Dear List -- in our experience across the NPO world, co-directors and other such flexible 
management structures are widely practiced, in many forms in the museum sector alone, 
and is one strategy we've advised when applicable.

While titling for these mutual management relationships is as creative and as free-form 
as jazz, they all are essentially: a division or sharing of authority and responsibility 
designed to be balanced according to ability and capacity, and intended to be united in 
achieving a common goal.

The reasons for collaborative management in museums, and the quality of the results, 
vary as widely as jazz too. As mentioned previously and accurately by Ms. Moore, the 
difference between the co-directors' roles and responsibilities might be determined by 
talents and preferences, and this pattern of administrative or executive functions vs. 
programming or content functions is common in visual and presenting arts organizations. 
For those and other kinds of institutions, even more factors may come in to play when 
co-directing roles are delineated, such as funding, politics, personal situations and 
relationships, and similar practical considerations. One team of co-directors made their 
choices based on body morphology: the bigger person handled the largest predatory 
animals in the collection.

Interestingly, here's one subject where the "youngsters" of the museum sector -- 
children's museums -- can inform their elders. We have found that children's museums 
apply this co-director strategy more often than other kinds of museums because of 
specific observable and predictable demographic dynamics and the challenges of new/
emerging institutions (e.g., a talented young mother wants to start a children's museum, 
but can't spare a full-time commitment). Teaming non-professionals with trained 
specialists in co-directing relationships this way can help solve issues of time, 
"bandwidth", skills, experience, etc. It helps that children's museums also tend to be 
more "generalist" than other museum types. 

However, we have also seen a very successful example of a temporary "co-directorship" 
at a research-based natural history museum, where the need was met for a short-term 
duration. So the consideration of co-direction as a short- or long-term strategy is crucial 
too, to the development of a system that will actually work.

To articulate a suitable and realistic co-management model, beyond the helpful but very 
general information that a listerv can provide, your friend might want to seek 
professional planning assistance that tailors a management structure and practice 
designed for the specific needs of the situation.

Hope this helps!

Best regards, 
Kathleen and Christopher Brown

ATELIER Kathleen Brown
www.kb-atelier.com

Alameda, CA

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