Governance – Page 3 – LARSEN

And another thing: receiving and responding to harm

When boards and orgs don’t provide the accountability each other needs, it may fall on us to do so.

And another thing: the merit of merit

I’m spending February with my family on Gabrielino-Tongva-Kitz Lands just outside Los Angeles – which feels like a very different place since the last time I was here.

With everything going on, it seemed like an opportune moment to reflect on the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and the alleged merit of merit-based board and staff recruitment and quotas.

And another thing: succession planning

I’m starting the new year with a lesson from the corporate world about leadership succession planning (yet another thing the arts, cultural and for-purpose sector is notoriously bad at).

Why (nearly) everything you thought you knew about boards and governance is wrong*

In October 2024, I was part of the line-up for TEDxCastlemaine with my provocation on why (nearly) everything you thought you knew about boards and governance is wrong.

And another thing: Co-CEOs

My latest ‘and another thing’ vlog is on one of the silver(ish) linings of the past few years – the trend towards more arts, cultural and for-purpose organisations restructuring away from impossible ‘magical unicorn’ roles that ask too much of a single CEO, including to more Co-CEO models.

And another thing: observing the observers

My latest ‘and anothet thing’ vlog is about how we can get better at board training and capacity building – including how we should observe board observership programs.

And another thing: board solidarity

Boards speak with one voice (except when they don’t).

Unfortunately, not only are we witnessing failures from boards not speaking up about the multiple, massive issues currently affecting their teams, organisations or sectors at the moment, but board members leaking confidential information, or bringing outside agendas into their meetings in an attempt to sway the actions of their boards or the orgs they oversee.

And another thing: bad board maths

Sometimes, no matter how hard we all try, the maths behind Australia’s arts, cultural and non-profit governance simply don’t seem to add up.

The statements we make

As artists, cultural workers and arts organisations, ours is the business of statement-making.

I was reminded of this recently by the work of Portuguese artist Tiago Casanova, whose installation Every wall is a Statement is currently part of the A liberdade e só a Liberdade exhibition (‘Freedom and only freedom’) at The Art and Culture Center of the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation in Évora.

I was also reminded, less pleasantly, by recent rushed and fumbled public statements made by Australian arts and cultural organisations in response to local and global issues or events like last year’s Voice Referendum (or the need for voice, treaty and truth more broadly) and the ongoing genocide in Palestine — including the statements that many have made with their silence.

And another thing: SLV as the example you don’t want to be

As a critical friend to the arts and cultural sector, I try not to ‘out’ organisations who haven’t already made headlines. Unfortunately, after a year of record fumbles and fails in response to Palestine, that still leaves a lot from which to learn from (with new ones seemingly added every day).

So it’s been deeply disappointing to witness an organisation so many have held in high esteem become the high-profile poster child for poor practice. I look at the example of the State Library of Victoria in the latest edition of my ‘and another thing’ vlog.