Heather's Story

Heather Stuart is CEO of OnFife, the cultural organisation that looks after all the libraries, museums, theatres and art galleries in Fife. Since founding the registered charity just under a decade ago, Heather and the OnFife team have been busy making a difference across Fife communities. Here she tells us how Vistage helps her achieve her goals.

I came into this role to create a fully operational culture organisation in six months, a tall order by anyone’s standards. It was also a massive learning curve. While I’d previously managed significant change programmes – my former role involved looking after culture for Scottish government – this new role meant bringing together disparate teams to form a new company and culture. Around the same time, our budget decreased significantly and unexpectedly. 

While the lower budget definitely made growing and developing the business, creating the culture and building the team that bit harder, I was determined to make it work. I’m from Fife and having the chance to improve the lives of people in the region I grew up in, and now live and work within, is an absolute privilege. I truly love what I do.

“Vistage fills that gap by offering me a safe space to reflect and share my thoughts.”

Although improving people’s lives locally is what drives us as a team, much of my work involves creating the conditions for success. I need to ensure the funding is there, that government policy develops in a way that supports us and, particularly in relation to Covid, that the impact on the cultural sector, and its role in promoting health and wellbeing, is acknowledged. It’s in navigating the complexities of these and other areas that Vistage really helps.

Vistage: a monthly meeting of minds

Much of my day-to-day role involves decision-making, which can make the leadership role lonely at times. However great your team are, there are conversations you want and need as a leader that aren’t appropriate to have with your colleagues. They need you to be a leader - that superhuman person that of course you’re not! - and not to be burdened by the things you’re doubting or mulling over or even to know how you always feel.

“I liken Vistage to an elevator that helps take you from the floor you’re on to the floor you want to get to, while building lifelong friendships and having fun.”

Vistage fills that gap by offering me a safe space to reflect and share my thoughts. Through 1-1s, monthly group meetings and Vistage speaker events, I’m able to work on the business (not just work within it), and return to OnFife with renewed energy, new ideas and a fresh approach. Without those external insights and perspectives, it would be easy to get stuck in a space where I think my challenges are new, when, Covid aside, being part of such a diverse peer group ensures there’s always someone who’s been there before and can help Which brings me to another point. As a leader it’s natural to feel you should know it all. As the leader people invariably look to you for the answers, when, in truth, every day is a school day for a good leader. Learning is a journey that never ends. However, even when I’m not directly learning within a Vistage peer meeting, I still often leave having picked up new knowledge while helping other members resolve their issues. It’s also a reminder of the skills I have and value I can bring.

It took me two years to join Vistage, partly because I needed to justify the ROI to myself – it can be very hard for chief execs to give themselves permission to take the time out to invest in their development. Knowing what I now know about Vistage and the demonstrable value it brings to the business and me personally, my only regret is that I didn’t join earlier as I’d be two years further along my growth journey. I liken Vistage to an elevator that helps take you from the floor you’re on to the floor you want to get to, while building lifelong friendships and having fun.