Transcript

[00:00:00] Aubrey Bergauer: Hi, everyone. Welcome to the final podcast episode of the year. As we wrap up the year and wrap up this series, I just really want to say a huge thank you as we get this episode going. You know, the end of the year always prompts reflection, and someone was asking me recently how my year was, and I said, well, 2024 was actually a really good year for me.

There were so many milestones this year. I had a book published. If you've listened to this podcast for just about any amount of time, you know that Run It Like a Business and I had big launches of my top programs, both the Run It Like a Business Academy and my Up Level Coaching Program. Membership in the Changing the Narrative community is now at an all time high since we launched the community membership two years ago now, just about two years ago.

And [00:01:00] that is why I want to say thank you. Thank you to you from the bottom of my heart. So many of you listening have been a part of those successes, participating in any of those things I just mentioned and or reading my book. And of course, listening here. So I am just really, really grateful. And I also want to say thank you to, and shout out the Changing the Narrative team.

We grew a lot this year. We are now a team of 10, which is really amazing to see. And it has just been a real joy and honor to work with this group of people who are doing so much to bring all of these programs and this content to you. And, of course, you better believe we are deep into planning for 2025.

There is so much we are going to be bringing you and rolling out in the new year that I cannot wait to share. But for today, there is definitely some good stuff to bring you right here, right now. So here we The third [00:02:00] and final part of this leadership training series called They Never Taught You That, how to grow your career in arts management.

And hopefully by now you know that when I say career, I am not talking about a job. I am talking about your leadership, the leadership skills needed in arts management that most of us were just simply never taught. Now, if you have not listened to parts one and part two of this series, this is part three right now.

If you've not listened to part one and part two, I said it last episode, I'll say it again. I highly, highly recommend that you just hit pause, go back and listen from the beginning because each part of this training builds on the one prior. So like I said, this is part three. If you've not listened to parts one and two, today is going to make a lot more sense only after you heard those other parts.

And one of the most valuable and singular perks of all three parts of this series, I have been hearing from so many of you on this, is the self reflection [00:03:00] and visioning that we've been doing every time, a different visioning exercise every single one of these sessions. And, um, As I've said before, if you are looking to grow your leadership skills, you've got to identify an end goal, and you have to be able to see and envision the leader that you are looking to become in your mind's eye.

This is true for any goal setting. You can't make a path to get there if you don't know where you're going. So true for goals, true for organizations, true for our leadership, true for our careers, like you name it. You got to have the end in mind before you can make the plan to get there. So to help you with that, all of the topics that we are covering throughout this whole series, including what we are going to be spending time on today, all of these topics are accompanied by a free workbook to go along with everything.

So if you haven't downloaded the workbook yet, go ahead and do that if you want to maximize this material for yourself. You can download it right now on my website. That is [00:04:00] www.aubreyauer.com/ 41. That's four one for episode 41. So get that right now if you haven't yet. And let me tell you why we made this workbook if that has not become clear yet.

Here's why. Because when you take the action to write something down, not just passively listen, like there is a difference in our brain. And when you take the action to write something down, it literally changes the neural pathways in your brain. I'm no neurologist. I've just read the research on this and this seemingly simple action actually signals to your brain, I am here to learn and grow and apply this material to my life.

Like some version of that is distinctively different in our brain. So thinking it is not enough. The science shows. So by taking these mini actions, download, write in some answers, articulate some thoughts with pen or paper or type to screen, your brain starts working in the background. That's really what the neuroscience behind this [00:05:00] is.

Your brain starts working in the background to help you apply the material. visioning stuff we're doing in this series, your brain starts calculating how to make it So if you can identify the destination, Our brains go to work on our behalf and the background on finding the way to get us there. That is why we made this workbook.

That is why we're just trying to offer it to you, just so that you have that. Like I said, if you want to maximize the material, make it work hard for you. That's why. So if that all feels helpful, or at least interesting, whether you are just tuning into this series now, or you've been listening all along, but haven't downloaded the book, The workbook yet?

Here it is one more time. It's www. aubreybergauer. com slash 41 for episode 41. And that free workbook, like I said, has everything there that we're covering in this series, including the stuff we're going to do today. So today, part three is twofold, just like last episode, kind of two parts here within this episode.

So [00:06:00] first we are going to go deeper into the seven research backed steps to growing your leadership and arts management. And I'm not just going to list them out in this episode, that's kind of what we've done in the prior ones, I instead today, what I'm doing is I'm going to give you real world examples of all seven of these real world examples from my own career that were pivotal into getting me to where I am now and to helping me realize So, why these skills are so important and why they matter.

