Internal Communications: Building a Good Relationship with the Provost

1
Internal Communications Building a Good
Relationship with the Provost

• AACSB Deans Meeting
• February 9, 2004
• References Cialdini 1993, Allen 1979, Morris
  1981

2
What matters to the provost?

• The well-being of the institution
• His/her life, ego, and self-worth are all tied up
  with the university
• The provost expects deans to be line officers,
  who share the responsibility for the institution
• The provosts evaluation of a dean depends on how
  well the dean can mobilize the faculty in support
  of the provosts goals

3
But I have to worry about the faculty

• Faculty expect the dean to fight for their rights
  and prevail on their behalf with the provost
• Faculty confidence in the dean is partly
  dependent on the level of rapport the dean has
  with the provost
• A dean can usually handle faculty challenges--it
  is incursion from above that creates the most
  difficulty for a dean
• When things get tough, the deans primary
  constituency is the provost

4
The best way to get on in the world is to make
people believe it is to their advantage to help
you. --Jean de la Bruyere

• Be an optimist
• Make him/her happy
• Give advice
• Praise him/her
• Be humble
• Be modest
• Dont be selfish
• Be self-sacrificing
• Dont criticize him/her

5
Specific methods of building the relationship

• If the provost has loftier aims, help him/her
  look good
• Reciprocity--dont be afraid to offer a sacrifice
• Commitment--get commitment to broad objectives,
  then ask for the detailed support later--we all
  strive to be consistent
• Use social proof--we believe a behavior is
  correct when we see others performing it

6
Key methods of building the relationship

• We most prefer to say yes to the requests of
  people we know and like
• Similarity
• Compliments
• Contact and cooperation--familiarity affects
  liking
• Conditioning and association--an innocent
  association with good or bad things will
  influence how people feel about us (Lott and
  Lott, 1965)

7
At the end of the academic day

• Every provost is different, but they all share
  the same basic goals
• Advancing the institution
• Avoiding conflict
• Building university-wide support
• Advancing their career
• How you support these objectives affects your
  provosts support for YOUR objectives

8
Show the provost how his investment in your
objectives helps him/her

• Revenues
• Rankings
• Programmatic development
• Development success
• Your ultimate goal is independence