Expert Solutions South West

1 July 2006

University of Exeter

Creating Cultural Leadership

Andy Sanders and Learning to Reflect

'The excitement of creative ideas, seeing things come off, changing perceptions' - these are the aspects that Andy Sanders most enjoys about his job. Andy is Cultural Development Manager, at Tewkesbury Borough Council and his role is focussed on creating, enabling and supporting opportunities for people to participate in culture including sport, museums, arts and events.

Andy is a participant on the 'Creating Cultural Leadership' programme - a professional development initiative delivered by Leadership South West in partnership with the Centre for Creative Enterprise and Participation at Dartington College of Arts.

Over a thirteen-month period, participants from across the cultural sector (Arts Council England: South West, English Heritage, Heritage Lottery Fund, Skills Active/ Sport England, South West Museums Libraries and Archives Council, South West Screen, Tourism Skills Network/ South West Tourism) meet for residential workshops; take part in sub-regional action learning sets; and work one-to-one with an individual coach. Programme themes range from the culture of leadership to the workplace as an arena for change.

"It's very satisfying to see when our efforts make a difference. I'm not entirely comfortable with the title "leader" as I think it means so many different things to different people. I prefer to see 'leadership' translated as trust, respect, honesty, encouragement and motivation, and these are the areas I will attempt to emphasise in my leadership practice."

Andy Saunders, Tewkesbury Borough Council