This six-week program has been tailor-made for museum and gallery professionals who have recently taken on management responsibilities or otherwise want to improve their confidence in navigating workplace dynamics.

Each weekly online session covers a different theme, illustrated with case studies and examples drawn from real-life museum management experience.

Sessions introduce a range of concepts and frameworks, drawn from psychology, management studies and business, and applies them to the museum context. Participants also have the opportunity to bring their own case studies and current challenges to the sessions. Groups are kept small (6-10 people) to create community and a safe space for sharing.

Program outline:

Session 1 – Introduction

So you’ve become a team leader or manager – now what? The focus of your work changes. Not only that, the way people see you and react to you changes too, sometimes in unexpected ways. This session sets the scene, gives you a chance to get to know the group, and introduces some initial concepts and frameworks.

Session 2 – Understanding the Numbers

As a team leader or manager, you probably have responsibility for a budget. You might receive budget reports that assume knowledge of accounting standards or financial jargon. Or perhaps you’re not sure how to find the important bits in pages of numbers. This session includes a guided walkthrough of a sample financial report so you know what you’re looking at and what to look out for.

Session 3 – Working with Others

The more senior you get, the more important working with others becomes. This session will cover effective delegation, how to chair meetings with purpose, as well as building strong foundations for teamwork.

Session 4 – When things get tough

Good leaders don’t shy away from tough conversations – holding people accountable and addressing performance issues are an essential part of the job. This session will explore performance management and conflict management frameworks that will help you have these conversations clearly, reasonably and fairly.

Session 5 – Legal and cultural structures

While you don’t need to be a legal or HR expert to manage people, it does help if you know what legislation exists and what that means for your workplace. The second half of this session goes beyond what’s written in black and white, unpacking the unspoken rules around organisational culture, identifying bias and barriers to inclusion.

Session 6 – Managing up and influencing others

The final session looks at how you increase your influence across an organization and to your senior leadership, including at techniques for managing up and how to communicate more strategically.

Note that content might change slightly based on the specific needs and circumstances of each group.

Here’s what participants are saying about the pilot program that ran in late 2025:

Regan tailored the content and delivery to suit the needs of the group, so the course remained relevant throughout. Her experience as a leader was clear and she provided practical approaches which could be immediately applied.

I participated in the course as a museum worker in the United States, and have still found it engaging, confidence-boosting, and relevant despite the physical distance and quirks of funding models. Learning with a cohort in a different cultural context has pushed me to identify where my own is at the leading or trailing edge of international best practices and I so appreciate the space to safely share questions and frustrations.

Many leadership programs cost thousands of dollars, are not particularly relevant to the cultural sector, or both. This program has been designed to be an affordable alternative, at a cost of only $375+GST for a six-session block.

The program is run on a rolling basis several times per year and participants are placed in a group based on their availability and organisational affiliation. Group 1 for 2026 commenced in February, with Group 2 expected to commence in the second half of April.

Enquire or register through the contact form: