In the course of collaborating with hundreds of museum directors since we
founded American History Workshop, we've discovered that successful ones
come from all sorts of backgrounds, but their two irreducibly necessary
attributes are first, a strong ability at linking the current issues
under discussion to some area of relevant personal experience, that is,
skill at telling people how what's now happening engages their
intellectual and organizational vision, and second, the ability to
diagnose their own weaknesses and locate people who can do what they
cannot.  When friends have been up for directorships, I always advise
them to assess whether they can get the help they need to compensate for
all the parts of the job they don't particularly like doing or don't do
very well.  If the director can't figure out how to compensate for her
weaknesses, whatever they are, she won't do the job well.

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Richard Rabinowitz              <> American History Workshop
[log in to unmask]                  <> 588 Seventh Street
718/499-6500 fax: 718/499-6575  <> Brooklyn, New York 11215-3707