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Archive for the ‘Leadership’ Category

Lesson 155 Mutual Dependency

Posted in Leadership, Lessons Learned, Public Affairs on March 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The news this week has been a bit more optimistic concerning bipartisan cooperation between the White House and the republicans in congress. Apparently the president bypassed the partisan leaders and invited a varied group of legislators to dinner to discuss ways forward.  Obama’s strategic thinking seems to be to go around the dysfunctional, polarized leaders to find some common ground. We’ll soon see how well it works.

All this got me to thinking about how dependent we are on each other in general to simply work things out. When collaboration occurs in good spirit, we move ahead.  When debaters lock in to a “my way or no way” attitude, their mean-spirited attacks destroy everything.  This seems to be a consistent lesson of history, and a Wall street vs. Main street lesson as well.

As I have argued in previous posts, when profit success grows into personal greed, the people in the middle who enabled the success to begin with become diminished. And when this otherwise comfortable middle class sinks into financial struggle, serious division begins. In short, past cooperation degenerates to hostility and eventually the entire system crashes.

Is it possible that today once again the simple answer is to just go around gridlocked leaders to form good faith groups that are willing to work things out?  This could be really big news, and the resulting visibility just might begin our desperately needed  turnaround.

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Lesson 153 Advocacy and Leadership

Posted in Leadership, Lessons Learned, Public Affairs on February 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This week I have been thinking quite a bit about the relationship between leadership and advocacy. The question on my mind has been: When little progress is being made on influencing legislative policy, can an advocate’s efforts still result in the organization being seen by its constituents as a leader in its industry?

Last week I found myself in a discussion about this with students in the Schieffer School of Journalism at TCU.  The class was PR and Advocacy, and I was invited there to discuss my work with the legislatures in Texas and Washington, and to explain why I do it when the entire process seems to be dysfunctional.

To get the discussion started, I asked the students how they define the word “advocacy.” They said they thought it means arguing your point of view, or representing a point of view on behalf of your client. As with legal representation, we all agreed that when all points of view are represented, better decisions can more likely get made.  But with that said, we jumped right to the big question: Are legislators today influenced by anything but extreme ideology and money? And if not, how then can my advocacy work on behalf of TCU be worth the effort?

I admitted that this question is not only a good one, but it is the key one.  Indeed, advocacy is very close to debating, and debating alone can lead only to polarization. And since we seem to no longer have a viable mechanism for negotiating legislative solutions, the resulting gridlock can make all efforts seem like a waste of time.

In retrospect, however, I came out of my dialogue with these students, and my subsequent reflections on the situation,  very certain that our efforts have  indeed been worthwhile.  

Over time it has become clear to me that whenever an institution’s advocate is at the table with other industry leaders in an effort to shape the policy that will shape their future, the result will eventually be the public acknowledgement of industry leadership. And I also can now confidently argue that this result is a significant component in developing a consistent and powerful institutional brand.

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Lesson 152 State of the Union

Posted in Leadership, Lessons Learned, Public Affairs on February 16, 2013| 1 Comment »

This week was dominated by the president’s state of the union address.  And since then, I have been preoccupied with reflecting on it.  It certainly was an interesting hour-long lecture.  But when all is said and done,  just what  was really accomplished?  What wasn’t?  And what could be?  

As a speech, it certainly was comprehensive.  Many could easily see it as inspiring and visionary.  It was a complete list of initiatives that, if implemented,  could certainly move the country forward. But many no doubt were also wondering just how all this could ever be paid for, or why he  is proposing so many different ideas all at once. In short, the address might have sounded overwhelming and unrealistic– especially in today’s economic environment.

In public speaking 101 I remember learning that effective presentations generally begin with the speaker demonstrating an “insider’s empathy” with the needs of key audience segments. Then the content should explain no more than four or five doable initiatives, each supported by very practical sounding examples and stories. And each story should be selected to relate to the needs of the most important audience segments, so everyone wins something. The conclusion, then, should simply repeat the main points, followed by an inspirational rallying cry to help reshape the future together.

The state of the union address this week was a very interesting and comprehensive lecture about all we should be able to do to move America forward. It was enjoyable to hear, and I can support all of it.  But would it not have been possible to put forth a more focused, pragmatic and doable plan?

