Roy Clare, chief executive of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
Previous role: rear-admiral in the Royal Navy
Roy Clare is better placed than most to describe the very positive impact an influx of new thinking can have. Following a 30-year naval career that included stints of strategic planning at the Ministry of Defence and Nato headquarters, Clare's appointment as the director of the National Maritime Museum eight years ago raised eyebrows.
"I wasn't a complete ingenu," he says. "The transition from one environment to another is eased by the thought that the landscape features human beings. The judgments you take about how to energise them is what we call leadership.
"On an aircraft carrier you have 1,200 people and notable professionals like, for example, the helicopter maintainer, a skilful person who keeps the aircraft flying safely. It's the same on a smaller scale in a museum. A paintings conservator has similar levels of skill.
"You don't say to either 'I want that done quickly.' They tell you what's feasible."
Clare is keen to see the cultural sector get to grips fully with "capacity building" - encouraging people to do more and take on extra responsibilities with decreasing resources - just as he did in the navy.
"It's about professional development, identifying management potential, finding out what's holding someone back and changing it," says Clare.
Clare also had to navigate stormy waters of resentment when he was first appointed.
"I was asked at a seminar what the sector reaction was and I said it was probably shock and dismay. Chris Smith, who was chairing the session, said, 'I was secretary of state at the time and I agree.' He's been very sweet and supportive since, of course."
Andrea Hadley-Johnson, exhibitions officer at Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Previous role: head of visuals at Habitat UK
As head of visuals at retail furniture chain Habitat UK, Andrea Hadley-Johnson was responsible for the look of the firm's stores across the country.
But after a decade with the company, she longed to use the skills she had learned in a "more meaningful, less commercial" setting and to concentrate on her own self-improvement after years of coaching other people. So she undertook a museums and heritage course. "I was particularly interested in the parallels with my previous job - communicating to an audience and visually inspiring people to engage and revisit," she says.
But the culture shock came with her first new appointment where, after taking a significant pay cut from her private sector post, she found herself working with poorly-motivated and complacent staff.
"The pace was so slow with lots of unnecessary barriers to improving the service for visitors. I had assumed everyone would be forging forwards with the new ideas that the heritage courses and regional museum bodies were teaching. I felt like I came from another planet."
She's now much happier about her career choice. "Management and leadership abilities have been vital and my visual skills in terms of layout and initiating creative visitor resources have come in handy," she says.
Mark Hilton, director of finance and resources at Museums Sheffield
Previous role: auditor
Mark Hilton experienced a culture shock when he made the move from a high-flying career at professional services provider KPMG to become director of finance and resources at Museums Sheffield.
"It was interesting to work with staff who were used to working in isolation from financial people," he says. "I was struck by the number of relatively senior museum people who shook like a leaf when I described my role.
"I reassured them that they were the experts and I was there to help them carry out their work and make the most of the money they had."
At KPMG, Hilton compiled detailed reports on the products, people and philosophies of companies looking to go public, seeking private investment or considering takeover bids.
After six years in the job and the birth of his daughter, Hilton sought a career change to something vaguely artistic and a little closer to his Sheffield home. He joined Museums Sheffield just as the service was moving to trust status.
He introduced processes that were very different from the structures imposed by local authority control. "For years staff had to be very resourceful, going from one small pot of cash to another. Now they can stick to budgets and they're sometimes actually worried about spending [all the] money," says Hilton.
Ten years on, he is applying his business experience to collections management. "In the old days, too many curators only managed the objects they were interested in and the rest gathered dust. There were half a dozen different ways of managing all the information. With a new database, we're catching up now and are making a real difference."
Julian Whitehead, security adviser at Historic Royal Palaces
Previous role: military intelligence
Befitting a man who spent 30 years in military intelligence, Julian Whitehead was quick to react to a whisper that Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) needed a new security adviser.
His passion for heritage combined with his distinctive background - "worldwide counterespionage, surveillance, interrogation, agent-handling, all the things you'd expect" - made him the obvious man for responsibilities ranging from fire alarms at Kew Palace to protecting the crown jewels.
"Security within a heritage context means instead of simply locking something valuable away, we can look at sensible precautions that would allow us to display it without it being stolen or damaged," says Whitehead.
"I used to be responsible for nuclear security and that's an area where you don't want people wandering around, but here the precautions are of a different order."
His years of management experience also ensure Whitehead understands the ways different departments at HRP are run and financed when it comes to accommodating security issues. "It's important to be a facilitator, rather than being seen as someone who always says no.
"In many ways this job is more fulfilling," says Whitehead. "The boundaries are smaller; you can see the improvements you make. And now, when I'm asked, I can talk about what kind of day I've had."
