Yahoo Movies Lessons in Leadership from Bettina Korek, Chief Executive of the Serpentine
Bettina Korek, an arts advocate, leader, writer and founder, is the chief executive of the Serpentine. Formerly the executive directer of Freize Los Angeles, she took the reins of the gallery in March 2020 - right before the start of the pandemic.
Korek was immediately forced to put her leadership qualities to the test, but she has a strong community behind her. She is a member of YPO: a global leadership community of more than 30,000 chief executives in 142 countries who are connected by the shared belief that the world needs better leaders. Here, she leans on that spirit of expert leadership and shares her top tips for leading in a crisis and beyond...
The three most important qualities for a good leader are…
"I think being unflappable. We depend on our leaders to keep a level head, especially in these times of crisis. This year has been a profound testament to this.
Empathy — Without empathy, how can we begin to understand our colleagues’ experiences? This has become a pivotal leadership quality since the pandemic began, and even more so since the Black Lives Matter movement—the crises of Covid and racism affect everyone differently. But openness, warmth, and emotional generosity have always been traits I’ve appreciated in good leaders.
Finally, it is respect — this is essential for leaders not only to treat people with respect, but to respect everyone’s individual wisdom and abilities as well. This goes for staff, collaborators, and audiences. Serpentine is committed to amplifying the work of artists engaging the urgent issues of today. This often involves making ideas more accessible for a broader public, but it’s so important to remember that people can tolerate being challenged—people love to be challenged and can grow from it."
My personal strength as a leader is…
"I truly enjoy being part of a team, and setting other people up for success. At Serpentine I work closely with Hans Ulrich Obrist, a world renowned collaborator who consistently empowers the people around him."
The biggest priority for my business right now is…
"Creating an inclusive environment for our team and for our visitors. The museum closures during lockdown have been challenging but we have maintained a connection to visitors online with digital commissions, virtual events and tours, and through online outreach and workshops via our civic and education programmes. As we begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel, we are preparing to welcome visitors in person again and have made structural changes to better enable us to build bridges with audiences. Empathy and inclusion need to be reflected inwardly as well as outwardly, and this bizarre year in a sense has given us the space to bring our ideals for this into better alignment."
The economic outlook may be uncertain, but I’m mitigating risk by…
"Slowing down our programme to provide visitors with ample time to experience the exhibitions. This has also meant creating more digital programmes, public programmes and content initiatives around the art we present. We have learnt lessons from Covid and continue to deepen our engagement with audiences and commitment to slow programming, rather than to race ahead producing at an unsustainable pace."
I keep my team motivated by…
"Reminding everyone what we are all most passionate about: supporting artists and audiences. We keep working so artists can, and artists are the members of society with the brightest, boldest visions of the future. We all need something to look forward to and to believe in nowadays!"
The hardest decision I’ve had to make as a leader was…
"It was actually one of the first decisions I had to make at Serpentine: when to close the museum in anticipation of the first UK national lockdown in March 2020. I had only been in London for 10 days when we shut our doors. We had to balance the needs and safety of our staff, artists and audiences, while also assessing when other museums were making the decision to close."
An effective leader will always…
"It has been said many times because it’s true: an effective leader will always listen. A report structure can do more than direct productivity; it should also be a system for sharing experiences and understandings. It’s a leader’s privilege to make what is going on at every level of their organisation their business. This responsibility goes beyond a willingness to listen—leaders with a holistic sense of who and how their organisations are will go the extra mile and create infrastructures for open, ongoing dialogue."
An effective leader will never…
"Be afraid of hiring people who are smarter than them. There are so many types of expertise and intelligence in this world. It’s a leader’s job to curate and conduct these for the good of their organisation. If you feel like you’re surrounded by people who know more than you, then you are probably doing something right. They didn’t come together by accident."
My role model for leadership is
"Any artist who takes on a leadership position in addition to making work. One artist who especially inspires me in this way is the sculptor Karon Davis in Los Angeles. In addition to an international career as an exhibitor, she also co-founded The Underground Museum on Washington Boulevard with her late husband, the painter Noah Davis. The Underground Museum not only consistently presents some of the city’s most dynamic public programs and ingenious exhibitions (several of which were planned by Noah prior to his passing), but its energy as a neighbourhood hub is phenomenal. The organisation is fulfilling an important need as a world-class institution presenting primarily Black artists in a historically Black neighbourhood, and as any museum knows, there is so much more work to do than simply opening one’s doors. Karon’s spirit of leadership is warm, sensitive, friendly and welcoming—these are qualities that I aspire to, and which run through to the entire team at the Underground, led by former director Megan Steinman. I believe that this ethos plays an important role in the museum’s success. It’s such a balancing act to run a space both as a business (whether for profit or non-profit) and as a creative project; artists who are able to bifurcate their talents this way—dedicating their heart and soul as well as their strategic acumen and vision—really create something special for the world."
The one piece of advice I’d give to a new leader is…
"Find a peer group that you can trust. Whether it’s an international organisation like YPO, or something as informal as a group text with colleagues from other companies, it’s important to constantly be learning from other people’s experiences and to have a venue where you can share your own."
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