Abstract:

This developmental paper examines the opportunities and challenges of diverse leadership in the arts through a study of zombie leadership—ideas about leadership that persist despite being discredited (Haslam et al., 2024).

The arts pay significant attention to leadership. Cultural policies highlight its importance, professional development programs aim to build leadership capability, and institutions recruit leaders believed essential to organisational success. There is also increasing attention to the need for more diversity in arts leaders. Diverse leadership is associated with innovation, sector vibrancy and greater relevance. Despite this interest in leadership, the sector has a predilection for outdated and disproved ideas about leadership. As a result, the arts remain wedded to narrow, elite leadership models that sustain a leadership ‘industry’ while failing to address the sector’s real needs.

Our previous investigation of zombie leadership in the Australian arts sector revealed disproved ideas about leadership were evident in policies, programs, and organisational practice. These zombie leadership ideas impact the progress and vibrancy of the sector. However, we also found evidence of authentic and distinctive approaches to leadership, particularly recognition of the value of diverse leaders. Our data described these as leaders with ‘lived experience’.

We found a focus on diverse leadership simultaneously disrupts established zombie notions of leadership in the arts while inadvertently serving to reconstruct them. Specifying the need for leaders from diverse backgrounds suggests these workers intuitively bring inherent and elite leadership capacity – and neglects the broader context specific skills and behaviours required of leaders. The impact of zombie notions of leadership on arts leaders from diverse backgrounds is the research topic examined in this developmental paper.

We intend to investigate case studies of arts leaders from diverse backgrounds who bring lived experience to their work. The new case study data will be analysed for evidence of zombie leadership being re-constructed through a focus on leaders with lived experience. The expectation that leaders with lived experience will bring innovative approaches to the sector’s ‘wicked problems’ adds to the cultural burden experienced by arts leaders from diverse backgrounds. We will consider the cultural load placed on diverse leaders and issues of cultural safety.

In this developmental paper we seek feedback on the theoretical framing of this research and the proposed design and conduct of this case study investigation.

Please choose your submission type: Developmental Paper

Primary Track: Cultural and Creative Industries

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Dr. Kim Goodwin

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