Arts and cultural organizations are led by managers who partner with the artistic and curatorial professionals at the top of the organization to ensure artistic and organizational development. It is a rich relationship that can be very productive but also fraught with challenges. Knowing how that relationship works is essential for leading these organizations and ensuring effective strategic decision-making.
I have studied and performed in this balancing act for many years, and it is a passionate topic of research. As a new field of study, this portrait of how arts and cultural leadership works is under-researched.
Publications
Fjellvær, Hilde & Wendy Reid (2025). Practices at the Nexus of Logics When Boards and Co-leaders Undertake Governance Work, in The Routledge Companion to Governance in the Arts World, co-edited by Ruth Rentschler, Wendy Reid & Chiara Carolina Donelli.
Co-leadership in arts and culture: Sharing values and vision with Hilde Fjellvær (2023). Peer evaluated as part of Routledge Research in Creative and Cultural Industries Management, edited by Ruth Rentschler.
Gibeau, Émilie, Wendy Reid & Ann Langley (2017). Co-leadership: Contexts, Configurations and Conditions, in: The Routledge Companion to Leadership, edited by John Storey, Jean Hartley, Jean-Louis Denis, Paul ‘T Hart, Dave Ulrich, p. 225-240.
Reid, Wendy & Rekha Karambayya (2016). ‘’The shadow of history: Situated dynamics of trust in dual executive leadership’’, Leadership (Sage) 12(5) 609-631. 10.1177/1742715015579931
Reid, Wendy & Claudine Auger (2015). ‘’L’exploration du leadership bicéphale dans les entreprises culturelles’’, Gestion 39(4) 122-130.
Reid, Wendy & Rekha Karambayya (2009). “Impact of dual executive leadership in creative organizations”, Human Relations 62(7) 1073-1112.
Reid, Wendy (2013). Dual executive leadership: A case study and discussion of Théâtre Denise-Pelletier in Montréal, Canada in Leadership in the Arts: Study Cases, edited by Jo Caust, Tilde University Press.
Reid, Wendy (2013) Artists and Managers as Executive Leaders of Arts Organizations in Kultur und Management: Eine Annäherung, edited by Raphaela Henze. Weisbaden: Springer VS.
Rémi Brousseau et Pierre Rousseau : Le Théâtre Denise-Pelletier (case written with Raymonde Gazaille) (2009), 16 pages with pedagogical notes (written with Simon Thibodeau). Catalogue, Centre de cas, HEC Montréal.
Reviews of co-leadership book with Hilde Fjellvær (Routledge)
Ali FitzGibbon (2024). Co-Leadership in the Arts and Culture: Sharing Values and Vision, The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, DOI: 10.1080/10632921.2024.2329102
Ruth Rentschler & Caitlin Halmarick (Fall, 2023). Co-Leadership in the Arts and Culture: Sharing Values and Vision, International Journal of Arts Management.
Presentations
Interview and presentation about co-leadership for the University of New Brunswick Program in Contemporary Management of Arts and Culture (facilitator and teacher: Victoria Steele), Autumn, 2023.
Book launch ‘Co-leadership in Arts and Culture: Sharing Vision and Values’. Presentation by co-author Wendy Reid and Panel, led by David Lavoie, DG, Festival TransAmérique, May 1, 2023. Video available – in French.
‘’Le leadership bicéphale ‘’, for the Tribune d’échange sur le partenariat médico-administratif de l’Association québécoise d’établissements de santé et de services sociaux (AQESSS), March 2012.
“Ménage à trois : Le DA, DG et le conseil d’administration” for Orchestras Canada, May 2012;
“Ménage à trois : Le DA, DG et le conseil d’administration” – CURA February 2011;
‘’Le Monstre à deux têtes’’ – CURA September 2007.
‘’The Politics of Building Relationships: Lessons for Success in Dual Leadership Organizations’’, presentation at the Conference of the Association of Arts Administration Educators, Toronto, April 2006.