Releasing the real potential of arts organisations

"Most people want to work with people they like and respect, in organisations with a purpose they care about, and within a culture that enables and acknowledges their personal contribution." – The Congruence Framework.

Tony Chamberlain, Principal Consultant at PQ Associates and experienced arts industry executive, recently published a book on the concept of congruence, which outlines a new framework to help organisations develop their own capacity and also enrich the society they work in.

The Congruence Framework challenges organisations to behave as inclusive communities of purpose. It envisages organisations as a collective community of all their stakeholders, aligned around a shared purpose, interconnected by meaningful trust-based relationships and energised by enabling leadership. These organisations have collaborative cultures that welcome change and embrace their difference and diversity as learning opportunities. They sustain their longer term future by co-creating equitable shared-value outcomes that manifest their purpose and contribute to the collective wellbeing of their stakeholder communities.

Releasing the potential of an arts organisation means engaging the capability of its total creative community in the pursuit of its ambition for the future. Not just the organisational staff, but also the presenting artists and art workers, audiences, cultural communities, suppliers and funding partners that are an essential part of its stakeholder community. By engaging this community as a creative-collective the organisation not only expands its capacity to discover and deliver new ideas, it strengthens its community presence by acknowledging the potential of its people to be the co-creators of its future. 

The Congruence Framework provides an opportunity for arts organisations to think about how they structure their operating model. It seeks to provoke conversations about the key factors that can influence the development of a congruent stakeholder community – a collaborative community of purpose that cares about its people, enables and acknowledges their individual contribution, and seeks to make a positive difference to the society within which they live.

"Organisations that engage all of their stakeholder communities are connected to the full potential of their collective knowledge and capability." – The Congruence Framework

The Congruence Framework by Tony Chamberlain can be purchased via Amazon