Throughout my career, I have had numerous opportunities for leadership from serving as an officer in Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society to being co-founder and president of the Terre Haute Cultural Alliance. Being an administrator is yet another opportunity to take a leadership role and my diverse experience has provided me with the vision, flexibility and drive to pursue this challenging and rewarding vocation. Even more gratifying is that I am able to apply the skills I have developed to my work in the arts and I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to work for and with a number of excellent administrators.
My management style is based on team building. In this respect, I see my role as more of a coach, working with members of the team to help them come together as a group with a common focus and shared goals. One part of the job is recognizing each individual’s strengths and limitations and another part is to work with everyone on the team to help them to do their jobs better. In running the team, it is important to be a good facilitator and collaborator in order to engage the team and encourage active participation in the process of working together.
As an administrative leader, I feel it is vital to define mission and goals in order to convey an awareness of the “big picture” and create a sense of ownership within the team. Establishing a good structure and administrative process is key in creating vision, maintaining consistency and providing for flexibility. While preserving stability, it is also important to be innovative and take advantage of resources, partnerships and opportunities.
In my career as an administrator I have had the benefit of diverse experiences and have had strong examples to follow. I believe that I have grown into an administrator who holds a lot of integrity and a strong commitment to intellectual and artistic excellence. I am also proud of my flexibility and my willingness to continuously assess and develop my abilities. In the end, I see myself as a strong advocate who is fortunate to be able to take my role as an artist to a higher level.
