Museum Metamorphosis : Day 2
When I first joined the board of trustees and mooted the idea that there was an opportunity to do a serious transformation project to move us away from crisis management onto a more stable footing, I received a very positive reaction and was given the nod to start making some plans.
Unfortunately, planning, along with change and risk, were anathemas to many on the board, and my ideas were rejected after little more than casual consideration. This summed up the toxic culture that had developed over the previous five or more years. By the time I took over as the acting chair two years later, we were down to three trustees and no volunteers. Back into full on crisis mode for the fourth time in three years. Only this time we were also dealing with COVID, I was in Prague and my colleague was working offshore, leaving one person on the ground and an entire museum to put back together.
The principle of transformation is that you move from a starting position to an improved position through systemic changes. You look at where you are, where you want to be, and take actions to get there. Our starting position was so bad that starting all over again with a blank canvas was looking like the best — albeit scary — option.
We eventually agreed to recruit a new group of volunteers and build a new organisation from the ground up. Everything except the Collection would be thrown out. Most importantly I wanted to create an environment as far removed from the bad old days as possible. An environment focused on meeting people’s needs — starting with volunteers and visitors.
I am a semi-retired independent management consultant specialising in organisational change management and better Ways of Working and the chairman of the board of trustees at my local Heritage Centre. I’m from the UK but based in Prague in the Czech Republic. I mainly write about developing better ways of working, working in the Apple ecosystem, and my adopted home in Prague. If you’ve enjoyed this, please check out some of my other articles or even follow me if you’d like to be notified when I publish new material.