too little discipline,

keeping time becomes fuzzy.

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That's not going to work when

you're playing with the rest of an

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ensemble or even playing an audition.

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But we know when we hear that

exceptional sweet spot, right?

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Like we know when we hear that sweet

spot when a musician or a section plays a

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line that just really sings expressively.

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And yet, the band is together,

they're balanced, you know, all of

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those other things that matter too.

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These things are difficult to achieve

simultaneously, is what I'm trying to say.

375

And that is precisely why professional

musicians represent this pairing of

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discipline and creativity so well,

because the balance is very difficult

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to strike, and yet, they do it so well.

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every single day.

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And so it is off stage too.

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So here we go talking

about organizations now.

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It is very difficult, I think,

to pursue both creativity and

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discipline simultaneously.

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So let's name it.

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It's hard, but that's why we're here.

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We're learning.

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We're trying to get better.

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So Jim Collins, to go back

to him, he says it this way.

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He says, entrepreneurial

success is fueled by creativity.

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Imagination.

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But as a company grows, he says,

lack of planning, lack of accounting,

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lack of systems, create friction.

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Problems surface with customers,

with cashflow, with schedules.

393

End quote.

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The analogy for our businesses, our

arts organizations, is that if we're

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too creative, That means planning and

updating our workflows, our systems.

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That's all undervalued.

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So anyone listening to this who

feels like they're always a hamster

398

in a wheel at their organization,

you are a victim of this.

399

Like too creative, maybe, or not

enough on the discipline side.

400

If you are too rigid and too disciplined

as an organization, then the organization

401

becomes a bureaucratic hierarchy that

snuffs out creativity completely,

402

or at least snuffs out creativity.

403

to some degree, and deflates talent.

404

So, plenty of people listening probably

have fallen victim to this one too, right?

405

We've been there.

406

Not enough discipline, too much

discipline, too much rigidity.

407

That's how it plays out

in our organizations.

408

But, just to wrap this up, Jim

Collins concludes, quote, When you

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put these two complementary forces

together, a culture of discipline

410

with an ethic of entrepreneurship,

you get a magical alchemy of superior

411

performance and sustained results.

412

Let's talk about how do we find

this magical alchemy of superior

413

performance and sustained results.

414

So what do we do about all this?

415

five things we can do that

actually help move change forward.

416

Okay, I'm moving right along

pretty quickly here because

417

there's so much for us to cover.

418

So thing number one that we can

do that actually works to drive

419

change is Name those competing

commitments, put a name to them.

420

Lisa Leahy, who I mentioned before, the

researcher on this, she says the first

421

step in overcoming the hidden competing

commitments are just that, to name them.

422

She says, what are the things

you do and don't do that work

423

against the goal you named?

424

So you can start there, because sometimes

it's hard to flat out name things or

425

bring it to our consciousness, but you

can start by saying, what are things

426

you do and don't do as an organization.

427

that work against the goal you named.

428

What do you do that works against it?

429

What do you don't do

that works against it?

430

This is important.

431

We are not analyzing any of these things

yet, or we're not problem solving yet.

432

That's going to come later.

433

All the point of this step

is, this exercise is, is just

434

unearthing, unearthing these things.

435

You want thing A to happen, Whether that's

grow audiences, expand the donor base.

436

You want to reflect the community

in your audience, in your staff,

437

in your teams, in your art.

438

You want to improve

company culture, et cetera.

439

Like whatever that is you want thing

A to happen, fill in the blank,

440

that would be commitment number one.

441

But then you have to ask

yourself what else is true.

442

For example, if I make the

program notes more accessible.

443

I feel like it devalues all the

knowledge of the art form I've worked

444

so hard to learn over the years.

445

Does this make sense?

446

Like, wow.

447

If somebody feels that way, suddenly it

makes sense, the resistance to change.

448

That is a deeply held belief.

449

I feel like it devalues all the

knowledge of the art form I've worked

450

so hard to learn over the years.

451

Wow.

