Museum Leaders Who Serve Their Teams Build Their Teams

Be open, honest, and transparent.
Apologize when things go wrong and show some humility.
When things go well, show some gratitude.
Be consistent and equitable; don't treat some staff as confidants while leaving others in the cold.
Share information.
Listen, don't judge. Allow your team to get to know one another. Again, trust in a group builds over time. It's rarely accomplished by an afternoon hike or a potluck supper. There is a reason outdoor leadership programs frequently incorporate "highs and lows" into team building. By sharing a weekly low and a high, team members get to know one another and quietly build empathy and trust. And just a reminder here, the bottom line is a better product. When team members are silenced, ideas are sidelined, and what comes to the table is underdeveloped, poorly thought out, and doesn't include everyone's thoughts. A team that can really talk about what matters at your museum builds a better museum. So begin by agreeing on communication rules:
to speak respectfully to one another.
to attend meetings, be on time, listen fully, and not interrupt.
to agree on a method for conflict complaints and how they should be handled.
to agree how decisions will be reached. Then, grapple with the twin ideas that conflict is healthy, and that you don't always need agreement. You need compromise, but believing and implicitly asking everyone to agree is a different scenario. Make sure your museum or heritage organization creates a culture of discussions. Ask (you can model this too) staff to back up statements with data and facts so change happens through what you know, not random anecdote or wishful thinking. And last, discussion is iterative. If you reach compromise on a program, exhibit or fund raiser, return to the compromise afterwards. Talk. Decide with hindsight what worked and what didn't. Move forward. Bottom line? Assume you hired the good guys. Assume they all want the best for your team, department or museum. Treat them and their ideas as if they matter. They do. Your reward will be a flowering of imagination and creativity. Run with that. Joan Baldwin