Naomi Russell reflects on a formative experience in her own career when she was part of huge changes for a theatre company in London – this transformed its future artistically and financially. She gives pointers of what to consider when thinking about change, how to pace change, characteristics of ‘change makers’ as individuals and give practical examples and insights. She challenges those attending on how to think about what change means for them individually inside their organizations – after all, as they say, the only person you can change is yourself…
My talk today will be by no means exclusive and half an hour can by its nature cover only a few thingsI’d like in particular to leave 15 minutes at the end to take questions and hear more about changes you’re facing
This does not mean a clear list of tasksIt means being totally clear about the most important things to achieve. These may not be the most demanding or urgentIn the last year I have really learnt how to set priorities and try to be clear every day about the 3 things I must do
Example of when I was at the Donmar – Jill Ruddock
Asking the question about failure is the most important question you can ask when embarking on change. This is not about being a naysayer, it is about testing and refining and thinking about how to get it as right as right can be
Do you know that conversation that goes – why don’t we do this and someone says, well, because….
Always be prepared to operate differentlyI used to put on make up before a board meeting – like a mask!My operating at Rambert a consultancy role, taught me a lot, especially Nadia’s persistent focus and relentless need for detail
If you come to our workshop at 2.30 pm, you can hear more from my colleague Sarah Chambers who was the Director of Audiences, Marketing and Digital Strategy at the National until earlier this year.