452

That is a competing commitment with

the idea that you want to become

453

more customer centric and Accessible

and approachable and welcoming and

454

creating a place of belonging, right?

455

And we need to change our copy to do that.

456

Like those two things I hopefully,

hopefully you're tracking with me like,

457

yeah, now I see the competing commitment

and no wonder there's barrier to change.

458

The key here really is just no judgment,

do not judge the behaviors or feelings.

459

Name them.

460

Just name them.

461

Often researchers say people actually

feel relief when they are doing this, when

462

they identify their competing commitments.

463

And One, it's just bringing

light to something.

464

Usually when you bring light to

something that was previously hidden.

465

Usually there is some relief there.

466

It can reflect a vulnerability,

it can reflect a fear we have,

467

like in the example I just gave.

468

So that's true, but also true

is what I said earlier, is that

469

these previous beliefs, values,

competing commitments we have, have

470

probably protected us at some point.

471

That's why we feel these things.

472

So no shame in the game, no shame

in identifying them, no judgment,

473

but identifying them and giving

voice to them usually begins to

474

unlock the next steps, and relief

is the first part of that next step.

475

Because suddenly it all makes

sense, kind of like I was saying

476

in the example I gave, or at least

makes more sense than it used to.

477

And that is absolutely the beginning

of unlocking the path forward.

478

Okay.

479

Thing number one, name

the competing commitments.

480

Thing number two, that actually

works to drive change, is to

481

start with emotion over analysis.

482

So here's another true confession.

483

Oh baby, this one is so hard for me.

484

I am very analytical, if you know anything

about me, and I am historically pretty

485

bad at acknowledging my own emotions.

486

But I will say I've gotten a lot better.

487

about this in the last few

years because I've worked on it.

488

I have really tried to focus on naming my

emotions, uncovering my emotions, because

489

I see and I know how necessary it is.

490

Hard for me, but we can all do it.

491

We can work on it.

492

It's a skill we can build

just like anything else.

493

Why start with emotion

over analysis though?

494

Going back to Chip and Dan Heath,

they write that, quote, in almost all

495

successful change efforts, the sequence

of change is not analyze, think, change.

496

Like, we might think that sounds correct.

497

I think on paper it does.

498

You analyze it, you think

about it, you change it.

499

But no.

500

They say, rather, The

sequence of successful change

501

efforts is see, feel, change.

502

You have to see what needs to happen.

503

You have to feel, tap that emotional

side, feel why it needs to happen,

504

and then change can follow.

505

The truth is on all of this, we talked

earlier about the emotional versus

506

the rational, and that can be the

competing commitment, and it often is.

507

You know, rational, we

want to grow audiences.

508

Emotional, if I feel devalued, like my

knowledge of the art form is devalued.

509

Continuing that example, okay,

that's a, that's a rational and

510

emotional competing commitment.

511

So the truth is we have to activate

both emotional and rational sides

512

of our brain in order to do this.

513

But in terms of what comes first, if

it's rational or analysis first, that

514

brings us right back to willpower.

515

And that, as we said, doesn't work.

516

The rational side of our brain might.

517

be what helps us identify the goal in

the first place, but it's the emotional

518

side that actually motivates us to

take the first step towards that goal.

519

I hope this makes sense.

520

So how do you do this?

521

How do you tap one before the other?

522

How do you do this?

523

Lisa Leahy's version of all of this is to

connect why the goal is important to you.

524

So we can, we can name the goal that's

very rational, That can be competing

525

commitment A, but then you need

to connect it to why that matters.

526

So for example, write

this down if you need to.

527

This is the, this is like the

sentence framework structure for you.

528

I know if I do this, or if this happens,

fill in the blank, if I know if I do

529

this, if this happens, the outcome is.

530

Blank.

531

So, for example, I know if we focus on

customer experience and patron retention,

532

the outcome is we make our budget goals.

533

The board is happy.

534

We serve more people.

535

You know, whatever that answer

is for you, that is the exercise.

536

So, do that exercise for yourself.

537

Do it with your team.