So that's a big chunk of today's episode. And then the second part of today is that we're going to build on all that visioning. I keep talking about the destination, have the destination in mind to know where you're going. We. really culminate today in the exercise we're doing. So in part one, we did this vision casting exercise, envisioning where we want to be a year from now or so, you know, what does that look like?

What does it feel like? Who is there with us? And on and on. And then in part [00:07:00] two, I asked you, what parts of your vision are already manifesting in your life? Like what parts are already present, even if just a little glimmer or a little sparkle, even, And we also talked about our knowns, our unknowns, and defining your zone of excellence versus your zone of genius.

That one was just so huge for me when I figured that out years back. So now for part three, we are starting to talk about the conditions and behaviors to get us to that destination, to our point B, to our future self that we have been envisioning since part one. Plus, we are really going to look also. at what is limiting us, what is keeping us from getting to that point B as well.

I think this material, at least for me personally, has just been so strong, so impactful. So I am so excited to bring all this to you. Here we are, the last and final part of They Never Taught You That. Let's get into it. I'm Aubrey Bergauer and welcome to my [00:08:00] podcast. I'm known in the arts world for being customer centric, data obsessed, and for growing revenue.

The arts are my vehicle to make the change I want to see in this world, like creating places of belonging, pursuing gender and racial equality, developing high performing teams and leaders, and leveraging technology to elevate our work. I've been called the Steve Jobs of classical music and the Sheryl Sandberg of the symphony.

I've held off stage roles managing millions of dollars in revenue at major institutions. Been chief executive of an orchestra where we doubled the size of the audience and nearly quadrupled the donor base. And now I'm here to help you achieve that same kind of success. In this podcast, we are sorting through data and research inside and outside the arts.

Applying those findings to our work in arts management and bringing in some extra voices along the way, all to build the vibrant future we know is possible for our institutions and for ourselves as offstage administrators and leaders. You're listening to [00:09:00] The Offstage Mic.

Hi everyone, Aubrey Bergauer here. Before we dive into today's episode, I want to tell you about Annual Fun Toolkit. If you're a nonprofit looking to revolutionize your fundraising strategies, You need to know about Annual Fund Toolkit. They're not just another consulting firm. They're specialists in transforming annual funds through data driven donor engagement.

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I'm particularly excited about their work in the arts sector. They have helped organizations like Austin Chamber Music Center and Castle of Our Skins unlock their fundraising potential. And get this, you get one dedicated strategist to [00:10:00] help with all aspects of running your fundraising shop, from data to major gift coaching.

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Whereas many arts groups are stuck with old models that aren't working anymore, The organizations that utilize Lewis's advice and assistance are coming out ahead. If you are ready to take your fundraising to the next level, visit annualfuntoolkit. com. That's www. annualfuntoolkit. com. Trust me, your donors and your mission will thank you.

Now let's dive into today's episode.

Welcome [00:11:00] to part three of three of, they never taught you that. So my goal and objective over these three parts is to pour into you. I hope you have felt that to give you a lot of value to squeeze in as much as we can during our limited time together. And hopefully you have felt that so far. There's definitely more you.

Coming today. So we're going to hit that soon. So let's really dive in to part three of this training and bring it home. Here's what you need to know. Knowing the research is not enough. Applying the research back to your role in arts management is the best and fastest way to advance your career. It's applying the research back to your specific role, your specific scenario in arts management.

That is the best and fastest way to advance. To advance your career, you can't win a game if you don't know the rules. So how can you ever expect to [00:12:00] have massive significant career success without having the skills and tools that are statistically proven as necessary to do so? That's why we're here. So how do you learn the rules?

How do you learn and apply the research today? We're going to make a lot of this come together. So, all right. I said, I was going to share some more of my own story throughout this. So here we are. Everything I'm about to share is why I teach all of this now, or at least a big reason why I teach all of this now.

So really what it comes down to is that I have felt all of these pain points that we were talking about previously. I felt them all before. So, some stories for you. Back in 2007, 2008, I had a manager level position at a major institution. And back then, this really dates me, but I was trying to start social media channels.

Like, Now it seems so [00:13:00] obvious, but back then the company didn't have social media channels. And I was the kid in the office saying, no, we really need to, we need to start a Facebook channel. We need to start at the time, Twitter channel. We need to be doing these things. And it was like talking to a brick wall.

Aubrey, how are we going to control the message? Aubrey, how is this going to do anything to grow our audience? How is this going to help us reach and serve new people? And like I said, Looking back, it's kind of funny because now literally every arts organization has a social media channel of presence of some sort.

But okay, then fast forward another year or two, 2009 2010. Now I'm the one making a case to have a mobile website. So if you think back to 2009 2010, Uh, that was the age of like, the iPhone had been out for a couple years, but it was the age of, there's an app for that. You know, if you remember those commercials, there's an app for that, there's an app for that.

