Three Tips to Grow More Sustainable Teams (and Revenue)

Sustainable revenues are not possible without sustaining your teams. We've compiled some simple advice to help you and your people thrive.

When we’re busy with the day-to-day running of arts organizations, it’s easy to focus on the outer aspects of success. How many tickets did we sell? How many subscribers renewed? But the inner aspects of success are equally as important. Sustainable revenues are not possible without sustaining your team.

Here are three tips to help ensure you’re growing a sustainable organization, both inside and out.

1. Stay focused

“The essence of leadership is not getting overwhelmed by circumstances.” — Kim Scott, Radical Candor

It’s so tricky to balance the demands of our work and personal lives. A constant flood of data coupled with an immense amount of change can lead our teams to be easily distracted, haphazard, and chaotic in decision-making. It’s too easy to reach the point where our work aspirations exceed the time we have to deliver them. We’d all benefit from having clarity in our busy, easily distracted lives.

At TRG we’ve seen time and time again that teams benefit from having clear focus and permission to “stop doing” some things from leadership.

Now is an important time for leaders to come back to center and provide clarity about where focus should be.

• What are your organizational priorities for the next 12 months?
• Can your team articulate those and is there alignment?
• Are you measuring the data to understand whether you’re making a difference to those priorities?
• How often are you referring to them?

Choose some essential metrics to monitor and take action on this year. Then allow your teams to focus on those and not become overwhelmed with competing priorities.

2. Prioritize well-being

“What we bring to work depends on our own health and well-being.” — Kim Scott, Radical Candor

We expect a lot from our teams and in our work. Does your organization REALLY have an appropriate support system in place to give team members space (and permission) to better their health and wellbeing? Do you have a culture that makes raising your hand for support an okay thing to do?

In the UK, a Theatre Helpline is available to anyone working in theatre and the performing arts. Trained staff offer support and signposting on any topic which affects wellbeing. Their list of topics include:

• Bullying or harassment
• Physical health
• Mental health and wellbeing
• Injury and mobility problems
• Issues with employment or unemployment
• Career issues, including professional development and training
• Retirement and care in later life
• Debt and financial issues

Where can YOUR teams turn if they’re dealing with any of the above? How can you as a leader provide even more support for the whole people who work with you?

Here’s one idea: Because days in our industry naturally can expand over into evenings and weekends, we need to ensure there is clear separation when we’re at home so we can recharge. Consider encouraging your teams to remove work social media and emails from their phones, ensuring there isn’t an expectation in your organization to be constantly connected.

3. Invest in inspiring your team

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery

As organizations need to focus more on growing loyalty and on retaining audiences, this involves the work and investment in your team. In my experience, the organizations who are succeeding on cultivating sustainable revenue sources from their audience are those who are investing resources in their teams. I’m still shocked to hear from passionate teams that have never had time with their leader or time together away from the day-to-day work to develop, evolve, and grow.

Consider your training and hiring practices. How are we developing and supporting our leaders of the future? Investment in time with your teams away from the day-to-day to coach, reflect and — most important of all — listen. Let’s set ourselves and those who put trust in us up to succeed.

Sustainable revenues are not possible without sustaining your teams. Where will you invest more in your teams this year?