538

Do it with your board.

539

Bring it to the next board meeting.

540

You know, whoever needs it,

that is the exercise you can do.

541

I know if I do this, or if this

happens, the outcome is blank.

542

Okay.

543

To illustrate this, the Heath

Brothers, they actually give a

544

really great story that kind of

exemplifies this in their book.

545

They share this story, uh, this

546

of corporate change efforts.

547

And this study was looking at

all kinds of corporations, and

548

they found, the researchers

conducting the study concluded.

549

that quote, financial goals inspired

successful change less well than did

550

more emotional goals, such as the

goal to provide better service to

551

customers or make more useful products.

552

So they would say that was a

more emotional type of goal

553

than just financial goals.

554

And so I think this is so

true for our organization.

555

How many times, you know, the goal

is driven by the budget, that's

556

a financial goal, versus some of

these other things we were saying.

557

Our outcome is we're serving more people.

558

Our outcome is an audience

that reflects our community.

559

You know, whatever those

important things are for you.

560

So, how many times do I say,

the product is not the problem?

561

Not true in arts and culture, not true

562

Like, it's just not about the product

driving any of these things that we need.

563

The idea of leading with emotionally

connected goals, or even we could say

564

mission driven goals, perhaps, for

our arts and culture organizations

565

is, it's just so important, even when

we are doing that budgeting work.

566

Things like sell more tickets, not going

to motivate better financial performance.

567

Raise more money, Not going to motivate

better financial performance in our

568

teams than saying things like we're

going to center the people we're serving.

569

Think about that outcome instead is

the point of all of this exercise here.

570

So if we do that, fill in the blank.

571

Remember, if we do this, more

people will feel welcome here

572

and want to come back again.

573

That is the beginning of a healthier

budget any day of the week.

574

Okay, thing number three that

actually works to drive change.

575

Don't try for a silver bullet, instead

go for small change that adds up.

576

This is great news for us.

577

So let me back up though.

578

As humans, we often want

to solve big problems with

579

equally big sweeping solutions.

580

This is what the research tells us.

581

This is what humanity tells us.

582

We want to cut costs.

583

We want to program blockbusters.

584

We want to launch a grand new

initiative, a festival, blah, blah, blah.

585

That's not what the research says works.

586

The research says the opposite

approach is what more effectively

587

drives transformation.

588

The way Chip and Dan Heath say

it, they say, shrink the change.

589

That means you execute multiple steps,

multiple strategies, small things.

590

Big results are made of many small steps.

591

That is Potentially the biggest takeaway

from this whole podcast episode, at least

592

in my opinion, when we're talking about

arts management and applying these things

593

to our work, that is how change works.

594

It's not big sweeping

transformation, big sweeping change.

595

That's also way less scary.

596

So for the barriers to change, small

steps definitely help address that too.

597

So many people ask me, Aubrey, how

am I going to turn this big ship?

598

How will I ever get my board

to buy into XYZ strategy?

599

And the answer is, don't

go for it all at once.

600

We are not swinging for the fences here.

601

Little by little, step by

step, is the proven way to go.

602

This is such good news for us.

603

So to back it up, Jim Collins, he

found the same thing in his research.

604

He found that when he sought out to

measure what defines great companies that

605

outperformed their peers consistently,

he found that Precisely this, he

606

said it was not a lone big move ever.

607

Quote, he writes, no matter how

dramatic the end result, the

608

good to great transformations

never happened in one fell swoop.

609

There was no single defining action,

no grand program, no one killer

610

innovation, no solitary lucky

break, no wrenching revolution.

611

Instead, he found exactly what

we're saying, that a lot of little

612

changes being iterated over time

is what really made the difference.

613

He calls it the flywheel effect, and

he says it's a cumulative process,

614

step by step, action by action,

decision by decision, turn by turn

615

of the flywheel that adds up to

sustained and spectacular results.

616

I talk about the flywheel

analogy in my book.

617

I think it's so true for arts

management, for managing change.

618

Little changes add up.

619

Momentum builds.