And everybody was like, we need an app. And I was like, we don't need an app until we at least have a mobile website that's functioning. And they did not want to hear it. Another couple years, fast forward, 2010, 2011, now I'm launching digital advertising. And it's just like [00:14:00] making the case for why this new medium is important was so difficult.

Why would we spend money on digital ads when we can buy a bus board? They literally said this, a bus board that tens of thousands of people will see, or a newspaper ad in the art section every week. And I had trouble, what I'm trying to say is I had trouble getting the green light. I watched them asking for quote unquote innovative ideas, like at all staff meetings and team meetings and all that sort of thing, and then having those ideas that I was bringing to the table shut down due to my, lack of experience.

Like somebody tell me if this resonates. And that is when I became obsessed with how to bring others along and get buy in for my ideas because I realized this is a skill, Aubrey, you have got to get better at. At that organization, I worked in the marketing department. Before that, I worked at a major institution in the fundraising department.

So next story here. Uh, at [00:15:00] both of those places, I regularly experienced the incredible silos of those two departments. I saw it from both sides, from the marketing side, from the fundraising side, and I also experienced bureaucracy. These are big institutions. I experienced hierarchy, and in both of those roles.

I planned a lot of events at both those organizations, and just like the number of steps to get a check request, or the number of steps involved just to get a contract for the venue signed because I was not allowed or empowered to do it myself, like, that is what I experienced. I also experience pretty regularly withholding of information.

In other words, using information as power, which only furthered the silos, right? And it was like, who knows what? And whoever has more information, has more power. Uh, it furthered turf wars, like, you know, marketing versus development. Who owns those names? Who's mailing to who? When? Who's communicating with which patrons?

When? Who decides what? Instead of, Collaboration among [00:16:00] our colleagues. So I felt disempowered. I felt demoralized. I feel like in those places I experienced passive aggressive conversations, sometimes just avoided conversations altogether. Things that weren't being said, left hands, I'm talking about the right hand, that sort of thing.

Rolling gritting their teeth, fake smiling just to get somebody off your back. Tell me if anybody like knows what I'm talking about. Sighing, maybe even crying. And along with like so many bad bosses and all of that made me start obsessing over company culture. And I started realizing, no, there's research around.

How do we make all of this better? All of that. Okay. Next story. My very first job out of college. Like I said, I'm at a major institution. I was in a coordinator role. So this was now 19 years ago. And just to share, to make the point, because it has to be said, my salary at that time, they offered [00:17:00] me 28, 000.

Not livable. Okay. And yet I accepted it because I figured that must be the going rate. They must be doing the best they can. I had a limiting belief. We're going to talk more about limiting beliefs later today. I had a limiting belief that we can't make money in the arts and I accepted it. And then I learned a little while later that a guy coworker with a similar title was making more.

And that is when I became obsessed over negotiations and why negotiations are so critically important. And I have never not negotiated a job offer. This is recoverable, by the way. So if this story is resonating, it is absolutely recoverable. Negotiating job offers, as we talked about in part two, is absolutely a skill you can learn.

And, uh, every job since that first one, I negotiated more. And by the time I became executive director, I negotiated the hell out of that offer. I'm proud to [00:18:00] say. And then again, when we started seeing major success at that organization, I really negotiated the hell out of that contract. So I say this to say, like, we can learn, we can grow all those things are possible.

And I became re obsessed all over again when I was an executive director and now at the collective bargaining. Table doing collective bargaining negotiations with the union and now that was a regular part of the job. So I learned, you know, we don't negotiate to win. We negotiate to get an 11 like we talked about last time so that the pie can get bigger for all of us and we all can start making more.

Along the way, next story, I was applying for different jobs as the career progressed, and I cannot tell you how many times I felt like I was hitting a ceiling. I felt like so many people put me in a box. Earlier in the career, you all tell me if you've experienced this, it was like, how can you go from a manager to director?

I remember thinking, like, if they only want to hire people who've been director before, or like, how can you even make the jump? What are the unwritten rules? Like, [00:19:00] what do I not know about this? And then I shared a little bit about this before, but then when I was executive director of a regional orchestra, recruiters would call me for big orchestra jobs, but then focus on my experience at the regional orchestra, despite most of my work history actually being at major Institutions.

So feeling like I was put in a box, it felt like I was maybe undervalued, certainly at times unable to grow professionally, like I was consistently on an island and like I wasn't living up to potential. I knew I had. That is when I became obsessed with standing out from the pack, learning how to differentiate myself in the marketplace.

