Voces del Prado

The Hardest and Most Enriching Challenge

Fernando Checa Cremades, Museum Director, 1996-2001

People are … we are … difficult to handle. That’s something else I learned here. Because a university lecturer, one of the advantages he has in his profession is that he hardly has any bosses or any subordinates. That was my perception of my working life. It was very difficult to find that I had bosses here, who weren’t just any old bosses either, but the Minister or Secretary of State. And I had four hundred people under me, although now there are more. The truth is that I put my foot in it more than once, both in my relations with my superiors and with those working under me. But I learned little by little. That’s the most difficult thing of all: forming teams, managing and understanding people’s psychology and their way of doing things, and that of other institutions. All of this is completely enriching.
Since you come across all kinds of things, you have to put with impertinence and good manners alike. This gives you an experience or life and of dealing with people that is fundamental, one that has been of great use to me in later life, and not only professionally, but also in the personal realm. You learn how to understand other people’s problems, their interests, even though you might not share them or might think they are insignificant. But for that person they are important. It’s essential to take all of this into account. My daily dealings at the Museum helped me a lot in this respect, and they still help me. They give you a much wider perspective. For me, being the Director of the Museo del Prado really meant acquiring a much greater perspective of reality.