Leading Roles ─ 50 Questions Every Arts Board Should Ask

"Michael Kaiser is very competent and far-sighted in dealing with the extremely complicated economic and organizational aspects of performing arts institutions, especially in this period of grave crises. In my capacity as General Director of Washington National Opera, which makes its home at the Kennedy Center, I have worked with Michael, the Center's President, and I share his approach to running not-for-profit arts organizations. I recommend his book to anyone who works in this area."uPlscido Domingo

"Michael Kaiser has made it his mission to help arts organizations around the world succeed. He is an ambassador and trusted authority for arts administrators everywhere, generously sharing his proven expertise that I've seen firsthand. Michael's book will take his life's work one step further, elevating the world of arts management with his wisdom."-Judith Jamison, Artistic Director, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

"No one knows more about arts administration than Michael Kaiser. No wonder people the world over clamor for his attention and keen advice. The Kennedy Center's not-so-secret weapon is an international treasure. The book is a goldmine."uTerrence Mcnally, playwright

"Michael Kaiser blushes when you ask if he's a savior. But the president of the Kennedy Center is a missionary for the arts."uMorning Edition, National Public Radio

"Kaiser is something of a rescue artist."uTime

"Kaiser is the closest thing to a rock star on the nonprofit scene."uDaily Variety

"[Kaiser] deliberately brings an outward calm into a situation where things are falling apart."uWashington Post

A concise, practical and timely guide for board members of arts organizations

Not-for-profit arts organizations struggled to survive the recent economic recession. In this increasingly hardscrabble environment, it is absolutely imperative that the boards of these organizations function as energetically, creatively, and efficiently as possible.

Michael M. Kaiser's personal history with boards of arts organizations began when he served on the board of the Washington Opera (now the Washington National Opera) in 1983. Today, in his capacity as president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Kaiser recently completed a so-state, 69-city Arts in Crisis tour. Board issues came up repeatedly as central to the success or failure of the organization.

Drawing on these and many other conversations, nationally and internationally, Kaiser's book offers members of boards and staffs the information they need to create the healthy atmosphere necessary to thriving arts organizations. Organized in a clear, readable, question and-answer format, Leading Roles covers every aspect of board participation in the life of the organization, including mission and governance; fundraising and marketing responsibilities; the relationship of the board to the artistic director, executive director, and staff; and its responsibilities for planning and budgeting. Kaiser addresses boards in crisis, international boards, and boards of arts organizations of color. Throughout, he emphasizes the importance of transparency and clarity in the board's dealings with its own members and those of the arts community of which it is a part, showing how anything less results in contentiousness that can immobilize an arts organization, or even tear it apart.

MICHAEL M. KAISER is the author of The Art of the Turnaround: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations. He is a graduate of Brandeis University, class of 1975.