They wanted to put me in a box and for a long time, I thought. The answer was to conform and try to check more of their boxes. And I now know that's not what the research says. We have to differentiate in order to stand out. And that actually is, uh, [00:20:00] more advantageous for us. So as the career progressed, I got better at a lot of these things we've covered, and I began managing others, supervising other people on my team.

2012 was when I first got a department head job, and I so badly did not want to repeat the mistakes of bad managers I had had. throughout the years before that. And at the time, it felt like we had a really lean team, but now I know newsflash, it's lean everywhere. It always feels lean. So no matter how big, how small the organization, it just feels lean, but okay.

Felt lean at the time for sure too. And all of that is when I became obsessed with developing high performing teams, developing high performing leaders, really started to ask the question, how do we go from being busy to being productive? And realizing there is absolutely a difference between those two.

How do we use technology and tools to help us be more efficient? It's not, oh, we have to wait until we have more [00:21:00] bandwidth to try to explore the technology. It's no, we use the technology so that we can be lean and efficient. And that really changed my thinking. And there's a whole bunch of other stuff to say.

I'm developing high quality, uh, high performing teams, high performing leaders, but that was the beginning of it. Then as I began to hire others on my team, That first department head job, uh, it was a festival. So we hired a lot of seasonal employees, which meant like our hiring cadence was, um, much more frequent than kind of a typical, uh, year round arts organization cycle.

And so had a lot of experience hiring very quickly is where I'm going with this. And I talked in part one, if you recall, about some bad advice I was given about how to hire people. And I saw myself. Not always being sure if I was making the right choice, really second guessing. As I shared in part one, I didn't always make the right choice, I now think.

And, um, I had also had that experience as a candidate, right? You've heard me say, you [00:22:00] know, um, I felt like I was hitting ceilings. There were times where I thought I was the right candidate and then wasn't getting the offer. So that is when I began to obsess over what the research says about job search, both as a candidate, what to do, what not to do, and definitely as an employer.

Fair and equitable hiring practices to hire the best people from the full spectrum of talent available, not homogenous people who look and sound like me and wow, I learned there is just stating the obvious maybe, but I learned there's just so much bias and bad practice that creeps in even for the most well intentioned people when we don't do what the research says on this topic.

And last, through it all, the more I understood about what the research said on how to generate revenue, earned revenue, contributed revenue, growing audiences, expanding the donor base, really, um, leveling up our business model, the better for my career. [00:23:00] And it's not just because a lot of those roles were fundraising and marketing and revenue generating.

So here's three examples of why it goes like kind of one step deeper than that early on. This is now kind of a comfortable circle moment. When I was trying to start those social media channels, develop the mobile website, start running digital ads. It was only when I was able to connect those strategies to revenue.

Here are the dollar projections, not this is good for growing audiences, or this will help us sell more tickets, but really started connecting it to the revenue we could generate, making the case got a little or a lot easier. Another little quick one during the financial crisis, 2009, 2010, like it hit the arts kind of a little later than 2008.

Uh, at least where I was based at the time and my organization that season went through three rounds of layoffs. Like every few months was like another round of layoff that season. And every department, literally every department in the organization was affected. And [00:24:00] my boss hated me. I'm pretty sure. And I, every time I was like, Aubrey, you're going to go, you're going to go, you're going to go, but I survived.

And. I realized it's because I had been, I think, because I had been connecting my job to revenue. It's like, Oh, right. She's like bringing in millions of dollars. Probably want to keep her around during a financial crisis. And I say that even because like the relationship with my boss was pretty tenuous and I've learned a lot about how to have better relationships since then.

Um, and then one more in 2020 lockdown. As we know, layoffs again, so many places around the country. Me and my team at the time, we doubled down on what was going to be revenue generating activities, audience engagement activities, not flailing in emergency fundraising campaigns. And we watched some other people in the organization get let go.

And we stayed and later left. on our own terms. So I'm not saying you have to have a role in marketing or development. Do not hear me say that. I say all the time, if you followed my work, that it takes all of us on stage, off stage, [00:25:00] every role, every department. It takes all of us to do what we do and produce the art we produce.

I am saying the more you are able to say, see how your specific role connects to that bottom line. The way more you become indispensable, promotable and desirable. Okay. I am obsessed now with all of this, if you can't tell. So we talked in part two about our zone of genius, our zone of excellence. If marketing is my zone of excellence, not my favorite, not the most fulfilling thing for me personally.

I would say applying the research to a given subject at hand definitely, for me, feels like the zone of genius, the thing that fires me up and fulfills me. So you put all this together, and there you have it, the seven research backed steps, topics, whatever you want to call it, to getting ahead in your career and advancing through this industry.

