Things You Were Never Taught About Your Career in Arts Management: Part 2
A Series on Arts Professionals Breaking Through and Getting Ahead
Let’s be honest, sometimes navigating a career in arts management can be really tough. How do you get buy-in for your ideas? How can you manage-up to your boss or board to help drive the relationship in ways that help you grow and deliver great work? How do you know when it’s time to quit, or when sticking it out is advantageous?
I know these questions are pervasive because I hear them from my clients all the time. I hear them in the DMs people send me and in my inbox. I hear them when I meet people on the road speaking at events and conferences. Being deeply frustrated and trying to advance your career and ideas but feeling blocked or held back is not unique, unfortunately. If that resonates, you’re not alone, and it’s not your fault; more likely, there are simply things you were never taught about navigating a career in arts management and it’s holding you back.
In this three-part series (see part 1 here), I’m sharing stories of arts professionals who learned to level-up their leadership, no matter where they were on the org chart — and in doing so, overcame the career barriers they faced and are crushing it now. All of these arts administrators work at different organizations, in different roles, with different levels of seniority, in different geographic markets, and were at different places in life when we first met.
I’ve had the joy of working with them in my Uplevel coaching program — and now they are generously sharing parts of their story with you, so that you too, fellow arts professional, can know that 1) you’re definitely not alone in navigating this industry, and 2) that being seen as a leader no matter where you’re at and reaching your goals is absolutely possible.
Allow me to introduce you…
The setup:
When Mily began her graduate degree in Arts Leadership and Management, she had no idea that her May 2020 graduation date would coincide with a global pandemic and a period of social unrest in the United States. After four months of unemployment post-graduation, she landed her first entry-level position in fundraising at the Omaha Symphony.
In the 18 months she served the Omaha Symphony as Annual Fund Coordinator, she learned valuable fundraising skills that were critical to her development as a leader and arts administrator. “I loved my job there so much,” Mily began. But a few months into the role, however, Mily found herself facing several roadblocks surrounding improving the organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusivity initiatives, which she describes as a fundamental element of her work in the arts. “I wanted to help, but I felt tokenized in some ways…and being in a junior position, I felt like I wasn’t always taken seriously or had much sway.” Compounding these frustrations was a 100-mile round trip daily commute (sometimes even seven days a week), all at a salary that simply “wasn’t paying the bills ”, which led to a desire to seek out other opportunities to advance her career.
What happened:
In summer of 2021, Mily participated in the Uplevel program, which helped her learn research on fair and equitable hiring practices and visualize trends in the arts non-profit sector, including the topic of DEI in the arts, about which she is so passionate. “The program gave me the space to think critically about DEI work in our field, the potential for remote work in the arts, and salaries for arts leaders,” Mily shared. She began thinking of DEI work as a journey, and the idea that arts organizations are in different places on said journey. She realized that her ideal position was in an organization that was already on their way towards improving their DEI efforts, “not starting at zero, but that would also allow me to use my position to directly influence the organization’s progress in this crucial area.”
Additionally, Mily saw how remote and hybrid work models in the pandemic developed and proved successful: leaders at all levels could continue to support their organizations without being physically in-person every day.
Last, candid conversations among her Uplevel peers around salary transparency allowed Mily to realize that other arts administrations in similar roles at other organizations in her area were being paid more than what she was making at the Omaha Symphony. She decided to take the lessons she learned on navigating the job search process and negotiations, and start working on her next career move.
How it played out:
In April 2022 Mily started her new role as the Membership Manager for The National Flute Association (NFA; she’s a flutist herself). Now she’s been there two and half years — well past the honeymoon period — and still proudly proclaims, “I still absolutely love my job! I’m so happy I decided to take my career into my own hands.”
But before signing on the dotted line of employment matrimony, Mily did something very smart: she dated the organization first. “Prior to joining the NFA on their staff, I served the organization on their IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access) committee, where I began a Young Artist Mentor Program for flutists from marginalized communities,” Mily explained. This gave her clear insight as to where the organization was in their DEI journey. The job search wasn’t about them evaluating her; rather, she was evaluating them.
Then, when she received the offer to come work for the NFA full-time, she was able to negotiate a five-figure raise from her old position, and shorten the commute to zero as well. “I got hours of my life back now that I can work remotely,” she shared enthusiastically. “I learned how to evaluate my own value and timing for this career move, which ultimately helped me succeed in pivoting to this new position!”
Today, Mily’s energy level, confidence, and enthusiasm remains something like a sustained high C (flute joke, sorry not sorry). A high note to end on any day.