Maria Jordan, textile conservator at Hampton Court Palace
Previous role: City whizz kid
Maria Jordan swapped the power dressing and the stock market of the 1980s for a little 18th-century handicraft and reckons the two worlds have a lot in common.
Ex-fund manager Jordan now specialises in the care of a collection of royal beds - she recently helped to restore some very fragile damask from George II's travelling divan.
"A lot of the job was concerned with forecasting and planning, trying to predict the future and positioning the fund to take advantage," says Jordan. "There was also a reactive element, selling and buying according to the market.
"Textile conservation is the same. We need to look ahead and decide which object might require our attention while auditing to find out if there is the time and money for the work. The problem-solving skills are the same."
Jordan decided to turn her life-long fascination for textiles into a new career after a break to start a family.
"This environment is very different. There are just two men working here among all the women. It was precisely the other way round at the Stock Exchange."
Nick Winterbotham, CEO of Thinktank and Millennium Point, Birmingham
Previous role: Latin teacher
Nick Winterbotham temporarily transferred his museum skills to the health service when he helped out as part-time arts officer for York Hospital's Enhancing the Healing Environment programme four years ago. But he began his professional life teaching classics at a large comprehensive in Norwich before moving into museum education.
"The potential for pure teaching took my fancy, using all types of methodology without being tied to a curriculum or the need to maintain discipline," says Winterbotham. He later moved into museum management and completed a PhD on the correlation between museums and teaching.
"Like schools, museums are all about learning," he says. "If you really believe in people, they'll do extraordinary things. I believe that's as true in any workplace as in the classroom."
Kirsteen McSwein, assistant curator interpretation (access) at Tate Britain
Previous role: knowledge manager
After a marketing job at Reuters Kirsteen McSwein took an MA in information science. This led to a job at a leading management consultancy, researching and presenting detailed financial reports to a range of clients. "I loved doing the work but the subject was pretty dry, to be honest," she says.
Seeking a fresh start, McSwein studied for an MA in museums and galleries management and, following a series of internships, found herself at the Tate where she now calls on all her previous professional experience.
"Writing understandable copy, proofreading and research are all transferable skills," she says. "And the job satisfaction I have playing a small role in the cultural provision of the country is much more important than earning lots of money in the business world.
John Holt is a freelance journalist
Previous role: rear-admiral in the Royal Navy
Roy Clare is better placed than most to describe the very positive impact an influx of new thinking can have. Following a 30-year naval career that included stints of strategic planning at the Ministry of Defence and Nato headquarters, Clare's appointment as the director of the National Maritime Museum eight years ago raised eyebrows.
"I wasn't a complete ingenu," he says. "The transition from one environment to another is eased by the thought that the landscape features human beings. The judgments you take about how to energise them is what we call leadership.
"On an aircraft carrier you have 1,200 people and notable professionals like, for example, the helicopter maintainer, a skilful person who keeps the aircraft flying safely. It's the same on a smaller scale in a museum. A paintings conservator has similar levels of skill.
"You don't say to either 'I want that done quickly.' They tell you what's feasible."
Clare is keen to see the cultural sector get to grips fully with "capacity building" - encouraging people to do more and take on extra responsibilities with decreasing resources - just as he did in the navy.
"It's about professional development, identifying management potential, finding out what's holding someone back and changing it," says Clare.
Clare also had to navigate stormy waters of resentment when he was first appointed.
"I was asked at a seminar what the sector reaction was and I said it was probably shock and dismay. Chris Smith, who was chairing the session, said, 'I was secretary of state at the time and I agree.' He's been very sweet and supportive since, of course."
Andrea Hadley-Johnson, exhibitions officer at Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Previous role: head of visuals at Habitat UK
As head of visuals at retail furniture chain Habitat UK, Andrea Hadley-Johnson was responsible for the look of the firm's stores across the country.
But after a decade with the company, she longed to use the skills she had learned in a "more meaningful, less commercial" setting and to concentrate on her own self-improvement after years of coaching other people. So she undertook a museums and heritage course. "I was particularly interested in the parallels with my previous job - communicating to an audience and visually inspiring people to engage and revisit," she says.
But the culture shock came with her first new appointment where, after taking a significant pay cut from her private sector post, she found herself working with poorly-motivated and complacent staff.
"The pace was so slow with lots of unnecessary barriers to improving the service for visitors. I had assumed everyone would be forging forwards with the new ideas that the heritage courses and regional museum bodies were teaching. I felt like I came from another planet."
She's now much happier about her career choice. "Management and leadership abilities have been vital and my visual skills in terms of layout and initiating creative visitor resources have come in handy," she says.