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Lesson 145 The Power of Ideas

Posted in Leadership, Lessons Learned, Planning on December 29, 2012| 2 Comments »

Creative and powerful ideas are the key to advancing institutions and society. Extremely talented executives and statesmen are often remembered for their service. But more often than not it is the bold and inspired ideas that they chose to champion that made the difference. As we enter 2013 the world is crying out for a new set of bold and creative ideas. Stong armed dictators, and smooth talking, ideology-driven politicians, clearly are not meeting the need.

The middle east is in total turmoil with countries in various states of disintegration. Dictatorships have failed them. Countries  that have been at war are now in complete disarray. Tribal leaders have failed them. Washington is polarized and paralyzed, and political extremism has failed us. The economy in Europe is threatening to crash, and a common currency alone has failed to unify them. And higher education, which may be the best long-term hope for finding these bold new ideas, is currently under attack in the U.S. for being overpriced and inefficient. And all this just when our educational institutions are struggling to comprehend the full implications and responsibilities of becoming a global enterprise. It’s hard to imagine that so many parts of the world are in turmoil all at the same time.

You may have noticed  that the title theme in the masthead above has changed with this issue. It has been: “Pioneer in Strategic Communication and Integrated Marketing, ” but now it will be:  “Powerful Ideas for Changing Times.”   My  focus in the months ahead will be more on ideas and trends than on “how to” tactics and innovative professional practice. As I told my honors college students this past fall: ” My intentions for the days ahead are to facilitate an “adventure in ideas” about understanding issues and solving problems.

I have come to believe that social progress in 2013 will demand very smart people who can think beyond their profession. It will require rethinking the missions of entire organizations, reconsidering the political influence of individual values and religious systems, re-clarifying the necessary roles and limitations of governments, and much more.  If peaceful coexistence in this rapidly changing world is ever to be achieved, the turmoil of 2012 has convinced me that we will be desperately searching in 2013 for some insightful breakthrough ideas.

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Lesson 141 Politics and Media Revolutions

Posted in Leadership, Lessons Learned, Media Literacy, Strategic Communication on November 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »

When television became the dominant medium during the 1950’s it pretty much set the criteria for who could be successful in politics. Today, the digital Internet revolution has added still more criteria.

Performing well on television is important to winning elections and maintaining a leadership persona in the legislature. But it is more than being physically attractive.  This is why film directors do screen tests. Some people actually look better on television. But looking good is only part of being comfortable talking to a camera. Even effective speakers can become awkward when there is no audience there to respond.

Once elected, standing out in the legislative crowd requires knowing the issues currently in the news, having the ability to address them simply and confidently, and knowing the right audiences to please. In other words, strategic communication expertise becomes essential.  It is no longer only about having political convictions. Now, it is also about knowing how and when to perform. And all of this has been shaped by television.

Television has also become a major cost factor. The success of political advertising in various media, especially television, has made it even more so. Consultants discovered sometime ago that finding out something negative about the opponent, making a fast-paced and emotional TV ad, and then repeating it over and over, can be a very effective political tool. And so the ever escalating use of these ads inflates overall costs enormously. 

In addition to television, the digital revolution has added new complexity to the campaign horserace.  Websites are used as portals to more information about the candidate. Position papers appear on them to address the issues. And they also become on-line interactive vehicles for raising money.  Twitter keeps followers informed about the candidates’ minute-to-minute activities, and urges attendance at staged political events.  Facebook is a way the campaign can request individuals to influence the behavior of their “friends.” And electronic zip code analysis provides campaigns with consumer preference information that allows them to match buying behavior with political interests. Analysts also help determine the most popular retail and other locations for events and promotions.

As in other situations, what works best on television and digital technology influences the nature and complexity of the messages.  For the most part that means messaging is simple and focused on broad emotional themes, such as jobs and the economy. Polls are used to determine those themes and preferences, and often result in making extreme statements, each one customized for each zip code.

Political reporting is effected too. Characterizing candidates in this kind of environment usually will lead to reinforcing polarization and extreme rhetoric. This makes great news copy, and  24/7 cable channels, talk radio hosts, and bloggers with a political bias, thrive on it.  All of  this, however, is creating an ongoing, ever polarizing, political dynamic with few clues about how to do better.

And so proficiency with media in many ways determines who can be successful in politics today, and there are both good and alarming consequences.