There is a lot about succeeding in a career in arts management that they didn't teach you. [00:26:00] They didn't teach me either. And over the last, now almost 20 years now, I've boiled it down to these seven areas, these bodies of research, buckets of research. So these are not necessarily progressive. As you can see, like my chronological story is a different order than I listed them in parts one and two, if you notice that.

So your story might also be a different order. The things that feel relevant to you now might be a different order. What interests you now might be different than what interests you next year or the year after that. And that's okay. Because all of this matters at some point in our career. So this is what I teach and why.

Okay, let's take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to get into that last culminating vision exercise that I talked about at the beginning. We're going to be bringing that future you've been ideating about since part one, fourth into the now by [00:27:00] one, recognizing what is limiting us and two, identifying the conditions and Get us to our destination, to our desired point B, to our future self.

All of that is coming up after this quick break. Stay tuned.

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So I hope now these concepts are starting to come together for you a little bit, at least why they matter is starting to come together for you a little bit. And today. The exercise we're going to [00:30:00] do is to help you see yourself applying all of this. So get out your workbook. If you, it's page 15, if you have it, if you don't have it, get out a sheet of paper, open a Word doc, a Google doc, like whatever, just make yourself ready to do that introspective thinking.

So, all right, who here has heard of There's a book called this, What Got You Here Won't Get You There. Marshall Goldsmith is the author. Has anybody heard of that book? If you haven't heard of that book that's okay, but the idea of what got you here won't get you there, the whole premise is that things that worked for us at one point in our careers At some point ceased to serve us, like as we continue to advance, as we continue to grow, Um, everything that was working or a lot of things that were working or serving us at one point, not so much anymore.

And in fact, it is often the case that this is a hard pill to swallow sometimes, but it's often the case that it's our own [00:31:00] behaviors are actually what's blocking us and holding us back. And I want to say, yes, there are absolutely outside factors. I just talked about seven different areas and bodies of research behind them.

Um, but that on its own is not enough, is what I've had to learn over the years. We've got to look inward too, because when we realize how we have the ability to unblock ourselves, Oh man, that busts everything wide open. Okay, I hope you get to experience a glimpse of this today. So here's what we're going to do.

If you have the workbook, you've got this grid there for you, like I said, if you just have a blank doc open, that's fine too. You can take notes, um, and do it along with us. So, uh, I want you to write down First of all, your current environment. Uh, I want you to write down just the snapshot of your role, your organization, kind of the state of the union, where you are at now.

[00:32:00] So that means your current salary, could be who's your boss, do you have direct reports, do you have peers in the org chart? Um, write all of that down right now, your current environment.

All right, now I want you to write down. Some current actions, current behaviors. What are you doing? Like what's the state of the union right now? What are you doing? Not like I'm XYZ title, XYZ role, but what do you do during the day? How are you spending your time? Are you spending an inordinate or disproportionate amount of time on certain things?

Are there certain things that maybe are zone of excellence, not genius? Are there things you're not able to spend time on that you wish you could? I'm gonna give you a moment, really, really [00:33:00] think about this, write it down. What are the current actions, current behaviors?

And now, talk about or write about your current skills. What are your current skills? This is definitely in the category of zone of excellence versus zone of genius. Starting to parse that out more. Here, elaborate as much as you can. So don't just say, I do marketing, but I create content if that's you. I write a blog each month.

These are answers for me. I record a podcast. Uh, I create project timelines. I spend time with my direct reports each week. What are the current skills that you are, that you have now, that you're using now? Don't evaluate them quite yet. You don't have to do that, but just kind of list them. What are you employing right now?

I'll give you a minute.

And now, what are your current beliefs? Okay, so let me talk about this real quick. [00:34:00] There's two, primarily two different types of beliefs that we might have. One is called an equivalent belief, so that's where for thinking things, this is related to your job, things like sales is blank, asking for money is blank, you know, fundraising is blank, right?

Like those kind of things, like whatever your opinion is, good or bad, around these types of things, that is an equivalent belief. I'll give you a few more examples in a second. The second type of belief is causality. If I do blank, then blank will happen. So, some examples for me, I ha I realize now I had a belief, I now know these are limiting beliefs, but my I had beliefs that were If I speak up and talk about the things I want to talk about in our industry, I will not get the orchestra or opera CEO job that I want.

That is a causality belief. If I speak up and talk about the things I care about in our industry, I will not get [00:35:00] a big CEO job. I now know that's a limiting belief. That is not de facto true. That is a causality belief. Another example, I had for a long time a belief that Creating content is not what CEOs do.

That is an equivalent belief. Sales is blank. Asking money is blank. Creating content is not what CEOs do. I now know those were limiting beliefs. So take a moment. For me, this one was very hard. So let me give you some time. Take a moment. Okay. And now think about your current identity. If you had to define it or describe it.

