The recent turbulent times in the arts and cultural field have raised the focus on well-being, coping mechanisms with stress and a growing need for impactful and resilient leaders (Kiitsak-Prikk, 2022). The arts and cultural field have faced numerous crises and the stress from rapid changes is constant (Johansson, Jyrämä, Kiitsak-Prikk 2022). There are numerous studies (e.g. KEA & PPMI 2019, OECD 2021; Betzler et al. 2021; IDEA Consult 2021) trying to identify the factors why some arts organisations cope well in crisis and also manage to maintain the well-being of employees. We assume that leaders who manage their own well-being and have good self-care routines are more resilient and most probably also taken as role models for their team members. However, the role and influence of the coping strategies of the individual leaders in the context of organisations seem to be somewhat blurred. Despite the commonly spread belief that organisations tend to “look like their leaders” in the arts field more than in any other field, we lack understanding of the relationship between individual coping strategies and the well-being of arts organisations as a whole entity of its own.

The paper aims to analyse both the individual leaders and organizational coping strategies in critical times in the context of cultural organizations. We wish to understand if and how the well-being and self-care strategies of managers in arts and cultural organisations influence the well-being of their organisations as a whole. We focus on the symptoms of harmed or collapsing wellbeing; and how these manifest at both individual and organisational levels. In addition, our goal is to detect these coping strategies that are transferred from the leaders to the cultural organisations and figure out some possible managerial strategies leaders use to support their well-being as well as their organisations. It is important to outline the distinction between the well-being of individuals related to the workplace and the well-being (or health) of an organisation, in compliance with existing management theories. To understand a wider perspective, the following concepts related to organizational well-being shall be used for interpreting the outcomes: flow, fika and hygge. Fika refers to taking a break, for instance as a daily routine of finding a peaceful moment during a busy day in the office. While Hygge focuses on relaxed and informal being (either together or alone) Flow is all about experiencing energised focus. All mentioned conditions have proven to have a positive effect on individual well-being (e.g. Illies et al. 2017). Less evidence has been found on their impact in the cultural organizational context and if and how regular practising of them affects mental well-being.


To go beyond the common knowledge of a leader as a role model, we wish to build on a framework of key categories of organisational health such as culture, talent, structure and execution which are reflected on the individual leader level as values and mindset; talent and skills; coping strategies as structure, and habits as execution. From the numerous frameworks for evaluating the health of an organisation and factors which form the well-being of an individual, we believe the framework (inspired by Gagnon, John and Deunissen 2017 and Ali et al. 2017 and Ali 2022) enables us to draw parallels of the individual wellbeing to the context of an organisation as an organism. The core factors of growth, sustainability and adaptiveness are the centre of our analysis as these are transferable from an individual level to an organisational. At the same time, the paper recognises that the way these factors manifest in both levels are different; and the strategies to manage them to cope with crisis are of different scopes. Empirical data shall be collected as focus group interviews with employees from Estonian cultural organizations that have survived major crises recently; and in-depth interviews with their leaders.


The paper contributes to understanding the relationship between the well-being of a leader and the arts organisation. Moreover, the analysis enables to review and addition to the competencies, beliefs and leadership style needed to manage the organisation and maintain their resilience in turbulent times. The paper contributes to the management theories of organizational health and cultural leadership. We also deepen the understanding of concepts of health and well-being of organisations, specifically focusing their meaning in the context of arts and cultural organisations. This discussion provides insights into the relationships between:

- individual well-being (their strategies for maintaining professional and personal growth; stability/sustainability/balance and adaptiveness/ resilience) and

- organisational health and wellbeing (factors of organisational growth, sustainability and adaptiveness).


References

Ali, Z., Sun, H. and Ali, M., 2017. The impact of managerial and adaptive capabilities to stimulate organizational innovation in SMEs: a complementary PLS–SEM approach. Sustainability, 9(12), p.2157.

Ali, Z. 2022. A Framework for Measuring Your Organization’s Health. LinkedIn. Availble at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/framework-measuring-your-organizations-health-zulfiquar-ali/

Betzler, D., Loots, E., Prokůpek, M., Marques, L., & Grafenauer, P. (2021). COVID-19 and the arts and cultural sectors: Investigating countries’ contextual factors and early policy measures. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 27(6), 796–814, DOI: 10.1080/10286632.2020.1842383

Gagnon, C., John, E. and Theunissen, R., 2017. Organizational health: A fast track to performance improvement. McKinsey Quarterly, 7.

IDEA Consult, Goethe-Institut, Amann, S., & Heinsius, J. (2021). Research for CULT Committee – Cultural and creative sectors in post-Covid-19 Europe: Crisis effects and policy recommendations. European Parliament, Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies, Brussels. Available at:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=IPOL_STU(2021)652242

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Johansson, T., Jyrämä, A. and Kiitsak-Prikk, K., 2022. Managing Cultural Joint Ventures: An Identity-image View. Taylor & Francis.

Kiitsak-Prikk, K., 2022. Supporting cultural managers facing the future. In Jyrämä, A., Kiitsak-Prikk, K. (eds). Managing the Arts. Vol.4. pp. 161-182. EAMT Publishing, Tallinn. Available at: https://eamt.ee/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/kultuurikorraldus_04_eng_veeb.pdf

KEA & PPMI. (2019). Research for CULT Committee – Culture and creative sectors in the European Union - Key future developments, challenges and opportunities. European Parliament, Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies, Brussels. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2019/629203/IPOL_STU(2019)629203_EN.pdf

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