A new organizational structure for M: “We want to become a value-driven organization”

A new organizational structure for M

“We want to become a value-driven organization”

M has grown in every area since it opened its doors in 2009. The only thing that has remained unchanged during this time is the organizational structure. For this reason, we are developing a new, more horizontal organigram. The aim is to foster internal cooperation, enhance staff well-being and enable us to respond more effectively to societal challenges.

Peter Bary, Director of General Administration, Marjan Debaene, Director of Old Masters, Sigrid Bosmans, Director of Community Engagement en Lore Boon, Policy and Strategy Officer share more about it.

Peter Bary (Director of General Administration): “Every few years, we conduct an independent survey on employee well-being. The results are generally very positive, but in both 2019 and 2022, two recurring issues emerged. Employees found the decision-making process overly complex and noted that responsibilities were not always clearly defined, which sometimes led to conflict.”

“Based on these findings, we commissioned an external review of our organizational structure. It was found to be largely unchanged from 2009, when M was first established. Since then, we have achieved a great deal, and M has grown significantly —our workforce has roughly quadrupled. Yet the structure remained as it was at the beginning: a classical, hierarchical, line organization with twelve divisions divided into four departments, and senior management at the top. Staffing was also unevenly distributed, with some departments comprising many employees, while others had only one.”

Portret directeur algemeen beheer museum M Leuven — © Josefien Tondeleir voor M Leuven

Marjan Debaene, Director of Old Masters: “Each department had its own specific focus: historical art, contemporary art, public relations, and internal management. While this structure was logical in itself, in practice it led to compartmentalization. Most of our activities – exhibitions, conferences, artistic programmes, friends’ events, and so on —involve several departments. Yet these often operated alongside one another, with departmental priorities sometimes taking precedence over the interests of the institution as a whole. Everyone acted with the best of intentions, but there was a clear need for greater integration.”

Unique in Flanders

Peter: “The new structure is more horizontal than before. The four departments and twelve divisions have been replaced by six teams, each led by a team coordinator. Unlike the previous organization, the teams are no longer subdivided into separate divisions, and each now comprises roughly the same number of staff.”

“The teams are no longer organized by content but by domain. These range from Collections to Audience Engagement, Communication & Hospitality, Production, Events & Technology, Arts Operations & Programme, and People & Resources. As a result, the division of tasks is now much clearer. For example, all expertise related to collection management is now concentrated in one place, whereas it was previously divided between historical and contemporary art.”

“The former heads of department — of Old Masters, Contemporary Art and Audience Engagement — now serve as directors. Together with the Director of General Administration, they form the management team of M. This team develops a single strategic plan for the entire organization, replacing the separate departmental plans of the past. With responsibilities now more clearly defined, the directors are able to devote more time to this task. They regularly meet with the team coordinators and are supported by in-house staff and advisers.”

Lore Boon, Policy and Strategy Officer: “As a museum, M brings together heritage and visual arts activities under one roof –something unique in Flanders. As a result, we operate under three management agreements: one with the City of Leuven and two with the Flemish Government, as M falls under both the Heritage and Arts Decrees. Each agreement has its own specific focus, which makes the overall framework quite complex. Thanks to the new structure, however, we are now able to develop a sustainable strategy that spans all management agreements.”

Sigrid Bosmans, Director of Community Engagement: “The internal changes also enable us to respond more effectively to social challenges. Being an art and heritage institution today means reflecting on one’s social impact. This calls for multidisciplinary collaboration among colleagues with diverse areas of expertise – something the new structure now makes possible.”

Portret directie en staf museum M Leuven — © Josefien Tondeleir voor M Leuven

Come and see

Marjan: “Until now, M has mainly operated in a supply-driven way: we created an exhibition, a publication, or another initiative, and then promoted it — come and see! That approach was understandable, especially for a young museum still establishing its reputation, but it remained a one-way street.”

Sigrid: “In the future, we aim to be more value-driven. We are currently engaged in an internal process to define our shared values. What do we stand for? What do we want to achieve together? What should we continue to do, and what should we leave behind? These are the questions we are now seeking to answer.”

“For example, we want to place a stronger focus on communities — groups of people who feel connected to one another in some way. Each community brings its own perspective. Artists, for instance, relate to M for different reasons than the volunteers who polish the silver in our collection, or the community of visually impaired people who help us develop programmes for that audience. Yet all of them belong to the wider M community.”

Peter: “When you start rethinking your structure, you inevitably also affect your organization’s culture. How do you create an environment in which every employee can fully develop their potential — and where open, honest feedback is genuinely encouraged?”

“That is precisely why we want to undertake this exercise together. Reorganizations often take place over employees’ heads, but we are consciously focusing on dialogue. Our staff expect that too. People’s expectations of their employers have changed—and that is something we cannot ignore.”

Sigrid: “ The intention is to discuss the outcomes of this dialogue within the management team and to share feedback with our partners and stakeholders. In this way, we aim to develop a policy plan supported by the entire organization as well as by our wider network of stakeholders.”

Marjan: “Speaking for myself, I have been working here for twenty years, and for the first time I have truly been able to contribute ideas about how we want to organize ourselves. We used to draw up policy plans as well – when I was Head of Collections — but because we were always so busy with our day-to-day work, there was never enough time to coordinate or reflect on the way we were organized.”

Deeply driven

Lore: “The new structure gives our employees greater autonomy and a stronger sense of ownership. In a traditional hierarchical model, people tend to work in isolation, which can create uncertainty and even conflict. In a horizontal structure, ownership becomes the starting point. This gives employees more freedom to work independently—within a clear framework, of course.”

Peter: “We lacked that clarity. This isn’t about a reckoning with the past; it’s simply healthy for ideas to clash from time to time.”

Marjan: “People who work in the cultural sector are often deeply driven. For most, it’s not just a job but a calling. That’s wonderful, yet it also has a downside: before you know it, you’re exhausted. This means that we need to pay more attention to well-being in this sector.”

Lore: “M’s well-being working group has been around for quite some time and has already achieved a great deal—the welfare surveys, for example, were their initiative. But you can’t simply ‘park’ well-being within a working group; it has to be embedded throughout the organization. That’s why ownership is so important. When employees feel that their knowledge and expertise are recognized and valued, they also feel better about their work.”

Portret directie museum M Leuven — © Josefien Tondeleir voor M Leuven

Stay tuned!

Peter: “We have been working on this change process for a few years now. It was delayed by Covid, but, in the meantime, all our other work continued as usual. It’s not as if we could simply say, ‘We’re temporarily closing the museum to visitors so that we can think things through in peace and quiet.’” [laughs]

Sigrid: “We had to fix the plane while flying. And the work is never finished. If your organization is completely set in stone, you can’t respond to social changes. And then the institution itself becomes the museum piece.”

Lore: “It’s an ongoing quest. We have to find, as it were, a language in which we can work together. That’s why we can’t yet say what specific changes our visitors will notice.”

Peter: “I hope we’ll surprise ourselves.”

Marjan: “M certainly won’t change drastically. We will continue to organize exhibitions, maintain and expand our collections, and focus on the connections between historical and contemporary art. But if things run more smoothly behind the scenes, if we can all do our jobs even better, then our visitors will ultimately feel that as well. I’d say: stay tuned!”

Eva Wittocx, Director of Contemporary Art, was unable to attend the interview.