A&BC is pleased to announce the formal launch of its latest FREE consulting service to individual arts managers and executives.
During those unnerving months in early 2009 (who can forget?) as the economy was faltering dramatically, the A&BC—in addition to holding its usual initial assessment meetings with individual arts organizations—convened some special focus groups with senior managers of arts groups of various sizes. Our purpose was to listen to what organizations were experiencing and to brainstorm ways that we might provide more immediate or focused help via our programs/services, our corps of volunteers and our connections within the arts sector.
Some of this input informed the topics of our subsequent “Business Essentials” Workshops in 2009 and 2010. However, one sentiment that surfaced with great frequency in those discussions was the sense of “isolation,” even “helplessness,” that managers can feel when weighing various near-term financial, personnel, program or procedural decisions they must make. In a nutshell, there was a strong desire to “have someone smart to talk to” about an emerging or immediate challenge, situation or circumstance. By way of response, and with the help of generous grants from The Boeing Company and Arts Work Fund, A&BC pilot tested in 2010 a service we’re calling “A&BC Connect.” Following the successful test phase, we are pleased to announce that this FREE service is now available to managers of all established arts organizations with annual budgets under $1 million!
A&BC Connect is designed to link organization managers and executives quickly with a specially-trained, outcome-oriented expert eager to swiftly provide—via telephone consultation—up to two hours of systematic, reasoned and confidential dialogue, coaching and resolution. The coaches were selected from among our most experienced Business Volunteers for the Arts, supplemented by several “veteran” senior administrators of Chicago-based arts organizations who also agreed to volunteer their services. This “all-star” team of coaches has been specially trained in such areas as questioning/listening techniques, core problem identification and solution/resolution analysis in order to help a manager promptly address an immediate challenge, situation or circumstance their organization is facing.
The pilot test demonstrated that working with a skilled coach can really be liberating: “It was so helpful that I’m just still digesting all of it. I believe that what the coach shared with me…I will use for a long time in the future. This is a fantastic program,” remarked one A&BC Connect user. About his first “Connect” consultation, one coach noted: “The session was about helping the client through a breakthrough—helping them both solve the problem and grow from the experience.”
So, truly, you aren’t alone! Let us know how the coaches of A&BC Connect might be able to help you address an immediate organizational challenge. Learn more about the service and, when a situation arises, submit your coaching request online.