620

It's just, it's so amazing.

621

It works, but it starts slow and small.

622

And I think that that, that's maybe a

whole other podcast episode, slow and

623

small, but in that can be the part that.

624

It's a different kind of challenge, I

guess is what I'm trying to say, but

625

that is what's effective and that is

what drives big results in the end.

626

Again, this is great news, I think,

for anybody wanting to initiate some

627

kind of change at your organization.

628

You do not have to go

from zero to a hundred.

629

In fact, I say this to clients a lot.

630

You don't go from zero to a hundred.

631

No matter your role, no matter your

level of seniority, start small.

632

Think of the smallest, babiest

step, whatever your scope, purview

633

allows, and do that small baby step.

634

And then share the results

widely like a cheerleader.

635

This is kind of like the

Aubrey stamp on this.

636

I think it's so important because people

need to know that the small step worked.

637

Gotta be the biggest

cheerleader for these things.

638

And so.

639

With every organization I

work with, we talk about this.

640

The small, easy steps we can do first, and

then which steps are going to come later.

641

And then, again, as the one leading the

change, really you got to blast it loudly,

642

widely, when things do start working.

643

So people, it builds comfort,

basically, is what happens.

644

Like, oh, that little thing

was actually, Quite successful.

645

Okay.

646

Now what?

647

We're hungry for more.

648

Okay.

649

Number four of five things that actually

work to drive change, to lead change.

650

It is to get in the weeds and

give crystal clear direction.

651

This is so important.

652

So right on the heels of what we were

just talking about, how do people

653

know which tiny steps to even take?

654

The answer is to give specific direction.

655

This is one that I think

it's confused a lot.

656

We think that change has to come from

some huge grand vision, and there's

657

nothing wrong with visioning at all.

658

But, how do we get there?

659

Goes right back to this small

steps with specific direction,

660

crystal clear direction.

661

And this is another reason why

leading with analysis alone

662

isn't completely effective.

663

If you've ever heard or experienced

analysis paralysis, that's

664

basically what happens in absence

of a very clear path forward.

665

If you don't have a very clear next

step, especially, this is how Chip and

666

Dan Heath say it, they say, in tough

times, you see problems everywhere.

667

You can tell me, does this

sound like something you've

668

seen at your organization?

669

Identifying tons of problems, tons

of challenges, maybe a long list, or

670

maybe even overwhelming, and you're

banging your head against the wall.

671

When there is seemingly resistance

to do anything about it.

672

Tell me I'm not the only one

who's seen or experienced this.

673

But what looks like resistance, the Heath

brothers say, is often lack of clarity.

674

So if you want people to change, you

must provide crystal clear direction.

675

I think this is a huge just

learning from all of their research.

676

So what happens is that these

small, clear, easy steps

677

start to build new habits.

678

That's really what's happening.

679

We're literally guiding ourselves,

guiding others on our team to rewire our

680

brains by these little steps at a time.

681

And when we have new

habits, then guess what?

682

Our brains aren't tired anymore.

683

Remember that from above.

684

It's like It's not laziness,

it's that we're exhausted.

685

So little habits, little steps,

building these new things, rewiring

686

our brains, makes our brains not tired.

687

Not tired means not

lazy and not resistant.

688

I hope you all are seeing and hearing,

like, how this is coming together now.

689

Okay.

690

How does this play out?

691

How do you lead people with baby steps?

692

Make a standard operating procedure

document, for example, make a step

693

by step document, a how to document,

a handy checklist, you know, a

694

template, anything to help make

something easier the next time around.

695

Like whatever it is that you're trying

to develop a new process around or

696

a new procedure around or just a new

even approach to like break it down.

697

Literally, like, write out

the steps if you need to.

698

That is how you provide

crystal clear direction.

699

So whatever it takes to get

in the weeds, this is true.

700

We oftentimes tend to think that getting

in the weeds is, like, something for

701

somebody lower on the totem pole.

702

I sort of understand where that

logic or thinking comes from, and

703

in some ways, practically it does.

