Exit Interview is one half of our upcoming Human Resources section, balancing Who Got the Gig? In these interviews we ask people departing notable jobs in the arts about what their time has held, in the hopes of capturing useful knowledge, and satiating curiosity about what goes on behind the scenes.

Alison Taylor has just finished six years as CEO Te Kaihiringa of Auckland’s regional arts trust, Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi. A role in the arts sector was a departure from a career in mental health and wellbeing, youth development, and philanthropy. She took it on in 2019 after five years as the founding chief executive of the Centre for Social Impact, a social enterprise supporting impactful investment.

Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi was looking to move from being a grantmaker to a changemaker, and Alison’s record of leadership, strategic thinking and changemaking was ‘right time and right place’. Alison leaves the trust as a fundamentally different organisation, bi-cultural and with shared leadership of its governance.

We talked to Alison about her time at Te Taumata, and the changes she helped evolve.

Why are you leaving?

I'm leaving because I came with a purpose – to be part of the trust on this journey of change. There was a roadmap of things that I wanted to achieve. About a year ago, I started to realise that a lot of those things were in place and that I was coming up to my sixth year. It was time to think about change. I think in leadership, you've got to know when you start what your vision for ending might look like. I wanted to leave well, with a good succession plan in place and I feel like I've been able to do those things.

What made you apply for the arts regional trust CEO role? 

I'd left the Centre for Social impact, and I was having a bit of a break, and I saw the role being advertised. I remember chatting to Caren Rangi about it and she was like, "great, come to the creative community. You'll love it.”  I remember thinking, "they'll probably want somebody from within the sector”. But I went in with an open mind. I wanted to work for an organisation and a board that really wanted to do things differently. Then when I met the board, we immediately had a great conversation about what was possible. The trust was going through a big change process and that's something I've done throughout my career. We got on and they offered me the role.

What was that first year like?

I made a real point of going out and meeting lots of people. That was really important. Lots of people knew the trust so I wanted to hear what their reflections were, what their relationship had been to the trust, and what they thought was needed because we were resetting the trust strategy. Everybody was so open and welcoming, really generous with their time and their thoughts about what the sector needed. So I built a lot of relationships that have grown.

What did you learn that surprised you? 

I was shocked at the scarcity of resource – at how little funding there was. That was quite an eye opener. I'd come from the philanthropic and social sector where there were always funding challenges, but this was on another scale. But then there was the passion and experience people had for the work, despite the resource issues. The sense that you're an artist for life. I met people who were artists who'd become administrators or gone into funding or were working in arts organisations because they were committed to a lifelong journey in creativity. 

In that early stage you placed a much greater emphasis on the foundational role of Toi Māori. How did that come into the strategy and how has that evolved? 

I'd come from 20 years working in the social sector and philanthropy. Te Tiriti had been such an important focus and when we were doing the new strategy, the board were ready to look at equity and a commitment to toi Māori. We recognised it wasn't something to throw ourselves into, but to go on a journey of understanding and development. I asked the chair, Heta Hudson, to find us somebody who could be a strategic advisor in terms of ngā toi Māori. He introduced me to Eynon Delamere, who is this incredible leader. Eynon joined the trust as our Pou Hononga. He has been a wonderful guide. We took our time, but it was a cornerstone of that new strategy, and six years on, we have Te Manawa in place to support hapori ringatoi Māori. 

You were barely a year in when Covid hit. What was the impact of that on the trust and its work? 

We were launching our strategy and one of the pillars was around advocacy and how we could support and connect and raise up the value of the sector. Then suddenly we were in lockdown and the arts were immediately impacted. That probably drove our role to support advocacy fast, because there was something really clear to advocate for. The Government and the Minister for the Arts, Carmel Sepuloni, stepped in and set up specific Covid funding to protect the arts and arts organisations. That meant people had time to adjust and pivot and rethink. 

What are you most proud of during your time at Te Taumata?

Ours is an in-perpetuity trust. It’s been a privilege to be part of a season in the trust’s life as it has reenvisaged itself and helped to support and transform some of the thinking in the sector. I’m also proud of the thinking about systems change, about influence and collaboration. I'm really proud that we've now got a dual leadership model – we've essentially got a bicultural model within the trust, at both an operational and at a board level, bringing to life our commitment to te Tiriti. We brought this in at a governance level last year with the complementary chair roles of Kaihautū and Kaiurungi, with one of these roles always to be held by a Māori trustee. This year we extended this to our operations with co-leadership across two wings; Te Manawa which focuses on our work for toi Māori, and Creative Tāmaki Makaurau which focuses on our work for the wider sector.

Any regrets? Any unfinished business? 

Regrets? I would have loved to have seen more investment from successive governments that was sustainable. But it was great to see Amplify launched this year. That helps provide a basis for engagement with government around investment. As with any government strategy, it is never going to be your dream, but it is a start and you can build from that. 

As for unfinished business, my personal belief is that the future of arts development is regional, not national, and I think it's heartening to hear Creative New Zealand talk about their new strategic direction around this. So although I am leaving Te Taumata, I will watch with real interest to see how that unfolds.

Final question – if you could give your successors one piece of advice, what would it be? 

Don't underestimate the importance of investing in relationships. Whatever scale or size the organisation becomes, it's only able to do what it does because it's got good relationships across the sector. Keep an aspirational horizon. Don't ever settle for business as usual.