“Aubrey’s program, podcast, and book changed my life. Her teachings helped me navigate transitions in my career and gave me the confidence I needed to continue my growth as a leader” — Mily H.
The setup:
Kevin wouldn’t say he was struggling in his career. In fact, his obstacle was born of the opposite: in April 2021 he had just been given a promotion and was named Interim Director of Music Programming at Cap Radio in Sacramento (the public media NPR affiliate station that also hosts classical music programming, of which Kevin was suddenly fully overseeing).
He knew the opportunity was big, as were his ideas. But the station was, shall we say, traditional in myriad ways — as well as in flux coming out of the pandemic like many other arts organizations — and Kevin needed a plan. As he describes it, “My challenge was more that I hadn’t fully defined what I wanted and how I wanted to approach it. I wasn’t as clear as I needed to be to achieve my goals.”
Kevin wanted the interim gig to become permanent, which meant he had a ticking clock to show everyone in charge that he had the chops to lead the department for good, that he wasn’t going to rock the boat too much, but yet at the same time, that he was going to push the team and the station’s programming forward. In other words, the task ahead was delicate: make a splash, but don’t make waves; make an impact, but don’t alienate or leave anyone behind in the process.
What happened:
The first thing Kevin did was surround himself with folks in the Uplevel program who thought similarly to him about the industry, hoping that together the brain trust he joined could become a force for good change. There he instantly connected with like minded colleagues across the industry who identified with his goals and challenges.
Second, he doubled down on his team at the station. Kevin realized that if his direct reports felt empowered and succeeded in their respective roles, then the station would succeed too. “I retooled the team to better serve the organization and the direction we were going at the time,” Kevin recalls. “When organizations have done things a certain way for so long, they can be resistant to change. But we all know that things in the classical music sphere need to adapt.”
He focused the team on creating content, which is necessary for any arts organization, but particularly so for a public media station who pumps out content all day, every day in multiple formats. But instead of content creation coming as a top-down mandate from himself, he championed the ideas coming from his direct reports.
He made consistent and intentional efforts to empower and encourage them to not just be the cogs in the machine executing someone else’s ideas, but rather to be creators themselves, as well as problem solvers. In other words, he led them to be thinkers and doers.
“I hope that having confidence in myself as a leader empowers those around me to take ownership of what they do and have faith that we are on the right track within our department… Of course I am there to help and guide them when they need it or when it’s necessary.”
Along the way, Kevin realized that he had a parallel calling for producing more content off the airwaves and launched a startup non-profit with his wife and some friends called Rogue Music Project, producing new and lesser-known works in non-traditional venues around Sacramento.
“I want people to succeed no matter what,” Kevin shared, whether that be at a classical music organization, a public media radio station, or his own ventures.
How it played out:
After a few months in the role, Kevin was formally given the permanent promotion and now, three years later, is still the Director of Music Programming. His team grew to 12 at one point, and the organization continues to try to find its way among a rapidly changing landscape of consumer and listener behavior. “Things continue to be in flux at CapRadio, but we continue to adapt,” Kevin articulated. “I couldn’t be prouder of my team. I’m also excited about the future of my startup.” He remains co-founder and president of Rogue Arts and Media, and they continue to develop new programming.
As Kevin reflects on his growth over the past few years, he shared, “I am a stronger leader, plain and simple. I have faith in my leadership skills especially when it comes to managing people. I also don’t think I would have had faith in myself to move this startup non profit forward several years ago. Today, I am confident that we can do some real good in our community by inspiring and inviting creativity through music…We’ll have several performances this fall and we even have a little money in the bank!”
“I hope that having confidence in myself as a leader empowers those around me to take ownership of what they do.” — Kevin D.
The setup:
Maybe you’ve felt like this before: like you knew you wanted to make a change in your career, but you weren’t sure exactly what that should look like or how you could make the most impact. That was precisely the scenario Nathan found himself in around 2021.
At the time his role was seemingly far away from the director-level scope he holds now: he was working as a ticket services representative at the Nashville Symphony, providing customer service to ticket holders, as well as working on internal projects like analyzing customer service issues in order to understand community sentiment about the Symphony coming out of the pandemic.
Call it paralysis by analysis, or call it treading water, or call it just scratching your head, Nathan self-described as unable to conceptualize and figure out his next steps in this field. “My feeling was mainly one of ‘I’ll figure everything out eventually,’” he shared. Except “figuring it out” wasn’t really materializing for him.
What happened:
As Nathan’s internal monologue continued, he joined the Uplevel program despite thinking he didn’t have “enough experience,” and as he tells it, he decided to “do the work anyway.” “I was excited to learn more about myself and hoped it would solve the insecurities I had in leading and persuading others.”