704

That does play out that way.

705

But if you are trying to lead change,

again, no matter your role, you need

706

to get in the weeds and you need to

provide crystal clear direction because

707

that is what the research shows works.

708

Learning this, I have to say,

helped me change completely

709

how I work with organizations.

710

I said in the last episode that I

used to do a lot of two day workshops

711

when organizations brought me in.

712

I'd come in for a couple days and

I shared in the last episode, I

713

came to the conclusion that that

wasn't bringing lasting change.

714

This is why.

715

This is exactly why.

716

You go in for a two day workshop,

that's not crystal clear direction.

717

That can be inspiration, that can

be vision, that can be ideating, but

718

it's not the type of crystal clear

direction, listing steps, getting in

719

the weeds, that brings lasting change.

720

Anyways, for anybody who had

listened to that episode, just

721

connecting the dots there.

722

And it's really, really changed

how I work with organizations now.

723

Okay, last one.

724

Thing number five of five.

725

How do we effectively lead change?

726

The answer is follow the bright spots.

727

That's how the Heath brothers say it.

728

They say, follow the bright spots.

729

And I mentioned this before.

730

It's like this, be the cheerleader thing.

731

That's exactly what this is.

732

In other words, when you do see

victories, you're Whether at your own

733

organization, if you're getting started

and you're trying to cheer things on

734

or somewhere else, you see some good

work somewhere else that you want to be

735

a part of your organization, you wish

your organization could do that thing,

736

emulate that thing, whatever it is,

celebrate them, celebrate those victories.

737

So again, cheerleader and follow them.

738

You have to say literally,

like, this worked.

739

Here's the data.

740

Here's the thing that validates this.

741

It worked.

742

So let's do it again.

743

This thing, whatever it is, again, fill

in the blank, moved us closer to the goal.

744

Now we're kind of connecting

back to step one, right?

745

Like, listing those goals and everything.

746

the whys we had for that.

747

This thing moved us closer to that

goal, closer to where we want to be.

748

You have to say it again and again.

749

You do have to be kind of

a broken record cheerleader

750

maybe is, is the way to say it.

751

And of course you can refine, of

course you can iterate, you can

752

absolutely say, you know, next time.

753

What, whether that's next week,

next month, next concert, whatever,

754

we're, we're going to tweak it.

755

We're going to do this, these

things a little differently.

756

That's called iteration.

757

So that's fine.

758

You absolutely can notice how to improve,

but just make sure that there is a next

759

time to do that small thing again, because

that's part of the repetition that builds

760

the organizational muscle you need.

761

That's exactly how the musician

does it in the practice room, right?

762

Going back to that, you do it

again, you repeat the success.

763

Or even anybody who played an

instrument growing up, did you

764

ever have to do like the M& M

exercise or the jellybean exercise?

765

Like when you play it right, you move the

jellybean to the other side of the music

766

stand and you have to play it right 10

times in a row or something like that.

767

I don't know.

768

That's the idea though,

organizationally, repeat the success.

769

Do it again, repeat the success.

770

That's bringing in that discipline.

771

Okay, one other way to say this is

don't obsess about the failures.

772

That's a good one for us, and we haven't

really talked about all of this in

773

the, in the context of failure yet,

so the Heath brothers say it that way.

774

They say instead of obsessing

about failures, Investigate

775

and clone the successes.

776

So now we're right back to

iterating and doing these steps.

777

Here's why this fifth and

final point is so critical.

778

Why being a cheerleader, even

if you're not the cheerleader

779

type, why is this so important?

780

Two reasons.

781

One, it helps us acknowledge

the progress we're making.

782

We, us, our team, our organization.

783

and feel those successes.

784

So really bringing in more

of that emotional piece.

785

And reason number two is because

it keeps our eyes on the prize.

786

That future vision we're working to

achieve, like we're doing these little

787

steps, but the big vision is still out

there, the big goal is still out there.

788

And that is how we marry These long

term goals with short term gains,

789

rational, emotional, I mean, this

is just, this piece just connects so

790

much together in all of these steps.