This is both Objective. I am a woman. I am a partner. I, for some of you maybe it's you're a mom or you're a dad or for me it's I want to be a dog mom but if you already are a cat mom or dog mom or whoever like so some of our identity is very objective and some of it is subjective. I am, I just [00:36:00] saw somebody said in the chat, I am not good enough, or I want to say none of this isn't enough.

I, uh, I am not worth their time. I have felt that one before. So here's another one, uh, wearing my heart on my sleeve a little bit here, but I realized the identity I had at one point was that I am not able to build a seven figure business on my own. I thought that that was my identity. If you've heard me, there was a whole podcast at the school where I'm like, I thought I was going to be a solopreneur forever.

That was my current identity at the time. And I thought I need a major orchestra CEO job to prove to the industry that I can do it, that I can be a big time CEO. I thought I need a major orchestra job to make the money I want to make. Okay. So what are these things that are your current identity, true or false?

These are subjective thoughts that we have about ourselves. So nobody's going to make you share this back out. This is [00:37:00] only for you. But articulating it, like right now in this moment, putting some words out into the ether pen to paper is the most powerful thing you are going to do all week.

Yeah, Aaron says could, could be true, could be false. Doesn't mean you're not thinking it just because it could be false. Yeah, I think that's why this work is so hard. All right, and now give this current identity, whatever it is, give it a name. When I first did this exercise and some of these things I shared with you, I named the old identity contained Aubrey.

So whatever you want to put is totally fine, no wrong answers, but just give that current identity, give it a name, call it something. Nobody's going to make you share it unless you want to, but write something down. All right, hopefully you've got at least some thoughts on paper now. We get to do this all in reverse now.

So now what I want you to do [00:38:00] is think of the new identity, what that point B is. Give your new identity a name. So this is that future vision. We talked last time, the stuff that makes us smile, the stuff that like already, like if you can see me, I'm like, yeah, I'm Jazz, let's do this. Like, what's the new identity?

What's the name? Go back to that, you know, think back to that vision from part one. I'll say it again. Think about, like I said, the parts that make you smile. Um, what would you name that person? That's another kind of like reframing. What would you name that future person? So get creative, have fun here.

Definitely you should be smiling as you write this one down. So like, I feel like a few years ago, like boss babe would have been really popular. Maybe for you it's like financially independent. Um, But totally feel free to get more creative than I am right now. Um, one person who did this, their before name was nervous and chaotic, and their new identity was cool, calm, and collected.

So truly, no wrong answers, you just want to like feel so, so good as you're writing it down. Okay, hopefully you've got something. Working backwards [00:39:00] now. Same chart. Reverse order. So now what you need to do is describe your new identity as insert new name. For me, that new identity was CEO hitting a million dollars in revenue.

On my terms in my business, not anybody else's business. This identity, this new outcome must be, here's the criteria, must be like a very natural extension of who you are in the world. Like it's just who I am. That's just who I want to be. Describe it, write it down. Describe this new identity. For me, that new identity description meant, okay, here we go.

Here's the learning for me. It meant I had to be detached from the business, actually. In other words, like I realized in doing this exercise, Aubrey, you have got to let control and you are not going to get there by being a solopreneur. You've got to think, you've got to hire others. You've got to bring others on.

You don't get to a million dollars in revenue without a team. Like, hello! And, uh, certainly not in the type of [00:40:00] business I'm building now, at least I can say that much. Like, running a business is a team sport. Like, for me, that became the new identity. So, I will just say, if you are currently an executive director or aspiring executive director, this is probably true for you too.

I just say this because it doesn't have to be your new identity, but I'm just sharing that this idea of letting go of control Ooh, baby. I hear this from so many people in our field, uh, in so many different roles, uh, particularly the senior leadership roles, but it could be any role, I suppose. And this is absolutely in the category of letting go of control, is absolutely in the category of what got you here, won't get you there.

When we're earlier in our careers, kind of the more hands on we are, tends to be the better. I'm speaking in broad strokes here, but anyways, I'll give you a moment. How does this new identity show up in the world for you? What's the vibe? That's another way to frame it. So just take a moment on that.[00:41:00] 

So, okay, what are your new beliefs now? What are the new beliefs that this identity holds? If you have to, sometimes I talked about detachment just a moment ago. Sometimes you have to detach. Like what would that new person believe? What would that new person think? Um, for me, It meant, Aubrey, I have to believe that there are others capable of understanding me and my brand.

My business is so intertwined with my personal brand. I have to believe that there are other people capable of understanding me and my brand so much that they can do this work. Another example was, uh, here we go. I believe I am worth that much by my own doing. You guys, okay, here we are. Not only I'm not only worth that much when I go and save somebody else's organization.