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Lesson 124 Group Think

Posted in Integrated Marketing, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Planning on August 4, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I have encountered “group think” in executive teams in many institution over the years. In each case it was a very dangerous situation. The eventual consequence is that leaders lose their abilities to effectively guide their institutions through rapidly changing conditions.

Group think happens this way:  An executive team first finds success managing in a certain set of market circumstances. They may have followed their instincts and got lucky. Or they may have followed market research. Whatever the explanation they were able to find a successful model and manage the institution effectively over a period of time by following it.  However, in doing so they gradually stopped receiving external information. They no longer welcomed input. They began to reject criticism, and silently felt threatened by new ideas. Simply put, they became isolated while the world outside was changing.

On the other hand, some executive teams manage to avoid destructive “group think.”  And in my experience these teams tend to have a common set of  behavior characteristics:

1. They understand they must out-learn their competition. They must stay on top of  industry trends, continue to study their market, and stay current on new technology. And to do this they put specific mechanisms and programs in place which ensure that constant team learning takes place.

2. They operate in a culture where they do not compete for resources.  Rather they challenge each other to come up with the best possible proposals to advance each area of operation. Then, they collaborate on setting priorities and making budget allocation decisions.  Everyone is heard, and everyone buys into the compromises essential to moving forward together.

3. In addition, every member of the team celebrates colleagues when they achieve something significant…an award recognition in their field or a success in the institution. Everyone puts aside any tendency for professional jealously by frequently articulating the positive outcomes of these team celebrations.

4. Outside input is invited on a regular basis. Research is conducted. Consultants are invited in to share ideas. People inside the organization with thoughts or criticisms are invited to the table to express them. Everyone understands that the tendency for executive isolation is natural and universal, and that overcoming it is the only road to continued success.

In the final analysis, “group think” as a result of executive isolation is the primary reason institutions fail, aristocracies decline, civilizations fall, and entire societies disappear. It is the lesson of history. Every public or private executive  team in every society must therefore learn this lesson. Otherwise, they will falter for a while, and  then very likely fail.

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Lesson 122 The Meaning of Awards

Posted in International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Planning on July 20, 2012| 1 Comment »

The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) held its seventh annual Summit for Advancement Leaders this week. This Summit, however, would be quite different for me. I was to receive one of those lifetime professional achievement awards.  

I had watched others receive this award over the years and thought I knew what to expect. But standing there before hundreds of my peers I found myself thinking, “How in the world can this be me?”  My mind was racing. “There are so many smart people out there,” I thought. “What must they be thinking about all this?” I became consumed with the thought that I had learned everything I know from these and other colleagues! 

Suddenly I was recalling what I had learned from two CASE board of trustee chairs, one of them also receiving an award this day. I had watched them both pilot the board through a particularly troubled time in the association and it became a very memorable lesson for me in skillful leadership and courage. I had written about leadership, but I had learned the really helpful lessons from them.

Then I found myself recalling when, as a very young faculty member, I had asked my academic dean at TCU for a promotion in faculty rank. He responded: “We better get you tenure while we can… I think you are going to need it!”  He was right. His insight paved the way for a long and rewarding future as a maverick who was destined to get involved in changing how things were done. It was my first practical lesson in strategic thinking and timing.

I also recalled the academic vice-chancellor who knew I was not headed into administration but nonetheless asked me to take a position directing the University’s evening college, summer school, and non credit programs. I had been complaining about the programs and so he challenged me to take the job and fix them. Later, when I went to him with my problems, he countered: “I hired you for solutions, Lauer, not to bring me problems.”  That experience became one of the most  important learning opportunities of my career.

Another major career-changing moment came when a development vice-chancellor brought me into this field, thereby enabling me to practice what I was teaching. It would require rethinking everything in the communication  division. But this would open the door for everything that would follow… my books, presentations, articles, travel, and literally everything that led to this award. 

Beyond those board of trustee chairs I mentioned there were many other strong professionals involved at the time in  CASE.  Talented volunteers and innovation-minded staff became my collaborators and teachers as we worked to bring new levels of sophistication to the communication field. Together we were able to inject strategic and integrated marketing concepts into our work. Timing was everything, and no one could have done it alone.

