Leading with purpose – and knowing when to move on

In the world of arts and culture leadership, longevity is often equated with success. But transformative leadership is not about staying indefinitely – it’s about making a meaningful impact in a short time frame, setting an organisation on a sustainable path, and then discovering a new opportunity.

Some have interpreted the news that performing arts leaders are departing their roles at the highest rate since 2018 as a sector in crisis. I think this shift presents an opportunity to reassess what leadership in the arts should look like, particularly at a time when the pressures facing the sector, across art forms, have made traditional models of leadership unsustainable.

I live by the mantra that, once you understand what’s needed, you need to act with urgency. Change doesn’t happen by waiting around. When it comes to making an impact, transformation is often time sensitive. In practice, this means leading with a clear vision to make meaningful change that endures after the leader has moved on.

Continuous reinvention essential

By taking the time to understand what’s needed, you can develop a clear strategic vision for progress. This approach differs from traditional corporate models, empowering teams to reimagine the organisation’s future. Leadership isn’t about positioning oneself as a figurehead but ensuring the organisation and its people can stand strong independently.

All organisations face unique pressures, from financial instability and evolving market demands to ever-changing customer expectations, making continuous reinvention essential. Yet, many remain stagnant, held back by bureaucracy and overly cautious leadership instead of embracing innovation. By setting a clear, time-bound framework for change, leaders can break free from endless strategy cycles and drive meaningful progress through bold, decisive action.

This philosophy is being put into practice at Tyneside Cinema through initiatives designed to encourage creativity and inclusion. Having spent my career leading charities and organisations in the not-for-profit sector, I understand the importance of balancing financial sustainability with social impact.

A recent example involved bringing the team together for a creative day, where I asked them to reimagine the cinema’s future as it approached its 90th anniversary and to create their own version of a Dream Palace, reimagining what the cinema could become. By actively involving the team at a strategic level, we unlocked fresh ideas from every part of the organisation.

How do you build trust?

The most effective way to engage people is to sit down with them and ask: “What do you want this place to become?” Crucially, the process doesn’t end with collecting ideas, it continues with implementation, ensuring contributions translate into real, visible change.

One of the biggest challenges in leading meaningful change is overcoming organisational trauma and resistance. Whether caused by past instability, leadership failures or a culture of fear, these factors can create reluctance to embrace new directions. The key to overcoming this barrier is prioritising the time to rebuild trust, which starts with honesty and transparency.

You have to be candid and honest. As soon as you step foot in an organisation, be transparent about where you are, what you need to do and what the challenges are. You need to show that decisions don’t just happen behind closed doors and that staff input drives progress. Embedding employees into decision making ensures organisations are not only prepared for change but actively shaping it.

Trust is a particularly important issue in the arts right now. With so many leaders stepping down, there is a risk of instability. However, if we approach the moment correctly, it can present an opportunity to rethink how leadership functions. Rather than longevity and endurance, leadership should be about impact and sustainability.

Leadership is not about holding power

Despite current challenges, I see positives from the mass leadership turnover. While disruptive, it opens space for new voices, fresh ideas and different ways of working.

But this transition must be accompanied by real investment. If we want a meaningful shift rather than a cycle of burnout and replacement, we must ensure those stepping into leadership roles have the support and resources to succeed – rather than inheriting structures that set them up for failure.

Effective leadership isn’t about holding power. It’s about making a lasting impact and shifting the mindset from ‘leadership as ownership’ to ‘leadership as a force for change’. The real test comes with asking: “What does this place look like without me?”

In practice, this means investing in people, identifying gaps and ensuring the organisation would remain strong and self-sustaining if you were to step away. Not everyone approaches leadership with their exit in mind, but those who do gain a deeper understanding of how things work. They assess who’s staying, where they can grow and what’s missing to ensure success isn’t dependent on one person alone.

This moment of leadership transition is not about departures per se – it’s about what comes next. Now is the time to rethink how we support leaders, how we sustain innovation, and how we ensure the sector remains a place where risk taking and creativity can thrive.