Communicate Your Priorities

I love the University of Virginia.

My most formative years were those that I spent there. My roommates, my professors, my opportunities to get all involved, and simply the grandeur and history of the university founded by Thomas Jefferson, have all left an indelible mark on me.

I just like to point that out up front, so that when I seem to be critiquing the University, I'm really just following Mr Jefferson's dictum that "here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate error so long as reason is left free to combat it."

In other words, I can use a problem at the University as a valuable lesson without feeling bad about it.

In an interview a few months ago in the alumni magazine, the University's new president, Theresa Sullivan, was asked about, among other things, faculty retention and athletic coach compensation. Her answers were honest and up front, as they should be, but they communicated a very unfortunate message about the University's priorities.

Early in the article, President Sullivan pointed out the University doesn't currently have sufficient numbers of faculty and staff to support the planned increase in students over the next 5 years. Later, when asked about faculty recruiting and retention, she mentioned there hasn't been a pay raise for 3 years. In the next paragraph, though, she went on to say that, with regard to hiring coaches for the athletic teams, you've got to "pay to play," and so the coaches' salaries have gotten pretty high to attract and keep the best talent.

Now, it's true that faculty and coaches' salaries come from different pots of money, and alumni often seem more inclined to donate money to the athletic foundation than to the academic funds. Still, the message that came through (at least to me) was this: when it comes to faculty, it's a shame we can't pay more and our abilities and reputation are suffering as a result, but when it comes to coaches, we'll pay whatever it takes to get a good one. If I'm a student or a faculty member, I can infer from her statements that the academic experience, which should be the primary interest of the University, is less important than the athletic experience. I expect that at many schools, but not at the University.

It's important for you to clearly communicate your priorities, and you need to do that with actions as well as words. Words are important, of course, and in the "Letters to the Editor" in the next issue of the alumni magazine we saw at least one professor interpret President Sullivan's message the same way I did. When you're a leader people listen to what you say, and it's important to think about how things will sound from your Creatives' perspectives; don't just think about what you mean, think also about how it sounds to someone else. Remember, though, that you need actions that follow those words. If you tell people "our graphic designers are our top priority, they're what the firm is all about," but then your sales force gets the promotions, bonuses and raises while your designers stagnate, that carries a lot more weight and people will see what your true priorities are (and in the future, people will be less inclined to believe you, preferring instead to wait and see what you do).

Your Creatives need to know what your priorities are. That's the only way they can align their resources to meet what's truly important. It also allows them to understand if this firm is the place for them to be, or if they'd fit in better somewhere else, and as a leader you really need Creatives whose goals and interests match your priorities.

Do I think President Sullivan really cares more about football than about the Religious Studies department? No, I don't, but if I was a Religious Studies professor I might be more inclined to think that. It would have been good if she had made that clearer in the interview (and in her defense, it's possible she did but the text got edited before being printed). It would be even better if she made a very obvious effort to address the recruiting and retention problems; since the athletic programs seem to be doing ok (hey, we're going to a bowl game for the first time in a long time, so Wahoowa for that!) it's important to pay very little attention to that and pay much more attention to attracting and keeping the best faculty possible. Her words conveyed an unfortunate message, but with any luck, her actions can change that. One way or another, if the priority really is academics, it's important to make that clear.

The same goes for you: be clear, and be honest, with your Creatives about your priorities, so everyone has a better idea what they should be doing.