Despite my initial cynicism I was soon sucked into the group dynamic and by day three I was more than happily 'Searching for the Edge' with the rest of the participants.
But did it do me any good? Well, two weeks out of the office and away from the everyday grind was no bad thing in itself. A chance to look at other organisations and talk to the people who work in them was instructive (and fun)- and the training wasn't half-bad either. (A whole day of media training certainly made me a little more sympathetic to being on the receiving end of a grilling.)
The climax of what turned out to be a very useful fortnight was the group presentation session - after all it's not often that you get the chance to interpret the question 'What's the ideal relationship between government and culture' through the medium of revolution and dance.
By coincidence, on my return to work, a new pamphlet from the thinktank Demos was waiting on my desk. Its title - What's the point in cultural leadership if cultural institutions remain unchanged? - is clearly designed to be provocative, and it does make you wonder what all the new funding for leadership will eventually add up to.
In 2005 the chancellor Gordon Brown announced a somewhat unexpected £12m investment in cultural leadership. The money helped to set up the Cultural Leadership Programme and it is hoped that at the end of the two-year programme some 2,000 people will have benefited from the scheme.
Robert Hewison, the author of the Demos pamphlet, says that for an organisation to remain creative it must embrace change. And according to him that's where the new cultural leaders come in.
So if you're thinking of going on a course, or thinking of sending someone from your organisation, it is a worthwhile investment - as long as the benefits are shared once they're back in the fold.
www.cloreleadership.org/shortcourses.htm
www.culturalleadership.org.uk/
www.demos.co.uk/publications/notasideshow
Part of the role of leadership is setting the agenda, either for your own organisation or the sector that it operates in. This year's Museums Association conference provides an opportunity to do that and there is just over a month left to get your session proposals in.
Deadline for proposals: 9 February. Forms can be downloaded from: www.museumsassociation.org/13031
Sharon Heal, editor
sharon@museumsassociation.org
But did it do me any good? Well, two weeks out of the office and away from the everyday grind was no bad thing in itself. A chance to look at other organisations and talk to the people who work in them was instructive (and fun)- and the training wasn't half-bad either. (A whole day of media training certainly made me a little more sympathetic to being on the receiving end of a grilling.)
The climax of what turned out to be a very useful fortnight was the group presentation session - after all it's not often that you get the chance to interpret the question 'What's the ideal relationship between government and culture' through the medium of revolution and dance.
By coincidence, on my return to work, a new pamphlet from the thinktank Demos was waiting on my desk. Its title - What's the point in cultural leadership if cultural institutions remain unchanged? - is clearly designed to be provocative, and it does make you wonder what all the new funding for leadership will eventually add up to.
In 2005 the chancellor Gordon Brown announced a somewhat unexpected £12m investment in cultural leadership. The money helped to set up the Cultural Leadership Programme and it is hoped that at the end of the two-year programme some 2,000 people will have benefited from the scheme.
Robert Hewison, the author of the Demos pamphlet, says that for an organisation to remain creative it must embrace change. And according to him that's where the new cultural leaders come in.
So if you're thinking of going on a course, or thinking of sending someone from your organisation, it is a worthwhile investment - as long as the benefits are shared once they're back in the fold.
www.cloreleadership.org/shortcourses.htm
www.culturalleadership.org.uk/
www.demos.co.uk/publications/notasideshow
Part of the role of leadership is setting the agenda, either for your own organisation or the sector that it operates in. This year's Museums Association conference provides an opportunity to do that and there is just over a month left to get your session proposals in.
Deadline for proposals: 9 February. Forms can be downloaded from: www.museumsassociation.org/13031
Sharon Heal, editor
sharon@museumsassociation.org
