Becoming a leader
Amber Massie-Blomfield reflects on the benefits of moving into a leadership role from a marketing and communications background. This article was first published in JAM (issue 61 / February 2016).
Article snippet
Communications people are mounting a quiet revolution in our theatres, taking the top jobs and demonstrating exactly how it ought to be done. Check the CVs of chief executives or executive directors in any of the major venues, and you’ll find they’re just as likely to have started out as a press officer or a marketing assistant as a producer or administrator.
It’s a transition that makes perfect sense. After all, the basic skills of a marketing person are exactly what you need to run a venue successfully: an ability to communicate with a wide- range of people; a capacity to think both long-term and to be responsive; and a good grasp of budgets (check, check, check). Above all, what we ‘comms’ folk understand better than anyone is audiences: who they are, where they come from and what makes them tick – and that’s what it’s all about, ultimately.
To read the full article download Becoming a leader