A few weeks in, Nathan had an epiphany. He realized that he could use the scope and purview he had in his customer service role to focus on generating revenue — something that’s always needed at an arts organization, but was particularly acute during the pandemic recovery. “I focused on translating revenue needs into logical solutions that aided the Nashville Symphony’s mission and created user-centric experiences,” he explained. Said differently, he connected the dots on how his role could help his organization make more money, which subsequently opened doors for him.
That shift led to a series of small wins that increased Nathan’s scope and responsibility. He was soon given daily oversight of the organization’s ticket and CRM operations in Tessitura and managed the organization’s integrated e-commerce platform, completed many projects to improve the patron experience, and even participated in interviewing, hiring, and training ticketing staff.
All of this Nathan was able to pitch as a new role for himself — Ticket Operations Manager — landing him the one-two punch of a promotion, clarity of scope, and a focus on connecting customer service to the revenue needs of the organization. It was the beginning of Nathan seeing how he, and nobody else, is driving the bus of his own career.
How it played out:
The days of Nathan wandering aimlessly in his career are over. In the three and a half years since he decided to “do the work anyway,” Nathan has landed two promotions: the first to the Ticketing Operations Manager role described above, and the second in August of this year to Director of CRM & Ticketing Operations, a senior role leading Nashville Symphony’s CRM operations and strategy.
“Before encountering [the Uplevel program], I struggled with knowing my purpose. That has all changed since,” Nathan reflects. “I now have a better idea of how I can make an impact in this industry. I had hoped the program would solve the insecurities I had in leading and persuading others…now I am more confident, opinionated, and not afraid to speak my mind. I also have gotten better at leading meetings and teams.”
To say it again, as arts managers, we are driving the bus of our own careers. But it takes clarity on what’s driving ourselves internally first in order to chart the course. Nathan has adeptly illustrated this, and I can’t wait to see where he takes himself next.
“I now have a better idea of how I can make an impact in this industry…I am more confident, opinionated, and not afraid to speak my mind.” — Nathan S.
You Can’t Win a Game If You Don’t Know the Rules
I’m so grateful to Mily, Kevin, and Nathan for each of them sharing some of their story and lessons learned. Mily claimed her own power and dramatically changed her own happiness. Kevin surrounded himself with other forward thinking people in the field so that he could better support and lead those on his team. And as Nathan concluded with me, “Knowing I’m not alone and that there are others in this industry that have a similar mindset has been so eye opening.”
It’s eye opening because you don’t know what you don’t know, and there’s a lot in arts management career building that’s simply not part of most people’s training. But the good news, as these three arts professionals have demonstrated, is that these once-secret skills can be learned, and more opportunities unlocked.
I hope these stories help you feel like overcoming barriers to grow your career in the arts is more possible than you ever thought before. And know I’ve got three more stories coming your way next month.
This October I will be leading a free 3-part virtual training on how to grow your career in arts management. Join the waitlist to be notified.
And if you’re interested in more case studies and data-backed strategies to help grow yourself professionally and better lead your arts organization, order my book, Run It like a Business: Strategies to Increase Audiences, Remain Relevant, and Multiply Money — Without Losing the Art.
About the Author
Hailed as “the Steve Jobs of classical music” (Observer) and “Sheryl Sandberg of the symphony” (LA Review of Books), Aubrey Bergauer is known for her results-driven, customer-centric, data-obsessed pursuit of changing the narrative for the performing arts. A “dynamic administrator” with an “unquenchable drive for canny innovation” (San Francisco Chronicle), she’s held offstage roles managing millions in revenue at major institutions including the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. As chief executive of the California Symphony, Bergauer propelled the organization to double the size of its audience and nearly quadruple the donor base.
Bergauer helps organizations and individuals transform from scarcity to opportunity, make money, and grow their base of fans and supporters. Her ability to cast and communicate vision moves large teams forward and brings stakeholders together, earning “a reputation for coming up with great ideas and then realizing them” (San Francisco Classical Voice). With a track record for strategically increasing revenue and relevance, leveraging digital content and technology, and prioritizing diversity and inclusion on stage and off, Bergauer sees a better way forward for classical music and knows how to achieve it.
Aubrey’s first book, Run It Like A Business, published in February 2024.
A graduate of Rice University, her work and leadership have been covered in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Thrive Global, and Southwest Airlines magazines, and she is a frequent speaker spanning TEDx, Adobe’s Magento, universities, and industry conferences in the U.S. and abroad.
