Digital leadership in practice

For Meike Veldhuijsen, director at KOP (Artists Development Platform), the main reason to focus on digital transformation is connecting with her young audience: ‘At Stichting KOP, we work with emerging artists in the first five years after their graduation. To continue reaching and engaging this group effectively, digital transformation is essential. A key value of our organization is community building – connecting creators, partners, and stakeholders. We are looking for ways to make these connections more structured and sustainable, for example, by creating a digital database and an online community platform.’

Sharifa Balfour, director of the Saba Archaeological Center Foundation/Saba Heritage Center, also keeps her audience in mind when focusing on digital. For her, it is about the broader public: ‘My primary motivation for using digital tools and platforms is to improve and expand access via our website, social media channels, and YouTube. Additionally, I aim to engage people more deeply with these platforms and prioritize the preservation of Saba's cultural heritage.’

Saba also has another urgent concern regarding heritage preservation: ‘An important focus is promoting Saba’s resilience for the future. Our island is regularly on the path of hurricanes, and we increasingly feel the impact of climate change on weather patterns. These factors mean that natural disasters are an increasing risk, making the digitization of Saba’s heritage and the use of technology critical priorities.’

Skills of a digital leader

A leader in the cultural sector needs various competencies. But what skills are useful for digital leadership? Sharifa Balfour: ‘I place a lot of emphasis on strategic thinking, adaptability, and clear communication.’

Both Sharifa and Meike also emphasize the importance of collaboration. According to Meike, this means working in networks and leveraging external expertise when needed. Sharifa also mentions this: ‘For me, it is just as important that we promote collaboration by bringing together people with different digital skills and perspectives and creating a space where people are eager to experiment and gain knowledge.’

Finally, both directors highlight the importance of focusing on digital literacy, both for themselves and their teams. Wilja Jurg, director of Tetem, also finds this very important: ‘You need to ensure that the digital strategy is embedded in all areas of your organization. For example, we ask in performance reviews: how do you approach digital transformation? We allow room for development and invest a lot in the competencies of the employees.’

Strengthening the mission

Wilja states that a digital strategy contributes to an agile organization; ‘Every cultural institution benefits greatly from a solid digital strategy. It makes you more flexible, but it also brings a lot of efficiency to your organization. One of the most important things is that it can also help you become a fair, responsible, and transparent organization. The public, as well as the employees, have a right to that.’

Sharifa adds: ‘We align our digital initiatives and projects with our core mission so that they serve the community, support education, engagement, and cultural connection. What we do digitally forms a bridge to enhance authentic cultural experiences, not replace them. For our visitors, these tools provide easier access and new ways to engage with our work. And for the people of Saba who have moved away, they offer a meaningful way to reconnect with their heritage and culture.’

Tips for digital leadership in the cultural sector

Digital transformation requires not just technology but primarily people. The three directors share their tips for others who want to strengthen their digital leadership. Their main advice? Start small, think big, and above all, do it together.

Meike advises starting small: ‘Digital transformation quickly sounds like something big and technical, but you don’t have to turn everything upside down right away. Start with what you need or miss now in your daily practice – and build from there. Small, concrete steps are often much more effective than grand plans that remain unrealized.’

Sharifa also started with small, achievable projects and says: ‘I also want to approach overlapping projects in a strategic and sustainable way. And in doing so, I want to know which equipment and digital programs are not only cost-effective for the organization, as they need to last for years, but also which are usable for different projects.’

So start small and learn from it, advises Wilja: ‘Research doesn’t have to lead to success; it can fail, and you don’t always know what the outcome will be.’

All three also highlight the importance of working from your mission and using it as a guide in your digital development. They also emphasize the importance of the knowledge and skills already present: Sharifa: ‘The most important thing is that you invest in your people. For digital transformation, a culture and the right mindset are just as important as the technology.’ Meike: ‘Talk a lot with your network. Ask colleagues how they use digital tools, what works, and what doesn’t. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, and often the best ideas are closer than you think.’

Finally, two practical pieces of advice: Meike: ‘Include a paragraph about digital strategy in every project plan as a standard. If you think from the start about how digital tools can contribute to visibility, audience reach, or knowledge sharing, it naturally becomes part of your way of working.’

Wilja: ‘Having a digital strategy is, of course, not enough; implementing it is really the proof of the pudding, so you need to ensure it is embedded throughout your organization: in your policies, performance metrics, people, and materialization.’