Managing Teams Remotely with Alice Workman
Alice Workman joined Hauser & Wirth in 2011, to oversee the renovation of Durslade Farm and to develop the concept for Hauser & Wirth Somerset. Since opening the new gallery in 2014, Alice has overseen all activity and programming and has spearheaded the development of this unique organisation. She is now Senior Director, Cultural Centres Europe for Hauser & Wirth managing and advising gallery and museum projects on the continent, including Hauser & Wirth Menorca and the gallery's support of Chillida Leku. Prior to joining Hauser & Wirth, Alice was Head of Exhibitions for Southampton City Art Gallery and the City's Museums (2009 - 2011) and previously was the Director of the New Art Centre, Roche Court, (Salisbury (2001 - 2009). Alice is a Trustee of Spike Island, Bristol.
“As managers we can't always be physically present, but we need to try and be emotionally present ’’.
Managing three teams across three locations, Alice understands the real time challenges of supporting and working with teams remotely. At a time when it is almost too easy to be pessimistic she was quick to flag some of the positive aspects of WFH ( working from home). Time which would have been spent travelling or commuting can be used productively, to recalibrate and focus on the things we don't normally have capacity for. She was equally quick to acknowledge that for employees with children (this still falls most often to women) home schooling and achieving some semblance of work life /balance is hard. Also many people find themselves rolling out of bed to the computer and then back at the end of a 12 hr day.
So how do we as 'managers' or as the ‘managed’ negotiate all this. Hauser & Wirth's approach prioritises communication at every point. Staying in touch with clients, artist and colleagues. She emphasises looping each other in and going back to analogue communications i.e picking up the phone. The media has been quick to talk about Coronavirus as a leveller - it doesn’t differentiate - and the gallery has also taken time to acknowledge that many normal jobs and tasks within the gallery have gone out the window for now, and that Alice says has also been a great leveller. The every day activities of front of house staff, technicians, events teams have evaporated and so it was incredibly important to think quickly about re-purposing skills and acknowledging the importance of individual purpose. As a manager, Alice and the senior management team have encouraged a flat and open source response to allow anyone in the gallery to contribute ideas to staff training, masterclasses and to fun newsletters.
Of course Hauser & Wirth is a large and robust organisation which gives them a certain resilience, but Alice was keen to stress the way they have approached this is more about mission and values. The managerial thought process is about making sure people aren't afraid about the lack of concrete plans or overly stressed about productivity. The good manager in a gallery wants to make sure their staff feel secure. Routines, whether they are staff meetings or weekly newsletters, all contribute to that. Right now worrying about business is not a priority.