More recently I had a mentor-teacher at the American Council on Education (ACE) who taught me the importance of  advocating on behalf of the issues that are shaping the future of our industry. And with my academic hat back on, I found new collaborators at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). They helped me conclude that the internationalization of higher education would bring significant world problem-solving opportunities that we had never before even anticipated.

This moment of personal recognition clearly had me realizing that everything I know came from someone else. We all stand on the shoulders of many others, and it is especially during these moments that we fully understand and recognize that it is not ultimately about us. It’s all about our teachers and mentors.

Finally, I must confess that I also wanted to be giving a speech that day about how lucky our young professionals are to be in this field at this moment in time. Our industry is becoming global, governments are changing, and as a consequence advancement professionals are moving front and center in their institutions. We are in the middle of a major “sea change” in higher education, and the leaders in our field will literally have an opportunity to help change the world.

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Lesson 121 An Annual Advancement Summit

Posted in International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Planning on July 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »

More than five years ago several key members of the board of trustees and professional staff of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) could see a “sea change” coming in higher education, one that would thrust advancement professionals into a new level of leadership with a completely new set of performance expectations.

This “sea change” is both good and challenging news for the profession. The good news is that new and better rewarded opportunities will appear in the U.S. and abroad for the best among us.  The challenging news is that extremely high performance will be expected which will also require a new level of sophistication and understanding of the industry’s market issues, realities and trends.

Past CASE annual conferences concentrated mostly on the most current fundraising, alumni relations, marketing and communication tactics and cases. However, in order to meet the coming industry challenges an annual Summit was designed primarily to prepare advancement leaders to deal with the issues and competitive realities ahead.

This year’s Summit will kick off in Washington on Sunday. Here are eight “beyond tactics” concerns that are currently on my mind: 

1. How will today’s state legislative cutbacks change our core business, and what are the implications for advancement?  And how do for-profits factor into this equation?

2. How will essential increases in tuition be managed when the public thinks we already cost too much? What are the consequences of the recent questioning of the basic value of a college degree?  And what are the implications here for advancement?

3. How will internationalization effect competition for students, money and reputation at home? Will even the smallest U.S. institution be affected?

4. Are back-to-back comprehensive campaigns sustainable? How do we maintain donor loyalty when every nonprofit in the U.S. and abroad is out looking for philanthropic resources?

5. What is the future of on-line education?  Can it actually save money? How will it affect institutions that already have huge investments in maintaining a residential-based college experience?

6. Where will jobs in the future be found?  What will be the appropriate preparation for getting one of them? Is this sufficient preparation for a lifetime?  And does advancement have a role to play here?

7. What should liberal arts based institutions do now?  What happens to the “education for both a career and for a happy life”  philosophy?  How does advancement help address these situations?

8. Are boards of governance changing in make-up and expectations?  If so how?  Is there a trend toward more financial  risk taking?  Is there mounting pressure for a more corporate style management?  Is there a different traditional academic culture that should be maintained?  How should advancement respond?

In this new world of higher education there is little doubt that advancement will face increasingly high expectations, and will be required to play a key role in overall strategic planning and institutional problem-solving. Those professionals who stay focused only on tactics, even when those tactics are the cutting edge new media ones, will no longer qualify for the top leadership positions, or so I think.  Simply put, the coming “sea change” in higher education is bringing new very complicated, and in many cases institutional survival related, demands.

I suggest that only those advancement professionals who have moved beyond the tactics, and have developed the intellectual capacity to manage critical issues in a rapidly changing landscape, will qualify for taking on these new leadership opportunities. And the annual CASE Summit for Advancement Leaders is the perfect place to begin your immersion in these critical issues and to learn all about these exciting leadership challenges.

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Lesson 118 Unspoken Feelings

Posted in Internal Politics, Leadership, Lessons Learned on June 23, 2012| 1 Comment »

Since writing a book about internal institutional politics, I have had many conversations with colleagues probing their deep inner feelings about their work environment and the people they must deal with in order to get the job done. Many of these feelings are subconscious, but they can come to the surface in heart-to-heart conversations.

For example, one executive told me about the guilt he felt when he had to admit to himself that the incredible talent of a subordinate was threatening to him.  The executive was not proud when he confronted the reality that he actually was preventing a person on his staff from having contact with other executives in the organization, and was not approving his participation in external projects. “It’s this guy’s job to put me out front, not for him to steal the limelight,” was the executive’s attitude. But, of course, he was only setting up a barrier that was holding back the career of a very talented professional.