Mark Hilton, director of finance and resources at Museums Sheffield
Previous role: auditor
Mark Hilton experienced a culture shock when he made the move from a high-flying career at professional services provider KPMG to become director of finance and resources at Museums Sheffield.
"It was interesting to work with staff who were used to working in isolation from financial people," he says. "I was struck by the number of relatively senior museum people who shook like a leaf when I described my role.
"I reassured them that they were the experts and I was there to help them carry out their work and make the most of the money they had."
At KPMG, Hilton compiled detailed reports on the products, people and philosophies of companies looking to go public, seeking private investment or considering takeover bids.
After six years in the job and the birth of his daughter, Hilton sought a career change to something vaguely artistic and a little closer to his Sheffield home. He joined Museums Sheffield just as the service was moving to trust status.
He introduced processes that were very different from the structures imposed by local authority control. "For years staff had to be very resourceful, going from one small pot of cash to another. Now they can stick to budgets and they're sometimes actually worried about spending [all the] money," says Hilton.
Ten years on, he is applying his business experience to collections management. "In the old days, too many curators only managed the objects they were interested in and the rest gathered dust. There were half a dozen different ways of managing all the information. With a new database, we're catching up now and are making a real difference."
Julian Whitehead, security adviser at Historic Royal Palaces
Previous role: military intelligence
Befitting a man who spent 30 years in military intelligence, Julian Whitehead was quick to react to a whisper that Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) needed a new security adviser.
His passion for heritage combined with his distinctive background - "worldwide counterespionage, surveillance, interrogation, agent-handling, all the things you'd expect" - made him the obvious man for responsibilities ranging from fire alarms at Kew Palace to protecting the crown jewels.
"Security within a heritage context means instead of simply locking something valuable away, we can look at sensible precautions that would allow us to display it without it being stolen or damaged," says Whitehead.
"I used to be responsible for nuclear security and that's an area where you don't want people wandering around, but here the precautions are of a different order."
His years of management experience also ensure Whitehead understands the ways different departments at HRP are run and financed when it comes to accommodating security issues. "It's important to be a facilitator, rather than being seen as someone who always says no.
"In many ways this job is more fulfilling," says Whitehead. "The boundaries are smaller; you can see the improvements you make. And now, when I'm asked, I can talk about what kind of day I've had."
Maria Jordan, textile conservator at Hampton Court Palace
Previous role: City whizz kid
Maria Jordan swapped the power dressing and the stock market of the 1980s for a little 18th-century handicraft and reckons the two worlds have a lot in common.
Ex-fund manager Jordan now specialises in the care of a collection of royal beds - she recently helped to restore some very fragile damask from George II's travelling divan.
"A lot of the job was concerned with forecasting and planning, trying to predict the future and positioning the fund to take advantage," says Jordan. "There was also a reactive element, selling and buying according to the market.
"Textile conservation is the same. We need to look ahead and decide which object might require our attention while auditing to find out if there is the time and money for the work. The problem-solving skills are the same."
Jordan decided to turn her life-long fascination for textiles into a new career after a break to start a family.
"This environment is very different. There are just two men working here among all the women. It was precisely the other way round at the Stock Exchange."
Nick Winterbotham, CEO of Thinktank and Millennium Point, Birmingham
Previous role: Latin teacher
Nick Winterbotham temporarily transferred his museum skills to the health service when he helped out as part-time arts officer for York Hospital's Enhancing the Healing Environment programme four years ago. But he began his professional life teaching classics at a large comprehensive in Norwich before moving into museum education.
"The potential for pure teaching took my fancy, using all types of methodology without being tied to a curriculum or the need to maintain discipline," says Winterbotham. He later moved into museum management and completed a PhD on the correlation between museums and teaching.
"Like schools, museums are all about learning," he says. "If you really believe in people, they'll do extraordinary things. I believe that's as true in any workplace as in the classroom."
Kirsteen McSwein, assistant curator interpretation (access) at Tate Britain
Previous role: knowledge manager
After a marketing job at Reuters Kirsteen McSwein took an MA in information science. This led to a job at a leading management consultancy, researching and presenting detailed financial reports to a range of clients. "I loved doing the work but the subject was pretty dry, to be honest," she says.
Seeking a fresh start, McSwein studied for an MA in museums and galleries management and, following a series of internships, found herself at the Tate where she now calls on all her previous professional experience.
"Writing understandable copy, proofreading and research are all transferable skills," she says. "And the job satisfaction I have playing a small role in the cultural provision of the country is much more important than earning lots of money in the business world.
John Holt is a freelance journalist