Today, I met with senior advancement officers at the combined CASE District III & IV annual conference in New Orleans to discuss my new book, Learning to Love the Politics.
Most of us in the advancement professions of marketing, communication, fund-raising, and alumni relations, would prefer to avoid internal politics, but all agree that dealing with institutional roadblocks to our work inevitably takes half or more of our time.
The first step in developing internal political savvy is understanding the larger context of each difficult situation. This involves analyzing how universities are fundamentally different from other organizations, identifying the various types of people who find themselves in academic leadership positions, and then listing the barriers and political situations advancement professionals typically encounter. It’s one thing to know these things, but it’s entirely another to carefully analyze them by making notes and developing action plans.
Identifying supporters, detractors and neutrals is the first step toward action. Next you gather your supporters and ask for their help in educating neutrals. With that complete, you simply ignore the detractors. The biggest mistake you can make is to try to convert opponents. You won’t be successful. You will waste precious time. And you will make yourself frustrated. Believe me, you can get the institutional train moving down the track without them.
With “grass-roots” tactics in place to build overall support, you will now be able to develop initiatives to address the issues you are encountering with specific administrative leaders, trustees, and others. This will include one-on-one and group education, using “third-party” advocates, and making win-win deals.
It’s difficult to imagine that with all the conferences and professional development programs we have in advancement, we have never really made this topic a subject matter to explore. The participants in my session today agreed that we need to continue our explorations and my book is just a beginning.
Larry D. Lauer 
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