What's in a name?

Job titles are tricky things. In one museum you are called Manager - but in another, the same job and pay is a coordinator. Do titles matter? Its very easy to say "No, my job is my job, regardless of title." And to a certain point, that is true. But titles do matter to us.

For example, I'll freely admit that during my recent job search, I was hesitant to move backwards from department director to manager. Of course this was mostly because of pay scale, but there was some ego involved too. Not ashamed to admit that!

But what I wanted to talk about today, is the title by which we refer to our museum leaders. In the past, a museum Director was the top dog. If you ran a museum, you were a Director. Conversely, if your title was Director, you had to be in charge of it all. There were not many Directors of XYZ. Now, there are still quite a few Museum Directors, as well as Presidents. And a huge increase, at least in the past 20 years, of CEOs.

From the Oxford Dictionary (online) -

Director - a person who is in charge of an activity, department, or organization

President - the head of a society, council, or other organization:
head of a college or university. the head of a company.

CEO - No definition given. Abbreviation for Chief Executive Officer.

So we go to Investopedia (yep, that's a real place) -

Definition of 'Chief Executive Officer - CEO'

The highest ranking executive in a company whose main responsibilities include developing and implementing high-level strategies, making major corporate decisions, managing the overall operations and resources of a company, and acting as the main point of communication between the board of directors and the corporate operations. The CEO will often have a position on the board, and in some cases is even the chair.

On the surface, these all seem fairly similar, but my experience is a little different. I've worked for 3 museums. 2 President/CEOs and one Director (who actually reports to a President). Here are my observations, for better or worse.

As museums become increasingly driven to earn revenue and run a successful business, it is vital that those in leadership have a good business sense. I agree with this belief 100%. I've met museum leaders who were experts in their field, but when it came to business sense they were sorely lacking. Those museums can still survive if the leader is a strong fund-raiser, but they cannot rely on earned revenue increases to support the institution. Because of this need for a revenue-based mentality, there has been an increase in the number of Title/CEO's in the business. And not just in large museums, but even in new/emerging or small museums, the title of CEO is becoming the norm. Likely boards see this title as a way to communicate to the public that this museum is a business entity, despite its non-profit status.

The following is based PURELY on my own experiences with both Directors/Presidents and CEOs that I've known from museums.

Directors/Presidents
* Generally have strong content knowledge in the field - often come "from within the ranks" moving from lead curator to museum director
* Generally have a more scholarly and diplomatic approach to management
* Often seek advice on business from other staff
* Often seek help from consultants
* May or may not have strong business sense
* Often are business minded - but may not know how to "do it"
* May preference research and collections over revenue
* Serve the board
* Generally use structures that allow some autonomy in work - let people make decisions, but expect to be informed
* Generate big ideas, but are often more trusting in how those ideas manifest in reality

CEOs
* Strong business leaders
* Often preference increases in revenue or reputation over collections/research
* May have a strong content in field (hopefully) but often also have business experience
* Often recruited in national search
* Have a more hierarchical approach to management
* Will seek advice, but generally have a good idea of how they want things to go
* Use consultants for major projects
* Generally use highly structured hierarchy in organization, but may be effectively flat in practice. Like to know everything and have a hand in it all.
* Generate big ideas and very clear on the details
* Manage the board

Again, this is from my personal experience. I've met some CEOs who are exceptional at letting their staff do their jobs. Likewise, I've met some Directors who micromanage a museum into the ground. But there IS something behind your title, and the authority you feel you have over the institution. For most of us, a president is a leader who is strong, but doesn't have free reign. A Director is there to push ideas, but may serve another. And a CEO is there to make the company fiscally strong, and is rewarded for it.

What are your thoughts? Am I just still in honeymoon phase with my current Director? Am I still suffering PSTD from CEOs? (Answer: yes to both, likely) If the trend in museums is towards CEOs, what does that say for where we are going as a profession?