François Leclerc du Tremblay (aka Father Joseph) was a French Capuchin friar who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries. He was a close advisor and confidant to Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII of France. Tremblay played a significant role in French politics during his time, acting as a diplomat, negotiator, and intelligence agent for Richelieu. Where Richelieu was the highly visible chief minister, Tremblay held no official government position, and yet he had considerable influence over state affairs and was instrumental in implementing Richelieu's policies. Mixing fact with fiction, both are featured characters in Alexander Dumas' The Three Musketeers, a swashbuckling story of palace intrigue, love and adventure.
Tremblay was known for his discretion and behind-the-scenes maneuvering, earning him the nickname Eminence Grise (grey eminence) in contrast to Richelieu's Eminence Rouge. (red eminence). The labels refer not only to the color of their cloaks but to their public profile. Eminence grise has come to mean anyone who can "get stuff done" without interference or scrutiny. In the org chart of today, there is an implicit need for the manager and leader that has a good grasp of the concept of eminence grise. Organizational culture has its own palace intrigue, and a good manager has to navigate the politics of working with people to get stuff done.
In the performing arts, there is typically the titular head that is the public face of the organization--the person who can articulate visionary goals and the raison d'être for the organization's existence. This is the person that gets all the press, accolades, and credit for success. Usually that's the Executive, General, or Artistic Director. Parallel (or subordinate) to this person is the Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director, or General Manager; this is the person that ultimately has to actualize the vision of the Executive Director and actually get stuff done. For the most part, you won't find this person mentioned in the press. The best Executive Directors pass along the credit to their team and take all the blame if things go wrong. They know that they are the ones with their head above the berm, taking all the shots. But it is the COO that they ultimately turn to for help when it's crunch time.
Rarely can the two tasks be managed by one person. Executive Directors that take on all the guts and the glory while trying to manage the day to day operations run the risk of doing neither very well. Founder's Syndrome is a well known pitfall for organizations that are led by the individual who can't seem to let go or share responsibilities with their team. The leader that takes the imperious "my way or the highway" approach is rarely effective; likewise the "we're all one big family" management style is all fine and well until economic realities require the possibility of downsizing and layoffs.
I know of only one example where an arts administrator managed to wear both cloaks with equal aplomb. Peter Pastreich, former Executive Director of the San Francisco Symphony is among those that I've admired from afar. He managed to get a fair amount of press and publicity during his tenure, and yet he knew how to be an effective "behind the scenes" administrator. A feature article appeared in the San Francisco Examiner in 1998 announcing his retirement from the Symphony:
In matters of fund-raising and telemarketing, the executive director's role has become more complex over two decades. But the function of the job remains the same. "Managers should stay in the background, Pastreich said. "Eminence grise is my preferred role."*
If you aspire to be the visionary for a cultural organization, to be the executive director in charge of all the things, to be the person at the top of the masthead, you'll need someone at your side with eminence grise to get things done. On the other hand, if you are one of those "behind the scenes" folks that take great satisfaction in your accomplishments without the need for public affirmations, then perhaps the grey robe is for you.
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*San Francisco Examiner, March 5, 1998, pp.35.