Politically Astute CHO

A few weeks ago at ACUHOI, I was talking to an old residence life friend about the politics of being a Chief Housing Officer. My friend is looking to make the jump from an Associate Director position to the Director position and her only concern is the politics of being a Director.  As I thought about this more on my flight back home and made a few notes, I think I have six things I would say about being a Politically Astute CHO.

I must confess up front I do enjoy this part of my job and therefore my six thoughts will differ from others. In fact some may argue against one or more of my six suggestions. Remember, that at its heart, politics is simply about relationships. While politics carries a negative connotation in many places, the ability to influence others, to impact the decision making process, and to advance your agenda are all political elements no matter what you call them. 

1.       Know who the players are
Not all people, even if their titles are the same, carry the same political capital on a campus. Titles matter, but people matter far more and knowing the person behind the title is critical. You should make it a point to know something about the person and not just their job/title.  

2.       Your success depends on telling your story
Don’t expect anyone to tell your story (or the story of your department/area). You are more than the Director; you are the head cheerleader and storyteller for your office. People confuse this with being arrogant, but there is a major difference. It is only arrogant if it is not true. If you do something for your students better than anyone else on campus does it, don’t be afraid to tell that story. As people learn more about your successes, you are more likely to be given more responsibility, more autonomy, and more opportunities to be part of the decision making across campus. I once had a supervisor who told me her best advice for moving into a Director role was to stay off the radar. Of course I think she meant this in terms of not being associated with anything negative; however, if you adopt this approach you begin to shy away from risk and this I think this is a mistake. If you are not on the radar, then no one looking at you and the things we don’t see, we often forget about.  

3.       Take risks
Higher education can be slow to change and because of our structures, there is an inherent incentive to be risk averse. This is a factor one has to weigh concerning each person’s campus, but the ability of our communication systems to provide 24/7 access to “those in charge” has not helped prepare people for the ability to make a decision and to deal with the consequences. As Director you will not always have complete information, but people still look to you for a decision. Three principles I think are helpful for any Director are:

a.       It is better to ask forgiveness than ask permission.

b.      The best decision is the correct one, the next best decision is the wrong one, but the worst decision is not making one.

c.       Don’t fall into paralysis by analysis; this often comes in the form of let’s get a committee together and then decide.

 

4.       Don’t neglect managing up
Certainly hiring the right people is key to the success of any Director, but so too is making sure you manage up. Make an effort to know what the agenda and priority items are for your supervisor/Vice President/President. You should use this information to connect the work of your department to the issues that are already on the minds of the leaders of your campus. Speak to them in language that supports and helps them accomplish what they are working on. This is more than just good politics; it is also a great way to open the door to help tell your story (see item #2). 

5.       Keep your enemies in your tent, not outside
I know we don’t have enemies in higher education, but the principle is what matters. Whether the issue is money, facilities, staff, access to students, etc. There will be some things as Director that requires you to make decisions that upset others. In these cases you are better served to engage these “enemies” more and not less. Don’t let the disagreement, even if there are some hurt feelings or frustrations involved, keep you from engaging the other person/department. If you really think there is someone or a department that is not helpful in terms of your department’s efforts to serve students, then better to have them close, meaning in your tent where you can keep an eye on them, than outside your tent where you don’t know what they are saying or doing.

6.       Speak in terms of opportunity costs
This might be the easiest, but I think it is often overlooked. When speaking/arguing/debating about things, try and make the issue directly relevant to students. If your department is cut $10,000, how many pieces of lounge furniture does that cost you? If you have to raise a rate a certain percentage, how many Starbucks coffees is this over the course of a year? People hear percentages and large numbers all the time, but when you talk about how a 1% cut will mean 12 lounges won’t get renovated you have structured the discussion differently. In order to do this, you have to know your numbers and budget. This could easily be a separate item, but the difference here is that knowing your numbers is one thing, but being able to use this information to influence others and the decision making process is what makes this political.