Towards good and effective management in a museum: the importance to understand understanding

Abstract: In order to become a high performing organisation and to certify as an "Investor In People", the Museum in this study wants to develop a shared definition of good and effective management. Hence, ten senior managers were interviewed using a qualitative and semi structured approach. The management situation at the museum was analysed using four leadership paradigms; Classical, Transactional, Visionary and Organic. The Museum pushes for a Visionary approach, which according to literature would strengthen performance. In practice however, the organization prevails in the Transactional leadership paradigm, with a high degree of control of staff and with a top-down approach. The main constraints for change are rationalistic approaches to people management and the lack of arenas for critical reflection of underlying assumptions. With critical reflection and dialogue, a shared definition of good and effective management, based on a shared understanding, could potentially boost performance.