Movement at the director and VP levels of college and university marketing and communications offices is a fact of life, whether precipitated by an institutional leadership change or the opportunity for professional growth. How an institution chooses to approach the transition period is a true test of its leadership. It can leave the marcom leader’s position open during the time spent searching for a replacement, or it can appoint an interim director—either from within or outside of the institution—to provide direction and stability.
Leaving the position vacant is the easy choice that institutions think will minimize disruption, but it can more often result in a marcom operation in limbo, struggling to stay on task and on message. The decision to hire an interim is sometimes met with resistance and wariness at first, but in my experience the opportunity it presents outweighs the risks of a temporary change.
This was the case at Ball State University, where I recently completed a three-month consulting engagement with the university’s interim president, cabinet and marcom team while the institution conducted its marcom VP search. As I take stock of those productive three months, I’ve identified seven ways an interim marcom leader can make a real difference at an institution in a short amount of time.
- Provide the president with hands-on management support and counsel.
Few presidents have the bandwidth or background to personally manage the marcom unit, but they highly value assurance that the varied functions of marcom are being executed in a timely way. Furthermore, presidents rely on counsel on issues related to communication and preparation for media interviews.
- Move initiatives forward that shouldn’t be put on hold.
At the outset of the engagement, the interim can help identify for the president which initiatives must continue to move forward and which can wait. Initiatives such as website re-designs, market research surveys, ad campaigns, and production of signature creative projects are initiatives that are too important to be paused. At Ball State, we took on and completed eight such initiatives.
- Ensure that key campus clients are receiving full marcom support and are happy.
The arrival of an interim marcom officer is an opportunity to check in with key clients such as admissions and development offices. Are they happy with the quality and timeliness of marcom products and services? Do they rely on marcom as a strategic partner in developing marketing plans? How can communications with these important units be improved? Because the interim—especially one from outside the institution—has no long-term skin in the game, he or she will be received more openly as an objective party focused only on moving the institution forward.
- Provide the marcom team with representation “at the table.”
To do their jobs well, the marcom team relies on timely updates from campus leadership on the status of campus initiatives, especially those that may present public relations opportunities or challenges. They need a representative at cabinet or other senior-level meetings to stay in the know. In addition, knowing their voice is heard on key issues and their major project “wins” are shared at the highest level strengthens the morale of the marcom team.
- Steward relationships with cabinet officers and deans.
Cabinet members appreciate regular personal briefings on how the work of marcom is benefiting their units. They also value the opportunity to provide collegial feedback, both positive and negative, on university-wide marcom products such as ad campaigns.
- Mentor and encourage staff critical to the future of the institution.
The risk of losing top-performing staff during a leadership transition can be reduced with the presence of an experienced mentor offering professional guidance and support. It’s also a time to provide these emerging leaders with supported professional development opportunities such as piloting a key initiative, serving on a university-wide committee, or making presentations to the cabinet or deans’ council.
- Enable the incoming vice president to “hit the ground running.”
An in-depth, up to date assessment of the marcom situation from the interim can help a new leader save time in setting priorities. At Ball State, the incoming vice president requested a two-week overlap that included numerous one-on-one discussions and several joint meetings with the marcom management team. The staff appreciated the advocacy and not having to start from scratch with the new VP.
With vice presidential searches often taking six months or more, universities need strong interim leadership to sustain the constant, vital work of raising their visibility and strengthening their reputations. A qualified full-time interim director, whether from inside or outside of the institution, provides this essential leadership function and offers the institution the ability to do some reflection and assessment that will optimize its prospects for success moving forward.
David Macmillan is a higher education veteran. He served at the University of San Francisco, first as Vice President for Advancement for two decades and then as Vice President for Marketing Communications. At USF, he directed two highly successful comprehensive fund-raising campaigns and co-founded its Office of Marketing Communications. He is now an independent consultant working with colleges and universities nationwide.
