Beginning 2021 | Location and Dates TBA
Executive Leadership Circle
A national initiative for arts leaders and executives. Developed by artEquity in partnership with Yale School of Drama, this nine-month leadership program is a response to ongoing requests for equity-based resources and strategic support for senior executives and leaders.
Date | Location
2021 TBA
About the Program
The vision of ELC is to promote structural, organizational, and field-wide change by supporting executive leaders in the arts. The questions we plan to explore:
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What could a cohort of executive leaders focused on equity-based strategies accomplish together over the course of nine months?
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How might those executive leaders leverage their positional power and organizational access for greater field-wide change?
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Could they develop trust to better rely on one another and hold each other accountable?
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How might executive leaders harness the collective influence of their organizations?
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How might their collective impact inform the next generation of leaders and artists?
SERIES ONE TOPICS
SERIES ONE TOPICS
PROGRAM RATIONALE
The impetus for ELC comes out of a growing need to coordinate efforts among arts organizations working to advance equity-based strategies. Some executives of organizations attempting to lead with values of equity, diversity, and inclusion, are often in a triple bind:
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First, they are expected to model leadership values and lead from an equity lens even if they do not have the skills and resources to do so.
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Second, because of the positional power they hold within the organization, they can either support their organization’s success, or unintentionally undermine organizational change efforts because of their lack of awareness of underlying privilege and power dynamics.
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Third, they have few avenues to receive candid feedback and support that is not encumbered by their positional power within the organization.
ELC’s goal will be to address the “triple bind” that executive leaders often face.
Having proficiency around issues of equity and inclusion is no longer optional - it is a required skill. To be an effective leader in the 21st century, one’s leadership approach must be conducted through an equity lens. Creating and sustaining work environments that foster inclusion, is a mandate.
ELC’s program objectives are to:
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promote a new brand of leadership, one that centers issues of equity and prioritizes modeling equity-based approaches;
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provide skills and resources to executive leaders within a peer community that will foster both support and accountability for personal growth;
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provide executive leaders with opportunities to receive feedback and coaching that will increase their ability to lead with an equity lens;
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create a network of executive leaders willing to work together for greater collective impact.
