Culture eats strategy for breakfast.

—Peter Drucker

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There is a direct correlation between the health of an organization’s culture and its success. Although we all hold this truth to be self-evident, it can be easy to forget to put the most important asset we have—our people—front and center in our decision-making processes. This often results in:  

 

• Management finding itself pitted against forward-facing staff;

• Low employee engagement/retention rates;

• The legal claims we seek to avoid; and even

• A slow death by a thousand cuts.

 

This tendency to lose focus on our people has sparked movements such as Change the Museum, Museum Workers Speak, and the drive toward unionization, along with widespread challenges within our own teams at times.

 

Thankfully, many museums are rethinking the role institutional culture plays in creating healthier organizations. They are asking:

 

• How can we better support team members?

• What are their top-of-mind concerns?

• What concrete steps can we take to address those concerns?

• What does it look like when we walk-our-talk in more transparent ways?

 

Such steps can take shape as full-fledged policy reform, but more often than not, they show up as small but meaningful shifts in practice. The result?

 

• Team members feel more seen, heard, valued, and appreciated.

• Their insights help inform better decisions and better outcomes.

• Our teams grow stronger and our workplace cultures grow healthier.

• Ultimately, our museums become more sustainable.

 

Don’t we all want that?