Turnaround and Transformation: Leadership and Risk at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art

Abstract

In 1998, Jill Medvedow was hired as the director of Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. Her mandate was to reinvent a museum that had no permanent collection, drew a mere 25,000 visitors a year, and had few members and almost no money. This case demonstrates how Medvedow was able to rebuild (literally and figuratively) a powerless organization by being disciplined, getting people to believe in an idea, and taking many risks.

Learning Objectives

To demonstrate how an organization, with the right leadership, can effect change with little or no power.

Appropriate for the Following Course(s) 

leadership

Turnaround and Transformation: Leadership and Risk at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art    

THERE IS NO TEACHING NOTE FOR THIS CASE STUDY.