Another person admitted in a conversation that he was fighting the feeling that he was really hoping a colleague who was getting attention for his talent would ultimately fail. This person had excuses for his feeling such as, “this person is getting too big for his britches.”  But the truth of the matter is that this is a classic case of professional jealously.  And the harm done was negative “office talk” about a professional’s genuine achievements. This situation is what reinforces the classic, “you can’t be a profit in your own land,” reality.

Another person admitted that she was doing things to impede a colleague’s recognition because she just didn’t like him. Questioning revealed this to be a common case of personality conflict.  “He makes me mad every time he opens his mouth,” was one observation.  Another was, “when he walks into the room he makes my skin crawl!”  Sometimes a person’s style is a problem for the entire office. But more often than not it is a problem between two people, and the behavior of one of them can become destructive to the well-being of the other.

Truthfully, it’s not unusual to feel unhappy about co-workers’ successes and to have difficulty celebrating their achievements.  Whatever good happens to them can feel like a setback to us. It’s a common feeling that is rarely admitted, and rarely dealt with directly. 

Indeed, most of us are in denial about our feelings, and make up excuses for them if we must. We simply conclude that the person is a selfish corporate climber, or an elitist social climber, or just a plain ego driven maniac.  “He thinks it’s all about him,” is what we say. But the truth often is that he (or she) is merely trying to advance his ideas and exercise a sincere passion he feels for making a difference.

My little book “Learning to Love the Politics,” attempts to look at leadership styles and typical barriers to individual advancement and support, and to propose some ways to deal with them. This book is mostly about university politics, but many of the situations are universal. Internal politics are in fact the big barriers to professional  achievement everywhere, and many people never have realized that they can work hard and actually be penalized for it.

There is no doubt about it, our unspoken feelings can be destructive. Getting them out in the open so we can deal with them is a major step toward organizational and individual progress.

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Lesson 116 Critical Role for State Higher Ed Systems

Posted in Integrated Marketing, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Planning, Public Affairs, Strategic Communication on June 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I spent a half-day this week with the institutional advancement officers in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. In the past my impression had been that many state systems were in a constant search for clarity of role and identity. But this week I collaborated with a highly energized group of professionals, and as I reflected on our time together I came to see more clearly just how they might function effectively in this current environment of government cut-backs and public criticism.

1. Who better than a state system can put together an impressive case for state support of higher education, and then to represent it in the legislature with one voice and ongoing persistence? Who better can make an effective case for insuring diverse access, meeting workforce needs, stimulating economic development, researching new products, solving community problems, and much more?

2. Who better can lead the rethinking of core business plans? Cut-backs are likely to remain permanent to some degree. What will  be the new ratio of revenue sources?  What proportion will now have to come from tuition, philanthropy, federal government, state government, fees, etc.?  How can we insure the needed amounts from each source will be available?

3. Who better can coordinate the best professional development programs, and provide access to the best experts in the fields of philanthropy, alumni relations, marketing and communications?  A new level of sophistication will be required in all these areas to meet future revenue and admissions needs, and the system can make sure this is available to every member.

4. Who better can assess the impact of globalization on the institutions in the state and guide a planned response?  Both opportunities and threats will have to be taken into account as a part of core business rethinking.  Does it make sense to have programs abroad?  What is the likelihood of foreign institutions successfully rasing money and recruiting students in this region?  How should each institution respond? 

5. Who better can help clarify where and how institutions can cooperate, and yet compete at the same time. For example, where might institutional student recruiting, and therefore marketing and communication initiatives, overlap? Where might the same donors, foundations, and corporations be solicited by individual institutions?  And what are new and better ways to build donor loyalty and avoid back-to-back campaign donor fatigue?

6. And who better can facilitate making an “everyone on the same page” case for higher education to the general public?  In this age of negativity and skepticism a strategic communication initiative to clarify higher education’s overall brand identity is essential, and a state system can lead the way. Even if a system is not in a “political” position to launch such a public campaign, it might help and encourage an outside group or association to do so.

Indeed, there are many roles for state systems to play in these uncertain times.  It’s exciting to think of the possibilities!

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