Co-Leadership in the Arts and Culture

"Plural forms of leadership where two or more individuals share roles at the top have recently attracted a good deal of interest. The phenomenon seems to run counter to preconceived notions of leadership. Yet, co-leadership is common in the arts and culture sector. Fjellvaer and Reid have independently conducted intensive qualitative studies of how and why this might work. This volume integrates their insights. It is beautifully researched and offers a sophisticated understanding of executive co-leadership, its challenges, and its potential. It is a must-read for academics, practitioners and policy makers interested in the governance and leadership of arts and cultural organizations." Ann Langley, Co-editor, Strategic Organization, Associate Editor, Academy of Management Journal and Emerita Professor, HEC Montreal "Reid and Fjellvaer's book on co-leadership in arts and culture is a timely and welcome contribution to the literature on nonprofit leadership. Their volume is among the first and most integrative on the topic, making an important contribution exploring the dynamics, dilemmas, and paradoxes of this oft-confusing management configuration. While this book focuses on arts and culture organizations, its content and insights offer important value and options for effective executive leadership to all third sector governance and management scholars and practitioners in an increasingly complex and dynamic environment." David Renz, Bloch School of Management, University of Missouri - Kansas City "A book focusing on the challenges and idiosyncrasies of co-leadership in the arts and cultural setting is much overdue. I am delighted that Wendy Reid and Hilde Fjellvaer have undertaken this deep analysis around the distinct attributes of this phenomena. It will make an important contribution to our field, theoretically and practically, and be an essential teaching aide in arts leadership." Jo Caust, University of Melbourne "Co-leadership in arts and culture is a common but very delicate alchemy. Under-researched and under-documented, the tension in these relationships is central to success in these organizations. Understanding its dynamics and limitations will undoubtedly provide important answers to guide public policy in support of the arts, as well as offering practical insights for those who work within it daily." Nathalie Maille, General Director, Conseil des arts de Montreal - Montreal Arts Council "What a joy to read a book that explores creating art within a dynamic, communal, and social context. For in the performing arts, we work together, in the spirit of creating values, culture, aspirations and ultimately art. It is anything but lonely. If, as some say, music really occurs between the notes, a similar alchemy happens between people who strive toward a shared purpose." Antoni Cimolino, Artistic Director, The Stratford Festival of Canada "Having extensive arts board experience, I can say this book will be very useful. It will help everyone interested in co-leadership understand the complexity of this form of management. I have seen every leadership problem over my 48 years of practice. Every manager should stop and think about how they do things. Reid and Fjellvaer will guide their reflections." Francois Colbert, Carmelle and Remi-Marcoux Chair in Arts Management and Codirector, Master of Management in International Arts Management, HEC Montreal "Understanding the dilemma of logics between artists and managers in the complex governance of arts and culture is indispensable. This book addresses the ambiguities of this interesting polarity. Hierarchy problems are inherent in governance, subject to context, but Reid and Fjellvaer demonstrate their universality in the arts. This book is indispensable to foundational knowledge of arts and cultural management." Jaime Ruiz-Gutierrez, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia "This brilliant book rests on

Wendy Reid is an Honourary Professor with the Management Department of HEC Montreal (retired summer 2021 - formerly Associate Professor) after an executive career in arts management in Canada. Hilde Fjellvaer is Associate Professor with the NTNU Business School and a member of the Faculty Board. She is Chair of the Board at Rosendal Teater in Trondheim, Norway.

1. Introducing and Summarizing the Book Section I: Framing the Research 2. Interpreting Organizational Context for Arts Co-Leadership 3. Parsing Co-Leadership Theory for the Arts 4. Situating Co-Leadership in the Arts Globally Section II: Theorizing Relational Dynamics in Arts Co-Leadership 5. Working with Interdependence 6. Challenging Equality 7. Contending with Ambiguity and Vulnerability Section III: Theorizing Organizational Dynamics with Arts Co-Leadership 8. Managing Risk 9. Following and Influencing Co-Leaders Section IV: Structuring Co-leadership Research and Practice 10. Charting Insights and a Future Research Course