Hey Changemakers,
I am so excited to keep this conversation series going here at Agents of Change, as it gives me an opportunity to bring in the insights and perspectives of some incredible thinkers doing the work of making change happen in museums and nonprofits.
And I want to extend my enormous thanks to those who have stepped up to become paid subscribers of the Agents of Change community — you are helping to support this work, grow this incredible change community, and help make positive change happen in organizations across the U.S. and beyond. I am so grateful for your support!
For today’s conversation, I am so excited to be joined again by Rebecca Shulman to talk about organizational culture in museums and research she is has been conducting with museum directors to help institutions work to improve workplace culture. Our previous conversation on this series revolved around the specific issue of workplace burnout, so I recommend you check out that episode, too.
Rebecca is a museum educator, evaluator, and strategic planner doing her work through Museum Questions Consulting. Rebecca has served as the Director of the Peoria Playhouse Children’s Museum, Head of Education at the Noguchi Museum, and Senior Manager in the Learning Through Art Program at the Guggenheim Museum, and she writes at Museum Questions, where, by the way, you can find more about all things “organizational culture” that we’ll be talking about today.
In this episode, the conversation revolves around understanding and transforming organizational culture, especially museums. Rebecca shares insights from her research on identifying solvable problems within museums and how addressing these issues can lead to meaningful change.
Our discussion highlights the importance of doing the work now to build a better future, with a focus on practical steps to improve internal culture and foster growth. The conversation also points listeners to resources, including Rebecca's research report to help you dive deeper into the findings and strategies discussed.
Key questions raised in the episode include:
What are the most pressing solvable problems within organizations today?
How can organizations effectively address these issues to shift their culture in a positive direction?
And why is it so important to focus on these changes now, rather than later?
Rebecca concludes our conversation by sharing more about her new Culture Shift professional development program that kicks off this fall.
Culture Shift is a dedicated, small group space for museum leaders who are committed to the real work of changing organizational culture. Over the course of eight 90-minute virtual sessions, the group will discuss both theory and practical tips for meaningful change. Each participant will be asked to conduct an internal assessment of their museum’s culture, and to design, implement, and evaluate strategies for shifting the needle and making lasting change.
You can find all the details about Culture Shift here at Museum Questions.
I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Rebecca for sharing her insights on organizational culture. Her research and practical approach to identifying solvable problems offer so much hope for positive transformation, not just in museums but in all types of organizations. I truly appreciate her time and expertise, and I know you will find this discussion as thought-provoking and inspiring as I did.
Thank you again, Rebecca—I look forward to continuing these important conversations in the future!
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