Purpose-Led Leadership – The Key to our Future

Central to our methodology here at Achates is the concept of organisational purpose. The unifying, overarching idea or reason to exist around which an organisation – and its decision-making – can coalesce. An organisation with a clear and measurable purpose is one in which the work being created or curated, and the impact that work is having with and for priority audiences is articulated, measured and evaluated. With that in place, an organisation can develop a business model that has resilience with integrity because it is fulfilling a triple bottom line of value. Decisions can then be made from this central purpose on all aspects of running a cultural organisation from programming, and funding, to resource allocation, staffing structure and recruitment.

As a sector we are standing at a crossroads. This is a moment in which we are all interrogating the work that we create or curate, the impact that we are having on and with our audiences and the ways in which our business models are structured to deliver on our purpose.

But what does this moment in time require from those of us giving our time, energy and resource to the culture and heritage sector? What skills, knowledge and methodologies do we need to nurture and encourage in order to ensure that the sector we care about can move forward in a way which is sustainable, resilient and accessible?

Enter: Purposeful Leaders.

Purposeful Leaders are those who build their work on three pillars – clarity of purpose, empathy and transparency. Purposeful leadership isn’t a leadership style or theory. It’s not necessarily a way of behaving or holding oneself in certain spaces. It’s an overarching methodology – a way of making decisions, engaging with others and driving our organisations forward in a way which focuses on impact and on the idea that we are in service to an idea that is greater than ourselves.

Within this context leadership can, and should be, defined in many ways. Purposeful Leadership is something not only for those in charge, but something we can contribute to at all levels because we are working towards a shared purpose. Whether that’s those with senior job titles whose position in the current system offers power and a platform. For others leadership is quieter, less hierarchical but no less important or impactful. It might be within a specific department, or project or ways of existing and engaging in the sector. Genuine purposeful leadership in the culture and heritage sector can and should exist everywhere. It is our role as custodians of the sector to protect and nurture it wherever we can.

At Achates we see ourselves as in service to the sector. We are deeply committed to its future. To supporting it to move forward with resilience and integrity. For us purposeful leadership isn’t just something we think might be useful, it’s something we know is vital to a thriving sector. It is also something which is central to the work that we do.

It shows up in the ways in which we work with our partners and clients. You can see it in the ways we advocate for the sector and in the way we give back; through Achates Community – our accessible training platform for culture sector professionals; our pro bono support and our own philanthropy with at least 10% of our profits being donated back through sponsorship of initiatives and programmes often led by the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation.

In our Recruitment Champions – a group of outstanding leaders who will work with us to embed purpose in the way organisations across the sector recruit and embed new leadership. Through our support of organisations preparing for upcoming statutory funding rounds through the application of our Purpose-Led, Audience-Informed Methodology and our Achates Triple Bottom Line© which brings money into dynamic harmony with the purpose of each organisation. It is also absolutely central to our distinctive and acclaimed Purposeful Leadership Programme which offers members of Achates Community a year-long exploration and interrogation of the concepts of Purposeful Leadership and its application to their own practice.

Purposeful leadership isn’t nice to have. It is fundamental to ensuring that our sector and most importantly those who are giving their time and energy to creating impact with and for audiences through creativity and culture are given the tools to thrive now and long into the future.