791

This is why, when I learned all of

this, this is why my book has case

792

studies in every chapter of arts

organizations seeing successes.

793

We're cheering it on.

794

Like, I'm literally following

this step in my book.

795

I think it's really easy in an industry

like arts and culture that's facing a

796

lot of challenges to get bogged down.

797

I just said the Heath State

don't obsess over the failures.

798

I think that's hard.

799

It can be, it can be heavy some days

and It is when people see a brighter

800

future is possible that it motivates

emotions, not of fear, not of negativity,

801

not of despair, but emotions of hope.

802

And hope drives action.

803

Talking about tapping into the emotions,

the emotion of hope drives action.

804

No matter your cause, whether you

are at an arts organization of any

805

kind of artistic discipline, Or,

on your own, hope drives action.

806

I want to wrap up with a final lesson I've

learned on change, and that is that people

807

find it more motivating to be partly

finished with a longer journey than to be

808

at the starting gate of a shorter journey.

809

That is according to the research, and

that is exactly why, if we're thinking

810

about development work, the conventional

wisdom in development circles, fundraising

811

circles, is that you don't publicly

announce a fundraising campaign for

812

a charity until you've already got

50 percent of the money in the bag.

813

50 percent of the money is

committed already by donors, right?

814

Anybody who's worked on a capital campaign

or maybe a big endowment campaign, you

815

don't announce it publicly until 50

percent of the money is in the bag.

816

And that is because of this.

817

People find it more motivating to be

partly finished with a longer journey.

818

than to be at the

starting gate, basically.

819

And the same is true for all of

us at our arts organizations.

820

There really is so much positive

movement that is budding before our eyes.

821

We are not at the start gate, folks.

822

This is just, if I got to leave you

with one thought, consider that.

823

We are out of the start gate.

824

Ten years ago, I started a blog

called Changing the Narrative,

825

and 2014, now we're in 2024,

and the narrative is changing.

826

We are out of the stargate.

827

So whatever your thoughts are on change

or wherever your organization is at, I

828

hope this episode helps you to understand

the misconceptions and also feel a

829

little more empowered to lead change at

your organization, whatever your role,

830

whatever your seniority, knowing some

real steps you can take to do that.

831

Because when we are talking about changing

a narrative, It is on us, you and me,

832

to be the change we want to see, right?

833

It's true.

834

No willpower, laziness, or

lack of discipline about it.

835

Okay, Offstagers, speaking of leading

change, taking small steps, and giving

836

crystal clear direction, I have one final

free resource this season to give to

837

you before I go quiet for a few months.

838

If you are struggling with making your

revenue goals, balancing the budget,

839

I With declining subscriptions and

raising enough money, I want to invite

840

you to my free upcoming audience growth

masterclass where I will be sharing

841

the exact steps you can take as clearly

as I possibly can in order to give you

842

the path forward to growing revenue.

843

Go to my website right now, www.

844

AubreyBergauer.

845

com slash masterclass to

save your own seat for free.

846

Plus, if it's helpful to you to

bring others along as part of this

847

effort to lead change within your own

institution, invite as many others

848

in your organization as you can.

849

It's literally free for everyone

and it will be packed with value

850

from the very beginning, I promise.

851

It's my audience growth masterclass,

four steps to building your audiences

852

and revenue, AubreyBergauer.

853

com slash masterclass.

854

That's all for today, folks.

855

Thanks so much for listening.

856

And if you like what you heard

here, hit that button to follow

857

or subscribe to this podcast.

858

If you're new, welcome.

859

I am so glad you made it.

860

And if you've been listening

for a while, I love so much that

861

you are getting value from this.

862

So if that's you, please take just

two seconds to leave a quick one

863

tap rating, full on review, and

Isn't even required if you're short

864

on time to all of you once more.

865

Thanks again.

866

I'll see you next time,

right here on the Offstage.

867

Mic, the offstage Mic was produced by

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868

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869

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870

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871

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