I'm worth that much when I build mine. Like for me, that was a huge new belief. Oh my God. The day Aubrey cried in her [00:42:00] training session. Okay. Uh,

I thought for so long that the only way I could run a multi million dollar business was by running an arts organization. And then I realized that belief is holding me back for all And the new belief is I can definitely build my own business to bring in that much revenue. And that changed the game for me.

So what are those new beliefs? Write them down.

Okay, new skills, guys. What are the new skills that you need, that you are not going to avoid in order to be successful, in order to make all of this happen? So examples, um, continuing my own journey here. I knew as I was then going through this exercise in this process, I knew I needed something about content creation to be better or more [00:43:00] efficient or more joyful.

Um, hopefully now you're kind of seeing the threads of my story here, but, um, I've been creating content for 10 years now and I realized in doing this that I like the strategy very much. I'm a huge believer in content as a strategy, but I actually don't like creating the content. Okay. So there you go. Uh, so I realized if running my business as a team sport, the skill of content creation must follow also as a team sport.

So for anybody who's noticed, Like my Instagram content way better over the last year and a half about because that's when somebody started helping. That's when somebody joined the team. Have you noticed, I know you have noticed because I've heard this from people, season four of the podcast is so much better.

That's because all of these things are because I've developed a process now with others or we're working on it, building it. Now, as I've specifically brought people on the team to be excellent content creators and do the lift that I don't want to do, that's not in my [00:44:00] zone of genius. Read the reel, script the episode, so I get to show up the way I want to show up and deliver when it's time to deliver.

I, so that's a skill I had to, I had to learn. I had to write down for this part of the exercise. I also realized, Aubrey, you've got to have a skill of not self censoring so much. Not in a way that I don't have an internal filter, but in a way that's more authentic and definitely less worried about what others think about me.

And like even sharing all this right now, hopefully you can tell it is a lot more vulnerable and a lot less self censoring than is kind of the status quo for me. And so that's a choice to show up that way and to really try to build that skill, build those muscles.

So, okay, hopefully I've vamped enough on this one that you have your answers to new actions and new behaviors [00:45:00] with your new identity. What does this look like for you? What are your new actions you're going to be taking? Your new behaviors you're going to be exhibiting. So my example is, I. Have people now who can fill a lot of the functions needed in the business.

Functions like design work, executing the launches connected to our financial goals, website building, the design, uh, setting the promotional calendar program development is not now solely in my hands, leading the charge to refresh our content, develop programmatic content, serve the people who are, uh, clients and people I'm working with.

It's like. Now when I look at old Aubrey, I'm like, Aubrey, old Aubrey, you used to try to do that all by yourself. They're all like, why? You know, so new behaviors, new actions. Uh, my new behavior is I'm not the one doing all of that stuff. I am overseeing, I am leading, I am affirming and guiding the work of the team.[00:46:00] 

So if the first three and a half years of this business was just contained Aubrey solopreneur, last one and a half years been focused on really changing those behaviors and actions. Uh, in other words, spending the time, this is another one for so many of us, spending the time on the higher level things that need my attention, like actually require my attention as CEO.

So chief executives who are here in this training, like some version of that is probably true for you too. Like I T I talked to so many. Senior leaders and chief executives who like, they're like, I just get pulled into the weeds and it's like we have to choose new actions and behaviors that say no.

We've got, there's certain things that only the chief executive can do and we've got to, we've got to build the skills and create the actions and behaviors that keep us at that place we need to be in order to do our job well.

And last. What is your new environment? [00:47:00] This is where you get to hopefully now the vision that you had starts to really match this one here. For me, it's, I am more of at least a step toward more of a media brand. I have a more robust website. I now can say I have a podcast that's an industry leader by number of listens and downloads.

I have a social media following that is untouchable by just about any other arts administrator. And like, that is so scary to me when I say those things, but also like, So crazy and empowering at the same time. I hope that hits for somebody. Um, and more important though is that those channels are being used to build the business.

It's part of the strategy and all these things working together. It's moving people toward more levels of engagement, getting people into trainings like this one. Really, ultimately, here we go. All of this is the pipeline for the business growth and to change the narrative for this industry. And now suddenly I feel like, yeah, Aubrey, you were hitting the bullseye of what is purposeful for you.

[00:48:00] So, okay. That was the new environment I had envisioned. That was CEO Aubrey, not contained Aubrey. Contained Aubrey just hoped. Hoped the industry and the people in it. would notice. Notice me, notice my work, notice what I was trying to do. And when I say those two things in the same breath, like the before and after, like, uh, just the emotional reaction and connection to old me versus new me, it like, it really feels like night and day.

