Is Your Organization a Business or a Family?
(Originally Published in the Winter 2008 edition of the VAM Voice)
You’re happily sitting in your office, sipping coffee and casually reading the latest news. Suddenly, the door bursts open and your children interrupt the tranquility. You sigh, wishing they would fight it out it on the lawn. Maybe you could settle it by putting both of them in time-out and forcing them to apologize to one another, followed by a big hug and some cookies. That may work at home. However, you can’t really do that with your employees. Sound a little too familiar?
On the other hand, small museums may be drawn to ideas that promise to improve their functioning and public appearance through adopting a corporate structure more suited to Best Buy or General Mills. But these hierarchies can be rigid, and may not produce a sustainable, functional organization. The reality on the ground is that CEOs at small museums or historic sites often feel less like corporate leaders and more like the heads of large, sometimes dysfunctional, families.