The politics of .edu web strategy
Posted: March 26th, 2009 | Author: Ron Bronson | Filed under: Higher Ed, Social Media | Tags: higher education, internal politics, Politics, web strategy | 4 Comments »You are currently browsing comments. If you would like to return to the full story, you can read the full entry here: “The politics of .edu web strategy”.
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This is so true. I’m the Web Services Manager at a college in Canada and been mandated to direct our web presence to a new level. But I am seeing the politics are going to play are a part – unfortunately. What practical recommendations do you have to mitigate the negative impacts of politics in higher education web design?
I would say:
1. Pick your battles: You can’t win every fight, so really be selective about the times that you’re going to engage and push back on some subjects, while letting others go realizing that there’s no real point in losing energy on those.
2. Create allies: You can really smooth your path by taking extra care to treat everyone on campus fairly, but especially keying on the departments and areas that will need your assistance a lot. If those people respect your input and feedback, they can prove to be allies when you need them later on.
3. Be knowledgeable, but not a know-it-all: No one likes the character of the web guy who comes into the wrong, demeans everyone else and acts like they’re too stupid to get it. That might’ve flown in ’99, but it’s ’09 and these days, more people, the middle and the bottom of institutions are getting savvier about their web knowledge. It’s mainstream now, so we’ve got to be mindful about what we communicate and ensuring we communicate useful tips that help them see how everything connects.
4. Listen: This one should’ve been first. People will have legitimate grips and we can tend to dismiss their comments as sounding like Charlie Brown’s teacher when we hear them over and over. Engage your users and really understand what’s on their minds and what their needs are. Even in situations where you can’t deliver what they need, it might be a great way to understand how to ensure the site continues to meet the needs of various constituencies.
Now I’m going to edit the post and add these recommendations, thanks for making me flesh it out, Mike!
Hope these help a little bit. I could probably go on for days…
5. Focus on what’s important: You’ll never get everything you want, so focus on the stuff that matters most and at least you’ll always be making progress and raising the bar.
6. Avoid office politics: Especially just starting out, it can be hard to avoid the factions in offices, but it behooves you to do anything you can to be good terms of almost everyone. Relationships can build naturally and not everyone will like you, but it’s good to maintain strong relationships with as many people as possible.
7. Be an advocate for the institution: I try to implore people to see the web as a vehicle for how the college/university grows and reaches further. A lot of them see the web as real estate or a personal fiefdom that they need to control and I’ve tried hard over the years to get people to take a broader look at the web, technology and how it can really advance the mission of the school. By doing that, it shows your loyalty to the institution and an awareness of how the brand can benefit exponentially by your best foot forward via the web site.
Great advice, Ron. I would offer two more bits of advice:
Develop a thick skin. Don’t personalize criticisms of your work. Remember: You are not the project. Critics will always be there.
And related to that point:
You’ve got to have the stomach for inter-office politics. Even if you try to avoid politics as much as possible, you’ve got to be able to get in there and mix it up with the other bureaucrats every once in a while. And then, as Ron’s first point says, know which battles are worth fighting.