The pandemic era has been difficult for all arts organizations, many of whom, including Synapse Arts completed strategic planning pre- pandemic. Through this project we revisited those plans with the staff and board to determine if those recommendations are still relevant and achievable. We proposed collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to re-evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in Synapse’s operatons, and transition towards a model that reflected the skills and interests that are present on the team.

We spent several hours in an initial assessment with the Artistic Director and the Assistant Director to review the previous strategic plan. We proposed a move towards a shared leadership model for Synapse Arts. Through this process of knowledge transfer we will define, refine, and re-define the answers to the questions outlined in the 2019 Strategic Plan.

A matrix of roles and responsibilities was needed for the organization, highlighting how each role intersects and requires different skills and knowledge, as well as distinct types of leaders or individuals.

This approach created a pipeline from mentorship to leadership, which in turn sustains and equips the organization for the future by increasing capacity, promoting sustainable growth, and ensuring succession beyond the founder.

Through this process, we developed a new, non-hierarchical organizational structure based on the color wheel, which better represents the roles, responsibilities, and skills within the organization, showing how they can overlap and support one another.