Case study - power and politics

Campsie Arts is a community-based LGBT educator and non-for-profit outreach organisation that has been in operation for ten years. Two years ago its founder Harry McColl decided to retire and a new CEO took over, the ambitious and charismatic Freddy Marz. He immediately implemented a number of changes, including: establishing a new senior leadership team, a Board of directors, a new operational strategy and a brand strategy. In the past this organisation has had a strong community emphasis, with volunteers undertaking many different roles in line with what they wanted to do and as a result it could be a little amateurish in the type of events that were produced. Under Freddy's leadership, however, the organisation has recently secured Arts Council funding and won a prestigious award at the Edinburgh Festival and some other smaller awards including being named as "best arts organisation" and a "trailblazer" in a prestigious Glasgow publication. These have created a step change for the organisation with an influx of new people wanting to join.

Freddy has had a bold new vision for the organisation, but his style of leadership tends to be somewhat brash and confrontational. He lacks organisational skills. As a result there has been a churn in the senior leadership of over 60% each year. There have been several Board members of Campsie Arts that have decided to step down with these seats quickly replaced by associates of Freddy's. He has also had a number of clashes with volunteers due to his unrealistic and uncompromising demands due to his push for the organisation to deliver two new productions. These new productions marked a departure from the previous organisational focus - instead of being inclusive in its productions by trying to include as many volunteers as possible, the new

productions had auditions and included a couple of professionals. Both of new productions received critical acclaim, but volunteers felt they were more rushed and chaotic than usual. Some volunteers complained that instead of pulling together as they had in the past, there was now some internal competition with volunteers vying to be involved in the most successful productions. Freddy appeared to have some favoured volunteers.

Allegations and investigations

At the end of the summer a member of the senior team emailed the Board with complaints about Freddy's behaviour, including claims of sexual harassment and abuse. The Board meet with a volunteer who made a detailed allegation that:

a) Freddy had joked to others in the organisation that the accuser and another volunteer had a sexual relationship with each other, A fact already known to staff

b) He joked about the sexual-orientation of a volunteer during a team meeting

c) He inappropriately groped the accuser at a work event and said he would deny it if it was ever mentioned.

In response the Board informed the accuser that an investigation would take place. The Board sought advice of an external lawyer and put two Board members in charge of an internal investigation. This investigation involved interviews with current and past volunteers, during which written notes were made. At the conclusion of the investigation, the Board found that the behaviour in question did not violate the law nor organisational policy, and that the sexual harassments did not occur. They released a statement outlining their full confidence in Freddy and committing to steps to ensure increased professionalism and accountability, including expanded policies and training relating to sexual harassment.

Community reactions

Soon after this statement was released, the accusers posted their accusations on social media. The immediate reactions from the community were sever and negative, especially from those who had a previous disagreements with Freddy. These individuals began to target current volunteers online with hashtags, such as #YouStandByAnAbuser. They also contacted local media and vendors that had previously partnered with Campsie Arts. As a result a number of misleading and defamatory statements about Freddy and the Board were circulated damaging the reputation of the organisation, its revenue and volunteer capacity. The organisation has had to suspend some of its programming.

Campsie Arts and several prominent members of the community remain committed to fulfilling its

mission and current trajectory under the leadership of Freddy. They have initiated new policies and training for all staff and volunteers. However other members of the community continue to demand the resignation of Freddy and the dissolution of the Board. There is no guarantee that Campsie Arts will be able to overcome the significant financial, political and psychological costs associated with these events.

Question

1You are a team of consultants brought in by the senior management group, What you would advise this organisation to do and why.

2Consider whether you would have a different strategy if this organisation was in China?

• Why might gender and sexual harassment be dealt with differently in different countries?