So I hope that is true for you too, uh, right now in this moment.

As we're wrapping up here, I just, I hope the comparison is so stark. Not so stark as in unattainable, but stark as in you see how now what got you there or what got you here won't get you there. So okay, how's the new identity, whatever you're calling, how's it feeling? Because wow, does it look so damn good on you, [00:49:00] okay?

All right, so as we're coming to the end of this exercise, here's the bonus if you want. This you can do on your own time, but if you want, put the two charts side by side. Like if you really want to, there you really start to see the comparison very starkly that way. So if you want that just to, you know, see it with, uh, not just your mind's eye, but your actual eyes, um, Then you can do that.

All right, take the time you need on all of this. So what we spent our time on just now, probably not enough time to be honest, but definitely like gets the gears turning, gets the juices flowing. And the reason you need more time is because this is just so important to unblocking yourself and achieving what you want in your career.

All right, let's get into two big takeaways I want you to come away with from this training. The first is, I hope you feel this right now, so big, you are driving the bus of your career. Nobody else, no matter what people say, it's all you. [00:50:00] And I used to think, if I just kept my head down and did good work, that people would, See that, that I would be seen, that I would be recognized, or especially earlier in my career, I thought people with more years of experience or people with more knowledge than me would train me on the things I needed to know to be successful.

But the sooner you learn, and I mean like truly understand, truly internalize, that you are driving that bus of your career and nobody else, nobody's going to drive it for you. That is for sure. The sooner you start to take the actions, See previous chart. The actions you need to take to carve your path to success.

The sooner that chart, the side of the chart, that's new identity is going to like really start to take shape for you. In other words, the sooner you're going to feel empowered, empowered to navigate the system in which we operate. I want that as an outcome for all of you so bad. I want you to be able to show up like that every day with that kind of [00:51:00] intention, that kind of confidence, that kind of new you side of the chart.

Every day in every meeting, every post online, every interaction you have with others, you are the one driving this bus. Takeaway number two is that applying the research back to your specific role in arts management. is the best and fastest. In other words, the most effective way to drive that bus. That's how these two things go together.

So I'm not sure why you showed up today. Maybe you have been frustrated or maybe, maybe You've heard the buzz and you've heard the excitement around how others are overcoming these very barriers we keep talking about. Others are overcoming these obstacles and having success in their careers in arts and culture.

And maybe you wanted to see how you could make this work for you. And you have started to see the glimpse of that, gotten the taste of that. Or [00:52:00] maybe you were bored and just curious, wanted to come hang out for a few days, whatever your reason for being here is. The takeaway is that research backed leadership delivers.

It delivers. I will, I've said it before, I will say it again. Leadership is not a title. Leadership is not a role in the org chart. It's not a number of years experience. Research, and particularly knowing and applying the research to where you're at right now can transform your entire career and entire life, even.

And I believe that if you've been in this training up to this point, you absolutely have what it takes to excel with a fantastic and successful career in arts management. And this is something that you can get started with right now?

Yes. You can start right now. And as a matter of fact, you've already started, whether you know it or [00:53:00] not, by making your way through these bonus episodes, by doing the visioning, the planning, and maybe you're hopefully sitting down and writing even. You have already started growing towards those goals you have for yourself.

So basically what I'm trying to say is you rock. All the kudos, Godspeed, pat yourself on the back. Like I said, all the things like you did it. And seriously, as we close this out, I want to say that I hope this training has been just So helpful to you, actionable, so powerful, impactful, and more than anything, just giving you some really solid takeaways and breakthroughs that you can apply to your work right away.

So I just want to end by thanking you. Sincerely for showing up for this training, but also for showing up for yourself. That is the best gift any time of the year, if you ask me. So as we wrap up, they never taught you that. And really as we wrap up 2024 as well, [00:54:00] this is the end. But as I mentioned earlier, there is a lot more to come in the new year.

Happy holidays, everybody. I'll talk to you then. That's all for today, folks. Thanks so much for listening. If you like what you heard here, hit that button to follow and subscribe to this podcast. And if you've learned something or gotten value from this, please take two seconds to leave a quick one tap rating or review and return.

To all of you, one more time, thanks again, see you next time on The Offstage Mic. The Offstage Mic is produced by me, Aubrey Bergauer, and Erin Allen. The show is edited by Novo Music, an audio production company of all women audio engineers and musicians. Our theme music is by Alex Broll. Additional podcast support this season comes from Jeremy Cuebas, Kelle Stedman, other members of the Changing the Narrative team, and social media brand management by Classical Content.

This is a production of Changing the Narrative.[00:55:00] 

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